Tuesday, May 23, 2006

Fire Hydrants: One


Fire hydrant in Colonial Williamsburg. (Click picture for larger view) Posted by Picasa
"Talking is a hydrant in the yard and writing is a faucet upstairs in the house. Opening the first takes all the pressure off the second." ~ Robert Frost
Well! I have now wasted at least a couple of hours trying to find out the manufacturing company associated with the fire hydrant in Colonial Williamsburg. No luck yet. Who knew there were so many companies? Who knew they each make a unique shape and size? I thought perhaps it was a reproduction but I doubt there were iron fire hydrants as early as colonial times. I have learned a few things so I suppose my time wasn't completely wasted. The correct designation of the top of the hydrant is the "bonnet" and they can be one tiered or two tiered or other. This one is one tiered. It seems to have been painted red at one time, but now has a green color similar to a copper patina. Another thing I've learned is that there are a lot of people out there who collect fire hydrants or take pictures of them. Who knew? The Birdsill Holly Society Pool of pictures has over 4,000; some artsy, some thought provoking (yes, really) and some just downright strange. The other "Everything you ever wanted to know about fire hydrants but were loathe to ask" site is FireHydrant.org.

So much for my original concept of posting a series of fire hydrants.
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