Manhole cover mania sweeps nation.Manhole covers are often an afterthought in the metalcasting industry even though you can't walk down a city street without seeing one. Recently, cities such as New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , Seattle, Vancouver and Vail Vail (vāl), town (1990 pop. 3,569), Eagle co., W central Colo., on Gore Creek, in the Gore Range of the Rocky Mts.; founded as a ski resort 1962, inc. as a town 1966. have worked to turn the simplistic sim·plism n. The tendency to oversimplify an issue or a problem by ignoring complexities or complications. [French simplisme, from simple, simple, from Old French; see simple castings into complex works of art. Vancouver, British Columbia British Columbia, province (2001 pop. 3,907,738), 366,255 sq mi (948,600 sq km), including 6,976 sq mi (18,068 sq km) of water surface, W Canada. Geography , Canada, recently held a contest open to local artists to design new manhole covers in an effort to improve the city's aesthetic qualities. Winning designs were chosen for storm sewer storm sewer n. A sewer for carrying off rainwater or meltwater, as to a river or bay. and sanitary sewer A sanitary sewer (also called, especially in the UK, a foul sewer) is a type of underground carriage system for transporting sewage from houses or industry to treatment or disposal. covers (Fig. 1). The competition was patterned after similar projects in New York and Seattle. [FIGURE 1 OMITTED] The city of Vail, Colo., however, took the appreciation of manhole covers a step further. The city started using custom cast iron covers in 2001. However, tourists began taking notice of the "art" and eventually started stealing them to take a piece of Vail home. The city turned to gluing the manhole covers into the ground, but they were still disappearing. The entrepreneurial spirit of the town took over when it was decided to start producing the covers for sale as souvenirs (Fig. 2). Over the last two years, 700 manhole covers have been sold to people in 37 states, generating $100,000 in revenue for the city. The "Own A Piece of Vail" program offers two sizes of manhole covers--one version is 2 ft. in diameter and weighs 52 lbs. and a smaller version that is an 8-in., 6-lb. gate cover. [FIGURE 2 OMITTED] The city suggests using the large souvenirs, which are cast by D&L Supply Foundry Inc., Orem, Utah Orem is an incorporated town in the north-central part of the state of Utah in Utah County. It is adjacent to Provo, Lindon, and Vineyard and is about 45 miles south of Salt Lake City. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 84,324. , as end tables, for landscaping or as patio or driveway inlays. The smaller version's suggested uses include hot pads, deck pieces or decorative wall pieces. Because of their decorative nature, various books have been written, detailing some of the more artistic cast iron manhole covers across the U.S., and walking tours highlighting some of the oldest and most expressive covers in New York are now available. Manhole covers are winning devoted fans, bringing more attention to the work of the metalcasting industry. |
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