A few years ago, Athens, Georgia decided to celebrate the 80th anniversary of its J. G. Beacham Drinking Water Treatment Plant.
Now, that’s not the sort of event it’s easy to drum up attention for, but Athens found a unique way—it turned 20 of its fire hydrants into artworks celebrating water and held a popular vote. Sadly, the two top winners are now gone from the streets, but survive in these images from the Athens government website.
They are Water Creatures of Georgia, by Katie Yost, and Water is a Bear Necessity, by Will Eskridge. Third place went to CEE Blue by Jennifer Zwirn, which has survived.
CEE Blue, below, paired with a regular just-doing-my-job hydrant
The remaining hydrants are still on the street, observed on my walk, although some have lost a bit of luster along the way.
This is Athens, Georgia, remember… so don’t be surprised by an occasional bulldog incursion among the hydrants. After all… dogs and hydrants, right?
The cloudy image on this one called for a zoom in on its other side…
One of the most elaborate was one of the hardest to photograph: It was behind a construction barrier and surrounded by workers repairing the street. They were kind enough to shift a barrier slightly to give me a shot.
Here’s a hydrant that may have had a rough night, perhaps celebrating a Bulldog victory (or mourning a loss) and a more cheerful one.
And another bulldog…
And a last quartet or so of hydrants…
Leaving us with a last hydrant, and a slogan that’s surely true!
That’s the kind of walk I like to take! Thanks for sharing these with us.