Manhole covers are usually not thought of as "cool" or a "work of art" but the ones I found in Kalamazoo's transportation center are very cool. 

We never really think about the manhole covers we walk or drive over on a daily basis. Most are plain, boring and ugly. I spotted this one at the Kalamazoo Transit center. It not only struck me as a cool lid with the train on it. It also made me wonder about the magic it must hold. "Snow Melt", what is this? It cant be a place for the melting snow, aka water, to go. There are no holes for it to run into. It is definitely not a place for storing salt to spread on the snow. So what wizardry does this lid hide? Well, it turns out it is pretty close to magic. Under this lid is a series of valves attached to water lines, very much like a sprinkler system for your lawn. Instead of spraying water, they carry a heated water/antifreeze mix under all the sidewalks at the transportation center to keep he ice and snow melted off to prevent slip and fall accidents as well as almost completely eliminating the need to shovel or plow snow. Besides, I thought it looked really cool.

BONUS VIDEO: Exploring Michigan's Historic Felt Mansion

 

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