urban Hieroglyphics

underground architecture, unseen landscapes.
No one ever thinks about whats down there let alone the amount of stuff downthere.
What would Superman see if he were to peer down into this labyrinth? I think I got a sense of this subterranean vastness Sunday morning following these marks. I have no idea what they mean, I can only guess, but a sense of where they lead to can be deciphered, scratching the surface of the intents of the markers at least.

utility graffiti
utility graffiti
utility graffiti
utility graffiti
utility graffiti
utility graffiti
utility graffiti
This is my favorite, they remind me of crop circles,landing directions for an alien invasion.
utility graffiti
Ten manhole covers and four more just out of the picture. Theres alot of stuff going on under there.
utility graffiti[where: 45202]best place to learn how to live downtown cincinnati ohio the ethos of Cincinnati
8 comments

8 comments:

  1. why in the world would they require so many access point in one intersection? 14 manholes? wow!

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  2. You're real close to the downtown switching station bob, so I'd bet the 14 man holes have something to do with that.

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  3. Looks like TIE fighters in mid-battle.

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  4. Boy I sure am glad I'm not digging there. I used to operate heavy equipment and working in urban areas were no fun because of the all the old and current utilities. For your reference:
    Red=electric
    Orange=communications
    Yellow=gas
    Green=sewer
    Blue=water
    White=planned excavation
    Pink=survey markings

    The blue solid lines on your pictures seem like guide lines for saw cutting so that workers can excavate the earth under the street.

    Out of the 10 manhole covers in the picture it looks like 4 are sewers, 2 are telephone, 1 is water, and the others I can't make out but at least 2 of them are either telephone or electric. The one furthest away in the picture I can't make out at all.

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  5. Looks like a mess and I'm glad I don't have to dig there. I used to be a heavy equipment operator and working in urban areas was always rough because of the amount of old and current utilities. For your future reference:
    Red= electric
    Yellow= gas
    Orange= communications
    Green= sewer
    Blue= water
    Pink= survey markings
    White= planned excavation

    The blue lines look like markings for saw cutting so the road can be removed and the ground underneath can be excavated.

    Out of the 10 manholes, 4 are sewer, 2 are telephone, and 1 is a water valve. Of the other three I know two of them are either electric or telephone(can't see them clear enough), and the furthest one is too small to make out.

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  6. thanks man, thats pretty awesome

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  7. hey BBrown!, Is the color coding universal or just Cincinnati?
    It took me a week to figure out
    p|o
    --
    l|e

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  8. It's nice to see I'm not the only one that likes this stuff! I've always been fascinated by street markings in cities--not just fresh ones like these, but by the layers of fading communications you sometimes find. Often they are not just interesting but quite beautiful. Found Art. I have a whole collection of this stuff on my blog, too.

    http://colintalcroft.blogspot.com/search/label/Found%20Art

    Thanks for sharing.

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