Most of the things that make urban life livable are taken for granted and go unnoticed. Not by me. Whenever visiting a city, I like to walk around and examine its visible infrastructure. Manhole covers are often characteristic of a location, especially in the older parts of our older cities.

In the photos are two of our personalized “NORWICH” manhole covers. Some merely state the city name while others elaborate with “NORWICH SEWER.” Thus far, I have tallied 53, so we have at least that many. Counting manhole covers is like eating potato chips; it is hard to stop. Unfortunately, I do not know when they were made and placed here, but I suspect the early 1900s. Having two different types would indicate that they were purchased at two different times. There are at least five up on the high land in the north part of the city, an area which was not developed until around 1960. I suspect that these covers get switched around over time. Perhaps they were made locally.