February 7, 1010I love these magical glass squares in the sidewalk, as chipped and mangled as they are. These are in downtown Astoria. I grew up in a small town in Southern California where there were none, and I probably saw my first in Los Angeles while visiting my grandmother. I don't know why I always liked them so much. It may be the lovely shade of gray-purple glass, or maybe the hint that they connect to a hidden world under the sidewalk. Anyway, Astoria has a few of these along Commercial Street and I hope they never disappear, even though they are obviously crumbling with age, traffic, and the elements.
7 comments:
yeah they are neat.I hope one day you can go down below in one of the basements and look up
They are wonderful! Makes walking even more fun!
Most of these glass squares found on sidewalks were to provide light for an "underground" part of a city. They are old enough to be made of "amethyst" glass (when lead was no longer used in glass, but manganese was added, causing the purpling effect). I have always found these fascinating, and wondered what was underneath!
I also like these! Your title is perfect!
I like them, too. Wonder what's down there in the dark?
There are still some of these here and there in Livorno. The strangest thing when you see this from below are the people walking above.
I don't know if I have ever seen them.
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