Day 665

Another sidewalk mystery

October 25th, 2013



I spotted this puzzling object on an unofficial walk today along Washington Avenue in Clinton Hill.


9 Comments

  1. D says:

    That stone block was used during the era of horse drawn carriages. Those riding in a horse drawn carriage would step up/down to/from the carriage to/from the block then to/from the sidewalk.

    • Matt Green says:

      That was my first thought as well, but the top of the stone is concave, which doesn’t make sense for a stepping stone. It also seems a little too tall to have been a stepping stone. Neither of those points rules out the possibility, of course, but they make me suspect it may have had some other use.

  2. It looks like it could be a former horse trough, now filled in. See the article I wrote on a number of former troughs.
    http://untappedcities.com/2012/07/10/remnants-of-when-horses-roamed-the-city/

  3. wilberfan says:

    I think it’s concave because of wear…

  4. fernando says:

    Looking at the picture, it looks that it is made of the same concrete of the sidewalk. And the sidewalk looks relatively modern (maybe a few decades old, but I don’t think old enough to be someting related to horses)
    Maybe it was the bas of something, like garbage cans or something.

  5. Bill says:

    Matt: What constitutes an “unofficial” walk? :-)

  6. Anna One says:

    Maybe…someone had a tall vehicle — earliest SUV? — and they added it to get out of vehicle. Do not understand the curve though. Someone needs to take this photo to the City department Matt, to solve mystery. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it….

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