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December 1940. Columbus, Georgia. "Water trough and Y.M.C.A. welcome sign in square in center of town." A cast-iron horse-watering fountain with an attachment for dogs, squirrels, etc. Medium format acetate negative by Marion Post Wolcott. View full size.
I believe that's the name for items like this, including carriage steps, hitching posts, pissoirs, and the like.
Not much of this sort of thing is seen anymore. Even street lights look drably utilitarian, however much more efficient for illumination than the old cast iron items they may be.
The casting work is pretty, too bad the horses/dogs/squirrels would not appreciate it.
Some dogs would doubtless use it to relieve themselves also, so it's dual-purpose. Not our dog, though. She's a lady and would choose the grass to the left.
This appears to be the median along Broadway, pointing down 11th Street to the old Armed Services YMCA. Columbus had separate YMCA's due to the large number of soldiers from Fort Benning who took the bus into downtown Columbus each weekend.
The building and its façade is still there, (below), although it's now home to a barber shop.
Any of you Georgians know for sure? I found photos of a similar one in Columbus, but it wasn't quite the same, and it was in a different place. Nevertheless, it's a beautiful piece of cast-iron work.
The small building across the street is a bit different (possibly remodeled), but the corner looks similar, and there's a YMCA down the street. There's also a similar lamp still there in front of the buildings in about the right spot.
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