From Merriam-Webster online: standpipe
Pronunciation:
\ˈstan(d)-ˌpīp\
Function:
noun
Date:
circa 1850
: a high vertical pipe or reservoir that is used to secure a uniform pressure in a water-supply system
I wonder why I don't remember noticing any of these fire fighting devices--as well as the other styles I've seen and photographed in Portland--in the cities where I've lived as an adult: Jackson, Mississippi, Kansas City, Missouri and Kansas, Houston, Texas. Just now, sitting in our 4th floor apartment with the windows open, a cool breeze blowing across the room in July, for Pete's sake, I've decided I know the answer. I never really walked around in those cities like I do here because the weather often was too hot and humid for me to want to be outside. Or it could be sheets of rain, blowing in the wind, so I didn't want to be outside.
I like being outside in Portland, walking. So I notice more. And I carry my Nikon D50 with me most all of the time, ready to take photos of whatever strikes my fancy. Then I get to download the photos and find other neat things I didn't see in the first place, like this parking garage reflected in the granite.
Ain't life grand?
