Michelin Man Hydrant - Ardmore, OK
N 34° 10.419 W 097° 07.949
14S E 672121 N 3782986
The Michelin Man is the subject of a newly-repainted fire hydrant in front of the First Bank & Trust Co. at 301 W Main St, Ardmore, OK.
Waymark Code: WM12ZEK
Location: Oklahoma, United States
Date Posted: 08/13/2020
Views: 0
Not long ago, this was an all red hydrant. In 2019,
Create Ardmore and the Ardmore Fire Department worked together on a beautification effort in which fire hydrants in the downtown Cultural Arts District -- a comparatively small number compared to the over 1600 hydrants that the Ardmore FD has to maintain throughout the area! -- would be given the glamour treatment. As the Ardmore FD requires that the hydrants have a specific color cap -- red, orange, green or blue -- to indicate how much water pressure each tank has behind it, they did the priming work, leaving local volunteers to use their imaginations and minimal guidelines in the effort.
Michelin has a tire plant here in Ardmore, which explains why their mascot was chosen as the subject for one of these repainted hydrants. It looks like the artist may have goofed, though, because white isn't appropriate for the color coding system. The Michelin Man's grinning face is on the section of the bonnet facing Main St, but it looks like some paint was removed to reveal green and some of the original red. He looks fine otherwise, holding a tire identified as "225/50R17". The back of the hydrant is primarily blue, with some of the breaker ring painted gray as the road that the Michelin Man drives in his yellow car, waving his arm. There's a bit of red around the breaker ring, and something has happened to the Michelin Man's eyes!