100 years later the fire hydrant gets first redesign.

Home design100 years later the fire hydrant gets first redesign.

100 years later the fire hydrant gets first redesign.

Jun 26, 2014 | design, lifestyle, new |

Fire hydrants have provided de facto city sprinklers for kids in city neighborhoods for generation. But water pressure for fire fighting and tap pressure can suffer if too many well meaning citizens open hydrants in their neighborhoods. That’s why the Spartan hydrant was invented.

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The Sigelock Spartan looks like the water hydrant of the future. Its practical advantage is that it cannot be opened except with a special wrench and therefore not by an individual on the street.

The Spartan has been installed in the town of Long Beach Island, near New York. The town folk seem to like it—but what do the dogs say?

about phil patton

about Phil Patton

Phil Patton is a contributing editor at Departures and Esquire magazines, a contributing writer at Wired and an automotive design writer for The New York Times. He was a regular contributor to The New York Times House and Home section and, in 1998, originated the “Public Eye” column. He has written many books including: Made in USA: The Secret History of the Things That Made America (Grove-Weidenfeld, 1992), which was named a New York Times notable book of the year; Bug: The Strange Mutations of the World's Most Famous Automobile (Simon & Schuster, 2002); Michael Graves Designs: The Art of the Everyday Object (Melcher, 2004); and Dreamland: Travels Inside the Secret World of Roswell and Area 51 (Villard, 1998). He has also written for Art in America, ARTnews, Connoisseur, Geo, Harper’s Bazaar, Men’s Journal, The New Republic, New York Magazine, The New York Times Book Review, Rolling Stone, Smithsonian, Travel + Leisure, Traveler, The Village Voice and Vogue. Patton was Editorial Consultant on the Guggenheim Museum’s “Motorcycle” show in 1998 and Consulting Curator for the “Different Roads” exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in 1999. In 2000 he was consultant and contributor for “On the Job: Design and the American Office” at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C.

view all entries by Phil Patton.

100 years later the fire hydrant gets first redesign.

100 years later the fire hydrant gets first redesign.

about Phil Patton

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