If you grew up in a city, you were well aware of a few things while trying to cool off during a sweltering summer.

1. The public pool was usually jam packed (literally) and a trip to the ‘rec’ almost always meant you would run into some sort of trouble. More trouble than it was usually worth.

2. Pool hopping was an option but so few people had a pool on their property that the ones that did were on vigilant guard for neighborhood critters like us hopping fences and diving in.

3. The fire hydrant was almost always the best option. (This only applied if you could find the guy with the “plug tool”)

photo ©Frizztext

An open fire plug was so damn cool as a kid. This was before the days of  sprinkler or spray-caps that dampened the amount of water that would pump out of the friendly yet aggressive hydration beast. Getting one open was always a bit tricky but every neighborhood had a few guys that had a tool in their house that could wrench it open and let it fly. And fly it did. Were talking about 1,000 gallons a minute which is roughly the equivalent of the focused power of 400 showers gunning out of one small opening.

The idea of water conservation or lack of neighborhood water pressure never even entered into your mind when you had no place to go and heat was beating you down. Cars would get a free wash, kids would get soaked, parents would grab a handful and splash it over their faces, the old ladies would watch and smile while the sun kept heating up everyone else but us in those hot summers in the city.

I am in no way encouraging or condoning illegal activity but if you were ever curious about how to get those little plugs going, click here.

In honor of our blazing summers past and recognizing the brutal heat of this present summer I put together a collection of photos from a variety of photographers. Take note on the incredible work of Diego Cupolo and Charles Le Brigand. They were particularly successful in capturing how releasing the pressure can seriously and joyously release some pressure when things get hot in the city.

(I recommend hitting play on this video to act as a soundtrack while viewing the photos. It will be worth it)

Metro Blossom

Jason Arends

Dora Duvisac

Diego Cupolo

via

Ilona Dharjha

Charles Le Brigand

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