Hamilton moves to give heritage protection to 2 manhole covers in place since 1859

For 158 years, Hamilton's oldest manhole cover has sat here, inconspicuous, near the busy intersection of James North and Mulberry Street.

When it was first placed here, Canada wasn't a country yet. Women wore domed skirts and cape-like jackets. Steam locomotives chugged in and out of town on Hamilton's new fully functioning railway.

These days, no one notices this metal disc from 1859, which covers part of the mouth of a laneway like a large, round waffle. People walk over it without looking. It's an antique so understatedthat it's literally underfoot.

Chelsey Tyers, a city cultural heritage planner, hopes to change that. In February, she'll present a bold proposal designating this manhole cover, and a similar one on Robert Street, as heritage properties.

Manhole covers don't usually make it onto the heritage list, Tyers said. But most of them don't last that long either.

"Most of our manhole covers have been replaced over time," Tyers said. "These are in their original location."

The Hamilton Museum of Steam and Technology first alerted her to the Robert Street cover, and she was intrigued.

The date 1859 is significant, she said. That's when the Hamilton Waterworks system was completed, built to serve what was then a town of 7,000 people.

She learned from public works staff that there was a second original manhole cover too, near Mulberry and James Street North.

The covers, which likely weren't made locally, haven't been lifted in years, she said. It may even be several decades.

Lifting them would be a strenuous task, she said. The city estimates the Mulberry Street one weighs between 250 and 300 pounds (115 to 135 kilograms).

Tyers will submit a report to the city's municipal heritage committee in early 2017. From there, it eventually goes to city council for a vote. If approved, the covers will be added to a list of properties with heritage value.

There's no point going through the larger, more formal provincial designation process, Tyers said. The city owns the covers,they're on city road allowancesand the city doesn't plan to move them.

Adding them to the list, she said, will just prevent them from being moved without consulting the heritage committee.

Jason Farr, Ward 2 councillor, said he first noticed them through a resident who is a manhole cover enthusiast.

And it's apparently not a unique interest.

Since 1979, Bobbi Mastrangelo of Poinciana, Fla., has made works of art from replica manhole covers. Her "Grate Works" range from paintings to large sculptures.

Mastrangelo says there are groups and galleries all over the internet geared to sharing photos of manhole covers.

Coversdating back as old as Hamilton's tend to be functional, she said, and not much to look at. But more modern covers give a city identity, she said. In Japan, there's even a manhole cover association.

"I've had a fascinating time understanding how they can make a city beautiful."