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Artist Blue Sky's "Busted Plug Plaza," with its enormous leaning fire hydrant fountain, was officially unveiled to the city of Columbia on February 18, 2001. The fire hydrant is 39 ft. tall, a nearly five ton steel sculpture set in a concrete base.
Jesse, the artist's son, provided information to set the record straight on the big fire hydrant, larger than competitors in Beaumont, Texas (24.5 ft.) and Elm Creek, Manitoba (29.5 ft.).
Blue Sky (Warren Edward Johnson) also created the Tunnelvision mural on the Federal Land Bank Building at Taylor and Murray Sts. in 1975. You can take photos with the fire plug in the foreground and the tunnel mural in the background.
[Roadsideamerica.com Team, 07/11/2005]World's Largest Fire Hydrant:RoadsideAmerica.com Team Field Report
- Directions:
- Downtown. Either I-77 exit onto Forest Drive, which turns into Taylor St.; or I-26 to I-126, which turns into Elmwood Ave., then a quick right on Marion and five blocks south to Taylor. Center of Taylor between Bull and Marion Sts, in the AgFirst Farm Credit Bank parking lot, near Palmetto Medical Center.
- Hours:
- Removed on February 23, 2023.
- Status:
- Gone
10 minutes of fun and good photos.
[Rhino97x, 06/06/2023]Tunnelvision:RoadsideAmerica.com Team Field Report
- Address:
- 1550 Marion St., Columbia, SC
- Directions:
- Taylor and Marion Streets, just a few feet away from the Busted Plug.
- RA Rates:
- Worth a Detour
- Columbia, South Carolina - Tunnelvision
I believe it is being repainted as equipment was in front of it and it looks like portions of it started to be touched up. It was still interesting and I could see the good perspective that was done in the painting.
[Jim Book, 03/29/2023] Deceptively realistic highway tunnel entrance painted on the side of a building in 1975.
Roadsideamerica.com Report...
This mural was amazing. It is located right behind the World's Largest Fire Hydrant, which doubled my excitement. It was so beautiful from a distance. There is a sunset in the mural, and the sun actually GLOWED. We visited it at night, so the sun was really shining. I have heard rumors that birds actually fly into the mural often, and I can believe it. It is very realistic looking.
[Danielle, 01/16/2011]
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Apparent safety concerns has made this less convincing, with a narrow lawn median and painted lane lines in the parking lot.