Mission Creep Fire Hydrant
Morris Cove, Connecticut
Two years after 9/11, sculptor David Boyajin decided that Connecticut needed a firefighter tribute that wasn't another somber memorial. So he created "Hero," which he described in his proposal as "a friendly yet courageous partisan of the community -- half mascot, half leader" that would "earn a smile of pride." It's a multitasking fire hydrant with wheels, and the water bursting from its sides has transformed -- in the best sci-fi movie tradition -- into tubular arms (or possibly fire hoses), one holding a hook, the other carrying a ladder.
Like the hydrant it celebrates, the fireplug part of Hero was made by Boyajin out of cast iron.