Drained Reflections

As someone else said, we walk by drain/manhole covers every day and don't really see them. Now they are jumping out at me everywhere!

It's really good to see the tradition of ornate manhole covers continues - a bit unexpected in this age when cost cutting is an excuse to rid public spaces of any ornamentation.

I don't know if the designs have any function (and therefore why they've survived) beyond an obvious one of identification - though if that's the sole reason it's surprising that the designs are embossed rather than just flat (though many are).