[FORUM] What has surprised you about your physical community?

[rfmcdonald]

I'd like to thank people--creases on Livejournal and Jerry via Facebook particularly, also everyone over at toronto--for helping me identify the mysterious structures featuring in today's [PHOTO] posting as being parts of aritst Noel Harding's 1998 "Elevated Wetlands" project.

Noel Harding’s art work The Elevated Wetlands is a “functioning sculpture” that creates a wetland environment within six giant polystyrene “animal-like” plastic containers located next to the Don River in Taylor Creek Park. The sculpture uses waste plastic as a soil substitute to mechanically filter water from the polluted Don River. Plants and trees that are commonly found in wetlands and have the innate capability of biologically removing pollutants from the environment have also been integrated into the sculpture.

Live, learn.

What surprises have you discovered about your physical environment, in your city or your neighbourhood? Are there mysterious constructions with purposes you've divined only later? Did you make mistakes, thinking a building served one purpose when it served another entirely ("That's not a church, it's a community centre!")