Is it an art piece? Is it a political statement? Is its existence purely practical? One thing is for sure- King Cone aka Mega Cone has set New Orleans social media abuzz, in the past week.
Whats King Cone? An 8-foot-tall, bright orange and white, homemade traffic cone that materialized at the corner of Washington Avenue and Constance Street in late March. The cone was placed in a large pothole, in the street, where New Orleans Sewerage and Water Board seems to be doing road work- the cone was surrounded by barrels marked with S&WB.
However, journalist Doug MacCash contacted Sewerage and Water Board Director of Communications, who claimed that no official work was being done at the site. The mystery deepens- much like the pothole in which King Cone sits.
On Twitter and Reddit, many speculated where the cone could have come from and who installed it. Most have concluded that the cone was erected by an artist with a sense of humor. Additions were made to King Cone as it sat stoically at its post- someone tagged it with spray paint and someone else added a mini-cone hat, which only added to the curiosity of its origin.
However, on April 1st, the cone disappeared as mysteriously as it materialized. A Reddit user posted video of the cone being removed (well stop short of saying stolen) from its home at Washington and Constance. Where the cone was taken is anyones guess, although one would think that hiding an 8-foot-tall street cone would be a difficult task.
Just when we thought the saga of the cone was over, there was a new twist. On Easter Sunday morning, a new cone appeared, this time a white cone with wings, in an obvious nod to the resurrection. Local shop, Dirty Coast, posted photos of the new, albeit, smaller cone that came complete with a tablet that read that the cone is risen. The tablet also contained links to Adopt a Catch Basin, The Front Yard Initiative and Water Wise NOLA- organizations that encourage storm water management and reducing subsidence- two major causes of potholes.
The tablet also noted that they dont know who put the original cone up, but were pretty mad about it being taken.
Whether or not this is the end of the King Cone saga remains to be seen. Maybe King Cone will be coming to a pothole near you- be sure to keep an eye out.
