I thought this was cool: as a part of the interminable Central Subway construction, they have re-paved the intersection of 4th and Bryant, but that was more complicated than usual, because there's a
cistern there. It's 75,000 gallons, built in 1908, and even though it's
probably concrete rather than brick by now, it is still traditional for them to be marked with a ring of bricks. That meant framing it out with two different circular molds and two or more concrete pours over a couple of days.
You see a lot of sloppy road-work in this town, but not when it comes to pouring curbs and bulb-outs. That's when they do the work to get their cosines and Béziers right.
On the other hand, the pour for the new curb you can see across the street has been half-done for so long that grass has begun to grow in the exposed dirt.
Cameo by gas station ice cream cone.
If you wander through 'older' department stores (if any exist in your vicinity), have a gaze at the tile work in the 'aisles'. Here in Vancouver, this was all done 50 (or more) years ago by Italian craftsmen. The repairs are usually inept, because the guys who knew what they were doing are long gone.
btw - i was in your fine city the other day and was delighted to see a brick circle in the road at the corner of 5th and Bloxome. as well I noted the strata of colored fire-hydrants as i hoofed my way to the hotel atop nob hill. fantastic!