Manhole Cover Art Debuts on Wall Street A historic building was returned to Wall Street last month, but you’ll have to look down at your feet to find it. On Sept. 19, Con Edison workers installed a custom-designed manhole cover on the sidewalk between 30 Wall Street and Federal Hall to commemorate the Assay Office, which stood at 30 Wall Street from 1823 to 1915.   The cover was designed by New York artist Michele Brody as part of her public art project, “Re-Covering the Cityscape.” Brody has designed manhole covers to commemorate, 10 Downtown buildings and sites that have been lost to history. The Wall Street cover is the first to be installed. “These are demarcations of historical elements of the city, but combined with utilitarian objects that are part of the street furniture,” said Brody, who has worked on her project, which is supported by the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council and Con Edison, for four years. “I hope people will not only look at my covers, but start to appreciate manhole covers in general, which can be so unique and interesting,” she said. The Assay Office served as the New York branch for the Bank of the United States and later became the site where the government refined gold and silver. Its facade, a gem of early Federal architecture, was re-erected in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. A dedication ceremony for the cover will take place on Oct. 17 at 4:30 p.m., and a life-size image of the Assay Office will be projected onto 30 Wall Street’s facade on Oct. 16–18 from 4 to 9 p.m. For additional information on Brody’s project, go to www.recoveringthecityscape.com.