A Funkie Fire Hydrant: Honoring the Fallen

The Beverly-Mt. Greenwood area has a lot of things one wouldn’t expect to see in Chicago, including a working farm (the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences), a castle (the Beverly Unitarian Church) and a giant fire hydrant.

Yes, that’s right, a giant fire hydrant.

From Sept. 11 to Nov. 11, Funkie Fashions is displaying a five-foot-tall fiberglass replica in honor of Chicago’s fallen firefighters. It is one of 101 Great Chicago Fire Hydrants, part of a project designed to raise money for the 100 Club, a charity that supports the families of firefighters and police officers who are lost in the line of duty.

Having the hydrant at the store also “raises awareness about the risks of being a fireman and police officer,” said John Funk, co-owner of Funkie Fashions and a 16-year veteran of the Chicago Fire Department.

The hydrant, along with the others scattered across the city as a public art installation, will be auctioned off in early December with all proceeds going to the 100 Club.

“Ninety-five percent of the hydrants are downtown. We wanted to bring something to the neighborhood, in the presence of the people who are what it’s about,” Funk said, citing the high levels of Chicago police officers and firefighters that live in the neighborhood.

The reception of Funkie Fashions’ neighbors has been positive, co-owner Caley Funk said. She said about seven to ten people a day have been stopping by to see it. “It’s very humbling,” she noted.

The Funks opted not to have the hydrant decorated as an advertisement of their store, unlike other sponsors of hydrants. “That kind of takes away from what it’s about,” John Funk said. “This [money that will be raised from auctioning the hydrant] benefits women, children, widows.”

They turned to Charles Iglinski of Firehouse Tattoos—and a fellow Chicago firefighter for 16 years as well—to design the hydrant as a memorial to the fallen firefighters.

“We’ve lost so many friends on the job lately,” Iglinski said. “I wanted it to be something people could go to [if they’ve lost a relative in the line of duty] and take a picture of their name.”

He said he envisioned it as similar to the Vietnam War Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C. “It’s a celebration of life as well as in memory of the firefighters.”

The Funks are optimistic that because of the hydrant’s memorial design, it will be a top seller at the 100 Club’s auction. Their dream is for the hydrant to become a permanent fixture in the community, at a restaurant or park or other public place for people to enjoy it.

For now, the fire hydrant is visible in front of Funkie Fashions, 3522 W. 111th St. It will be there until mid-November.