Built in the late 1970s, this mining village housed 1,200 people at its peak and was left effectively intact for over twenty years before being sold as a whole for $5,000,000 to an entrepreneur in 2004 who has worked on bring it back to life in the decade since. He has, however, had to adjust his plans to the market along the way – his latest endeavor: to revive it to fit its original purpose once more (image above by Andrea B).

Located in northern British Columbia, Kitsault boasts a remarkable lack of decay, its infrastructure still mostly intact. It has over 100 houses and apartment buildings as well as a movie theater, hospital, shopping mall, recreation center and swimming pool.

Krishnan Suthanthiran purchased the town with visions of turning it into a rural retreat for the creative class and has already spent over $10,000,000 repairing landscapes and fixing buildings.

Still, much more work would have been required had the relocation of its previous occupants not been so hasty – they were moved almost overnight in the early 1980s, leaving almost everything intact behind them. Indeed, many of the spaces come complete with vintage furniture and decor dating back to the abandonment of the town.

The idea has evolved over time, however, as commodities markets have rebounded – this time liquid natural gas may be the key to the area’s success. In the end, Kitsault could once again become what it was to begin with: a mining town.

Somewhere between city signs and street graffiti lies a surprisingly rich and colorful language of secret messages, all hidden in plain sight on roads and sidewalks. This spray-painted slang we walk over and drive along every day is employed by infrastructure engineers, utility companies and other city workers.

Laurence Cawley of BBC News recently explored this strange world of colorful spray-painted dots, arrows, text and more, all of which denote what lies below the surface of the city.

These markings may seem rushed and crude to the casual observer, but they are essential to the protection of underground power lines, pipes and a maze of other potential subterranean hazards, as well as to the safety of those who work around them. There are no laws governing this mysterious language, simply conventions and colloquial shorthand that have evolved over time. As Cawley aptly summarizes: “Its lexicon is numbers, lines and symbols. Its grammar is most definitely colour.”

Colors are particularly critical – at least in the UK, red means electricity, blue stands for water, yellow is tied to gas, and green is used for cables (CCTV networks, television lines and fiber optics). White, meanwhile, is a kind of all-purpose color for broader communications about road and sidewalk planning. None of these are spelled out in any official manual in the UK – they are a matter of convention, and, sometimes, contention, as not all companies use the same visual dictionary.

In the United States, however, according to Smithsonian: “These ‘safety colors’–expanded to include red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, brown, grey, white, and black– have been formalized by the American Standards Institute (ANSI) as Safety Color Code Z535, which provides Munsell notation and Pantone color-matching information to help ensure consistency across mediums.”

Back in the UK, numbers and arrows take on different meanings depending on color and context. Sometimes they refer to the depth of a water pipe, or the pressure in a gas line. Infinity symbols may mark the end of beginning of a planned street, while zig-zags communicate an intended pedestrian crossing. Many of these are mapped out by third-party contractors whose sole job it is to locate and tag potential hazards below. All are biodegradable and many designed intentionally to fade over time.

If you are looking for more specifics, the BBC article goes into detail about the particular meanings of various individual marks, but keep in mind: many of these may be particular to the United Kingdom, or even just specific towns and streets. There is no Oxford English Dictionary tying them all together … at least not yet. The next time you take a walk, consider taking some notes as well and see if you can decipher the local dialects of this curious language on your own city’s streets.

Recently popularized thanks to TV’s MadMen, hoboglyphs also come to mind – a semi-secret language of unobtrusive markings used by the homeless to note opportunities and hazards in urban environments. And one has to wonder: are there other hidden communications out there used by ancient orders, intelligence agencies or other groups hiding in plain sight? (Images via BBC and Smithsonian)

Most oil storage tank farms are big, bland and boring, classic examples of form following function with the occasional company logo affixed to break up the visual monotony. Most but not all: there are a few artistically painted and decorated oil tanks that stand out from the rest due to their pleasing paint jobs rendered on a very large scale. Here are a dozen of the best.

Portland’s Maine Attraction

(images via: Portland Phoenix, PR Maine, Mainebiz and Mayo Street Arts)

When the Maine Center for Creativity launched the Art All Around public art project in the spring of 2010, they decided to think big and there are few canvasses bigger than the blank outer walls of oil storage tanks. Venezuela-born and London-based artist Jaime Gili was commissioned to kick off the project by decorating oil tanks at the Sprague Energy tank farm near the Portland International Jetport.

(image via: Boating Local)

When the plan was conceived, the question of how many tanks to paint was dependent on how much funding could be raised. “We know we’re going to do one,” stated Jean Maginnis, the Portland-based center’s founder and executive director. “We hope to do as many as three more.” In the event, a full 16 tanks ended up getting an extreme yet appealing makeover!

Store My Beer, Y’all

(image via: JJFlash229)

On a slightly smaller scale are these oil storage tanks painted to look like jumbo Budweiser and Bud Light cans located on SR 37 between Mcconnelsville and Crooksville, Ohio. At least they’re supposed to be oil tanks… what else could they hold?

Oh The Huge Manatees!

(images via: Roger4336 and The Sparky Chronicle)

Arriving and departing cruise ship passengers get the best view of the amazing manatees mural painted on a Citgo fuel storage tank adjacent to the Port of Tampa’s Garrison Channel. You can’t say it doesn’t brighten up the otherwise dreary gray overtone of this mainly industrial area.

(image via: Fifth World Art)

Dolphins and sea turtles accompany the manatees on this beautiful mural. Hopefully the tank never ruptures… considering its precarious location, the local dolphins, sea turtles and manatees would be rather less appreciative of the artwork depicting them.

Philadelphia On A Half-Tank

(images via: Paul Santoleri, LesMarCyd and LibbyRosof)

Old and busted: Venus on the half-shell. New hotness: Philadelphia on the Half-Tank! In 1999, the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program asked artist Paul Santoleri to express his vision of the city on an otherwise unremarkable oil tank located at Penrose Avenue and Platt Bridge. Santoleri’s whimsical look at a busy, lively Philadelphia occupies one side of the tank easily visible to anyone driving from the airport to downtown.

The REALLY Great Pumpkin

(images via: SkyscraperPage)

If you thought painting oil storage tanks was a recent trend, think again. The enormous jack-o’-lantern above was a regular fixture of Los Angeles’ Wilmington neighborhood from the early 1950s. Though it seems wasteful to paint an entire oil tank for just one day, things aren’t quite as they seem: the tank belonged to Union Oil whose main corporate color was orange.

(image via: eBay/237)

An 80,000-barrel oil storage tank certainly stands out in the middle of a tank farm, especially when it’s done up pumpkin-style and illuminated with spotlights. Union Oil wasn’t shy about plugging their community spirit either, as the 1962 advertising poster depicting the tank above perfectly illustrates.

(images via: USC Libraries, Yesteryear Remembered and Foxtongue)

Now owned by ConocoPhillips, the tank is ideally viewed from the 110 Harbor Freeway near Wilmington. Stop by for trick-or-treat on the 31st and you’ll actually get some treats.

Rust Never Sleeps

(image via: Kevin Raber)

Why paint oil storage tanks? They’re made of metal and spend their lifetimes outside, season in and season out without any other covering beside their paint jobs, that’s why. Getting artistic is the tank owner’s prerogative but the alternative is downright ugly – unless it’s creatively photographed, of course.

Whale Meat Again

(images via: Bimikyusin)

This fish oil tank painted up to look like a can of whale meat must have been quite a site to see… unless you’re a member of Greenpeace, that is. The 10.8m (35.4ft) tall and 8.5m (27.9ft) diameter tank was originally built in 1975 by Kinoya Ishinomaki Suisan, a seafood canning company from northeastern Japan. It received its garish paint job in 2006 when the company was looking for a way to promote its canned whale meat.

(images via: House Of Japan and Fuyuto)

The devastating Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami of March 11th, 2011 hit the town of Ishinomaki hard and the oil storage tank even harder: it was toppled and swept 300 meters (985ft) from its original location. These images are the only records remaining of the tank; it was dismantled out of consideration for the feelings of local survivors of the disaster.

Grand Old Flag City

(images via: Trustypics)

Tanks for visiting Flag City, USA, otherwise known as Findlay, Ohio. This former 19th-century oil boomtown (yes, oil, in northwestern Ohio) still displays vestiges of its petroleum infrastructure with this patriotically painted oil storage tank sitting alongside Interstate 75 showing off Findlay’s fame for flags and fuel to best advantage.

Boston Gas’s Rainbow Swash

(images via: J. H. Kostro & Associates, KatieHodge/Get It Scrapped! and Elizabeth Thomsen)

In 1971, Sister Mary Corita Kent was asked by the Boston Gas Company to paint one of the 150-foot (46 m) tall LNG storage tanks located on the Dorchester waterfront. The so-called “Rainbow Swash” tank was torn down in 1992 but by that time it had become a well-known, much loved Boston Landmark and Kent’s design was re-painted on an identical tank standing beside the old one.

(images via: Me_Ram and Aesthetic Grounds)

Although Kent, who passed away in 1986, was an acclaimed artist at the time the tank was painted (she also designed the USPS’s “LOVE” stamp), she was also an avowed anti-war activist. More than a few people stated they could see a profile of North Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh in the tank’s blue stripe though Kent never admitted any intention to do so. Interestingly, the blue slash’s “nose” was rounded slightly when new owner National Grid re-painted the tank in order to reduce any perceived similarity.

Slam Dunk!

(images via: Silly America and Roadside America)

You can’t say America’s oil and gas refiners aren’t good sports, not when one of their spherical oil tanks has been painted in an athletics motif for 40 years! The tank located at the Marathon Oil refinery alongside Interstate 75 in south Detroit started off as a giant baseball to celebrate the success of the MLB Detroit Tigers. In 2004 it changed its look to honor the NBA Detroit Pistons on one side and the WNBA Detroit Shock on the other.

Oil Hail The King

(images via: Philadelphia Citypaper and Google Maps)

Petty’s Island is located in the middle of Delaware River between between Pennsylvania and New Jersey, though it’s officially part of the latter. The 400-acre island also happens to be owned by the Citgo Petroleum Corporation, a subsidiary of Petróleos de Venezuela S.A., which happens to be owned by Hugo Chavez. What could possibly go wrong?

(image via: Back To Philaplace)

In April of 2009, Chavez blew a chance to be even more of a thorn in the American government’s side when he generously donated Petty’s Island to New Jersey provided it be used only “for environmental developments.” Amidst the wrangling between developers and environmentalists, New York-based guerilla artist Duke Riley scaled one of the Citgo fuel storage tanks and painted a mural of little-known legend Ralston Laird, who moved to the island in 1851 as a paid land manager. in his nearly 60 years on the island, Laird raised 10 children, proclaimed himself its King, and seems to have achieved fame as sort of an east coast Emperor Norton. As for Riley’s tank-top mural, it’s visible from space and made it onto Google Maps.

Send In The Tanks

(images via: Richard Messenger)

These two oil storage tanks displaying the visages of Syria’s late leader Hafez Assad and his two sons stand silently in the desert about 100km (60 miles) from the Iraqi border. How long they stand there is anyone’s guess, being that current president of Syria Bashar Al-Assad can be said to have a target on his back. These tanks present a pair of targets that would be very hard for anyone to miss.

(image via: Saatchi Online)

One can debate the pros and cons of artistically painting oil storage tanks without any resolution being achieved – as always, art is subjective and what’s beheld to be beautiful is purely in the eye of the beholder. As such, even functional tank painting has the power to please when photographically interpreted by someone skilled with a lens and light meter. Tanks… you’re welcome.

Hank Hill might look askance at any artistic affectation of “propane and propane accessories” but give the big fella his due: propane is America’s grilling gas of choice. These days propane gas tanks have found a place in urban, suburban and rural settings with some owners choosing to beautify them so they’ll fit in even better.

Tankheads

(images via: Instructables and That’s Nerdalicious)

Ever notice how those dime a dozen 20lb portable propane tanks look sorta like LEGO heads? Will painting one yellow and adding minimalist facial features help? Yes and yes – and the gang at Instructables shows you exactly how to get ahead, so to speak, in the LEGO head lookalike propane tank game.

Make Mine Melon

(images via: Junk Market Style)

Watermelons give you gas, who knew? All it takes is a little imagination (plus a couple of old coat hangers and some wooden beads) and that rusty old propane tank will be looking as cool as a cucumber… or, well, some other large green edible.

Darwin’s Designs

(images via: Propane.pro and Darwin Design)

Is T.J. Darwin really “The Propane Picasso”? Undoubtedly the late Spanish artist would be impressed by the colorful and elaborate tableaux Darwin displays on water and propane tanks. The 46-year-old Darwin finds plenty of tanks to practice on in propane-dependent Idyllwild, CA, and a previous stint in the art department at FAO Schwartz allowed him to hone his illustrating skills. “I like the three-dimensional surface,” stated Darwin to a reporter from the local Press-Enterprise newspaper. “It tells a story.” Even more so once Darwin finishes with it.

Tank in Sheep’s Clothing

(images via: Zan’s Art)

Who says painted propane tanks have to be wild & wooly when merely wooly is more than enough? Alexandra Orton whipped up “Fluffy” for the All the King’s Horses Children’s Ranch in Benson, AZ.

Rocky Mountain High

(image via: Sally Cruikshank)

Artist Sally Cruikshank isn’t exactly a jet-setter but her hand-painted propane tank sure is and it’s anything but “plane”. Better keep that tank filled with propane and not Red Bull – all it needs is wings and it’s gone, man.

Grillin’ & Grinnin’

(images via: GrabCAD)

The talented folks at GrabCAD show that the art of propane tank decoration need not be a low-tech endeavor. According to Kastle at GrabCAD, the basic concept was downloaded from 3dcontentcentral and modified for use in a personal project. Sure hope this terrific tank sees the light of day someday!

Hotter Than Halloween

(image via: Instructables)

The creative crew from Instructables is at it again, this time transforming a clapped out but still serviceable propane tank into the hottest jack-o-lantern this side of Halloweentown. Word to the wise: this is one “pumpkin” you’ll NOT want to light up with a lit candle.

Tailgater Aid

(images via: Tailgating Ideas)

You gotta support the team and where face-painting leaves off, propane tank painting picks up… or maybe that should be, kick’s off. Tailgating Ideas’ reader Mike from Severn, Maryland, shared his tank decorating technique and as you might guess, it takes both time and talent. Especially the former, as applying the pigskin-like dimples to the tank took hours using the blunt end of a toothpick.

Highway Tankers

(images via: OldTrailer.com)

If you’re determined to restore a 1956 Shasta “canned ham” style trailer the right way, then leaving out the twin propane tanks is not an option. Don’t these look great all decked out in Mint Green & White divided by a staggered silver stripe?

We All Live In A…

(images via: Forever Decorating)

Don’t tell Mitt Romney but propane-powered submarines went out with horses and bayonets. There’s one cheerfully painted holdover, however, deep in the heart of Texas and as pretty as a yellow rose. A little Plaid acrylic paint topped with Valspar outdoor sealer ensures this sweet sub will sail on through any type of weather.

Flames On!

(images via: crb1177 and ChuckBauman.com)

Chuck Bauman’s famed for his flames and deservedly so – the dude’s a master of the art of Realistic Flames Airbrushing! Some might say painting a propane tank with realistic flames is just asking for trouble but we disagree: it’s more like asking for admiring comments, and getting them.

Got Propane?

(images via: LJWorld and Coal Creek Farm)

If your cow emits propane instead of methane, you just might be drawing a combustible concoction from a moo-tifully modified storage tank. If not, you’ve just plugged the grill fueling hose into a very unhappy bull.

Bigger Bird

(images via: Plaid Red)

It’s a bird, it’s a tank, it’s a… tank painted up to look like a bird. Won’t be the first time someone’s had to gas up the T-bird but anyway, this tank was originally supposed to be a rooster but the artist’s unchecked creativity soon led her off the beaten track into a very different place. Not that we’re complaining, the end result looks anything but cheep.

If You Pilled It, They Will Come

(images via: You Tour Like a Girl and Lomojunkie71)

Lessee now, propane or Prozac? You’re gonna need a whole lot of the latter if you just filled your 500-gallon propane tank and the grill decides to self-destruct. Luckily there’s a solution – sitting on somebody’s lawn in Milan (some say Red Hook), New York is the world’s biggest Prozac pill. You might think you’ll need a BIG glass of water to get that sucker down but good news everyone… it’s a suppository.

King Of The Hills

(image via: The Feral Irishman)

You don’t have to love propane (and propane accessories) as much as Strickland Propane’s Hank Hill but a little TLC can go a long way towards beautifying your yard. Propane tanks whether portable or permanent are easily visible so make sure they’re visually appealing – with a little imagination and some elbow grease who knows how your tank or tanks will end up?

Though Japan’s troubled nuclear plants have hogged the spotlight of late, atomic power only provides about 20% of the Asian nation’s energy needs. Petroleum products provide much of the rest, and the Japanese countryside is dotted with huge, spherical LNG storage tanks just crying out for a makeover. Artists have taken up the challenge, transforming otherwise bland and generic gas tanks into these bright and beautiful baubles.

Oh The Humanity!

(images via: Pink Tentacle, Nicotan.com and Tokyo Nylon Girls)

Is there anything in Japan that doesn’t sport a smiley face? The list is certainly short – and it just got shorter, thanks to the nice people at Shibata Gas. Like so many Japanese companies, Shibata Gas shows a friendly face to the public by employing a mascot, in this case “Nicotan”. That’s Nicotan’s blissful visage above, gazing out from the side of a gas storage tank in Japan’s Niigata prefecture, in the country’s northeast.

(image via: Nicotan.com)

If you feel a cute smiley face is out of place on a colossal gas storage tank, consider the alternative: the face of the above Shibata Gas executive, shown at the recent “Great Thanksgiving Nikotan Gas Exhibition.”

(images via: Nicotan.com and Materialicious)

Above top is another Nicotan gas storage tank, this one located alone in a more urban setting nuzzling up to an equally friendly Eco Station. Would a Nicotan tank appear so peaceful and reassuring if, say, there were an accidental explosion of some sort? Let’s not go there. Instead, we’ll wonder how this enormous gas tank would look covered in cozy, cuddly plush fabric.

Spheres Of The Unknown

(images via: Tokyo Area Blog, Top World Affair and Tokyo Nylon Girls)

Sometimes Japanese gas companies will decorate their storage tanks for a specific reason, usually promotion-related, but many of the decorated tanks seem to state no particular message. How to interpret the simple eyes & mouth on the mint green gas tank at above left, or the childlike tandem bicycle procession rendered in fresh primary colors?

(images via: A & M Co., Ltd. and Manisha Kundu-Nagata)

This pretty gas tank owned by Hachinohe Gas above is more focused, evoking the colors and creatures of the nearby Hachinohe Marient Museum (above, lower right). The text on the tank reads “Green Energy – Hachinohe Gas.”

Flower Power

(image via: Sdy1_17)

Here’s a rather large gas storage tank beautified by the addition of Japanese Irises encircling its midsection. One can’t argue the fact that what was once a drab, dreary industrial landscape has been enlivened by the illusion of a lush, colorful, virtual flower garden.

Melon Mania

(images via: Oniichan Desu, 3yen, Virtual Globetrotting and FC2)

Everyone loves melons, amiright? And when it comes to melons, bigger is better, agreed? If you’re with me so far, then you’re gonna love the larger than life melon that is the pride of Tomisato in Chiba prefecture east of Tokyo. Tomisato City is the second largest watermelon producing district in Japan, which explains the sweet paint job sported by a gas tank at Park No. 2 of the Tomisato Second Industrial Complex.

More Melon Mania

(images via: Fistoria, Natsuhome and Nihaonana008)

Where there’s one melon, you’ll probably find another: this one’s located in Takizawa, Iwate prefecture in northern Honshu. Takizawa’s claim to fame is that it’s the “largest village in Japan” with a population of just under 53,000 (2003). Like Tomisato, Takizawa is known for its summer watermelons and that presumably includes this enormous painted gas storage tank.

The Power Of Tradition

(image via: Sdy1_17)

Gas storage tanks can be found all over the world but someone suddenly confronted by this pair of tanks won’t have much trouble discerning where they are. Folk tales, legends and historical themes are popular subjects for gas tank art in Japan, and the above rendering of Hikari-chan and Gatto-kun on the tank at above right is a prime example.

Kickin’ The (Gas) Can

(images via: Kanshin, Nekotokenchiku and Odai)

The giant soccer ball above hails from the city of Kiryu in Gunma prefecture. The owner of the tank, Kiryu Gas, ordered the distinctive black & white paint job as a tribute to the 2002 FIFA World Cup hosted by Japan and Korea. Note the meticulous landscaping around – and even under – the huge tank. Were those twisted trees trimmed to look like bonsai, adding to the illusion of a gas storage tank as a soccer ball?

Oky Doky, Tokkikki!

(images via: Sculpture Of Time, Weblio, Happy Sunflower and Pink Tentacle)

Back to Niigata, a city that seems to host more than its fair share of decorated gas tanks – not that there’s anything wrong with that. The matching pair above feature Tokkikki, an official prefectural mascot based on the Japanese Ibis.

Does This Tank Make Me Look Fat?

(image via: Odai)

This pair of gas storage tanks can be found in Yamaguchi, in southwestern Japan on the island of Kyushu. Each tank features the chubby-cheeked countenance of an Ouchi doll, one of Yamaguchi’s traditional handicrafts.

Dazzle Tank

(images via: Tokyo Nylon Girls)

In 1997, Tokyo Gas company decided their 21-meter diameter, 5,000 cubic meter capacity gas storage tank in the city of Kofu could do with some freshening up. The result resembles the jagged “Dazzle” camouflage used on warships in the early part of the 20th century.

(image via: Odai)

Kofu’s “dazzle tank” employs contrasting yet subdued hues meant to symbolize the roof tiles and plastered stone walls of the former Maizuru Castle, where legendary warlord Takeda Shingen ruled over 400 years ago.

James, We Found Your Giant Peach

(images via: Hanabusa)

Sometimes you want to blend in, sometimes you don’t. This is a prime example of the latter. In the spring of 2009, Okayama Gas commissioned a renewal project for their gas storage tank located outside the city of Akaiwa. By July the temporary scaffolding was taken down and the result… let’s just say it looks peachy.

(images via: Kommt and Kooraku and Charchan)

Akaiwa sits smack dab in peach country, so much like Tomisato’s Big Watermelon, the Okayama Gas storage tank does double duty by advertising the area’s most important cash crop. Are you listening, Georgia?

Kirby’s Fun Park

(images via: PD Design and Dotter Dotter)

A Nintendo Kirby gas tank farm? In my prefecture? It’s more likely than you think… well, maybe not. This pink petro-paradise is merely a design study but hey, why not? If energy utilities want to soften their image, all it would take is a little imagination… and a LOT of pink paint.

Really Big Blue Marble

(image via: Savannah @ Southeast Roads)

Never mind a mine shaft gap, is anyone worried about an artistic gas storage tank gap? It’s not as if the USA isn’t trying – just take The Savannah Globe, or World Globe Gas Storage Tank as it’s sometimes called. This tank has been showing off its down-to-earth exterior since the late 1950s but the most recent renovation in the year 2000 puts it light years ahead of any other tank. The detail is amazing, approximating images beamed back from orbiting satellites. You can even see a hurricane bearing down on Savannah… uh oh.