From 50 yards away, this looks like a cannon. That was my impression every time I drove by. It always seemed odd that a cannon would be in Old Fourth Ward Park, because I never read of it being a battlefield. But I went with my impression and decided to take a shot of it on the way to the rear of the park. Once I got close enough to see that it wasn’t a cannon, I was puzzled, then confused at what it might be–a pump perhaps? It’s an interesting structure, but my heart was set on it being a cannon.
To my untrained eye, it looks like a steam engine with ball regulators. (From whence the expression “balls to the wall” comes)
Thanks for the comment. I have no idea what a ball regulator is… time to do some research.