The downspout was the gutter pipe's formal name. A vertical tube that carried the rain from the gutter to the ground. Tin or copper or galvanized steel with an elbow at the bottom that kicked the water away from the foundation. The downspout was the building's plumbing for the sky. The sky sent the water down and the downspout told it where to go.

The copper downspout turned green. That was the patina. The copper started bright as a new penny and the weather turned it green and the green was proof that the building had been standing long enough for the copper to change its mind about what color it wanted to be. A green downspout on a brownstone was the building's medal for surviving. The aluminum downspout does not change. The aluminum downspout looks the same the day it goes up as the day it falls down.

The downspout froze in winter. Water in the pipe froze and the ice expanded and the pipe split and when the thaw came the water ran out the split and down the wall instead of down the pipe. A split downspout was the building's nosebleed. The super wrapped the split with tin and wire and the patch held until the next freeze. The building and the winter had a running argument about who owned the water.

You heard the downspout. Rain in a metal pipe three stories tall was the building playing percussion. Light rain was a tapping. Heavy rain was a drumroll. Hail was a snare solo. The downspout was the weather report you heard through the wall. You lay in bed and the downspout told you whether to bring an umbrella. The PVC downspout is quiet. You have to check your phone to know if it is raining. That is not progress.

They disconnected the downspout from the sewer. The city said rain water should go into the ground not into the pipe. The downspout empties onto a splash block now. A concrete pad. The water hits the pad and goes into the dirt and the dirt drinks it. The building used to send the rain to the river. Now the building sends the rain to the yard. The water does not care. The water goes where you point it.

See also: Gutter Pipe, Rain Gutter