'City of Chicago' iron tree grates pop up around Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA (WTXF) - Some iron grates are a long way from home. FOX 29's Chris O'Connell did some investigating.

Thousands of pedestrians walk by them and over them every day--cast iron grates to protect trees growing on city sidewalks. You may not even notice them, but people on social media sure did. Take a closer look at what was being used on the streets of Philadelphia. We found 8 tree grates along the 1700 block of Market Street with the words 'City of Chicago' emblazoned on the front. Were they stolen? Misplaced?

To find out what was up FOX 29's Chris O'Connell got on the phone with the city. They tell him it's the property owners at 1700 Market Street who own and installed the grates. But how did the the iron grates that go for about 1,300 bucks a pop get here? It's anyones guess.

We went inside 1700 Market to talk to the property manager who couldn't comment. An hour after we started asking questions, maintenance crews came out to remove all of the tree grates from the block.

And late Wednesday, a spokesperson for 1700 Market finally gave us an answer. The company who makes the iron grates--made a mistake and shipped the wrong ones months ago. It wasn't until now that anyone noticed.