Look Up! Two Meeting

Earthquake rods are long pieces of iron several inches in diameter that are inserted through the walls of buildings to reinforce them. 

Often called “earthquake bolts,” these iron reinforcement rods commonly were incorporated into buildings in Charleston and elsewhere before the great earthquake. Their initial purpose, however, usually was to safeguard against gales and hurricanes rather than to protect from the rending and wrenching of earthquakes.

Owners who objected to seeing unadorned rod ends on the exteriors of their buildings  capped them with cast-iron decorations depicting such objects as stars, concentric circles,  lion heads,  diamonds, s’s, v’s, x’s, and crosses.

And you guessed it, they are a favorite object that I like to capture.