Why are some brick buildings decorated with metal stars ? In historic brick construction, the end of the floor joist rests on a ledge only inches wide. Over time, gravity and the weight of the building cause the walls to bow outwards. This, in turn, causes the joists to slip off their ledges. To prevent this, a tie rod is laid from one end of the building to the other, drilled into either end. These rods are secured by nuts and washers. Because these would be visible from the outside, many older buildings have decorative “washers.” The star is a common example.
If you look closely, you will see the nut in the center of the star and notice that the distribution of the “stars” corresponds to the level of the floors. There are dozens of stars on buildings throughout C-ville. My guess, however, is that some buildings in C-ville do not have a structural need for this, but rather install them as a decorative element to emphasize their historicity. Can you locate this star’s building near the downtown mall?