Many brick or masonry buildings built prior to the 20th century have iron stars or other geometric shapes on the outside walls. Each device, often called an "anchor plate," is actually a giant washer at the end of a rod which runs through the building and is fastened by another similar plate on the outside wall of the opposite side of the structure. This rod braces the building and helps prevent it from shifting or collapsing. These anchoring systems are especially common in towns susceptible to hurricanes or earthquakes, such as Charleston, South Carolina or San Francisco. In many cases, the systems were installed after a natural disaster struck in order to prevent further movement of an already damaged structure.
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| By GrammarFascist (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons |
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