A gigantic map of all the cool plaques in the world. A project of 99% Invisible.

Alvord Lake Bridge

Tiny plaque above the suspicious fellow reads, “National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark, Alvord Lake Bridge, ASCE 1970.” Plaque erected by the American Society of Civil Engineers, founded 1852.

Alvord Lake Bridge was designed by Ernest Ransome, the “father of modern rebar.” It was built in 1889 and it’s one of the oldest existing structures to use metal reinforcement bar embedded in concrete.

Nearby Plaques On Google Maps