Saw a brick arch at an old train station in Ohio that caught my eye

I was passing through the Cleveland Union Terminal last week and noticed this brick arch they had over a doorway. The way the bricks were laid looked like they were holding the whole thing up without any steel. I stopped and stared at it for a good 10 minutes. Has anyone here ever worked on a structure that old and can tell me how they kept those arches solid for over 80 years?

3 comments

3 Comments

troyknight19d ago

You ever notice how those old brick arches almost look like they're breathing? I was at a similar spot in Pittsburgh a few years back, an old warehouse that had been converted into lofts. The archway there had these tiny little bricks, almost like they were made for a dollhouse or something. The guy showing me around said they didn't use any mortar in between some of those bricks, just friction and gravity doing all the work. It kind of blew my mind because you think of old buildings as being super weak, but the way they stacked those bricks is basically a physics lesson. I wonder if the folks who built that station ever thought someone would be staring at their work 80 years later.

violag8019d ago

That friction and gravity thing is wild, never knew they did that with bricks. Makes you wonder how much we overcomplicate stuff now with all this fancy engineering and materials. Those old builders had it figured out with pure logic and muscle. Bet the people who made that station never imagined itd still be standing let alone be a tourist spot. Kinda humbling if you ask me.

nelson.wren19d agoTop Commenter

Yeah @violag80, next thing you know they'll be telling us they built entire cathedrals without a single spirit level or YouTube tutorial. Truly we peaked as a species when we figured out stacking rocks real careful like.