Ok, I’ve been watching the World Series and every time the camera shows the outfield, I can’t help but wonder about this. First, take a look at this photo .
Look at the trusswork that forms a column (between the sign on the left and the train on the right). That truss appears to actually support some lights or something, that is, it carries a real load. However, the column doesn’t go directly to the ground. Rather, it appears to have some sort of shear connection to the faux stone ‘viaduct’. Now, in my mind, a real coulmn would go directly to the ground, and this thing looks wrong every time I see it. so, for those who know more about structures than I do, is this just something done for appearance, or is that a realistic way of supporting that column (actually, I think there are two columns)?
I’m not sure that it’s actually a load-bearing column or not (could just be decorative), but if it is, couldn’t it be supported by beams riveted perpendicular to the column and extending INTO the stone wall?
Here are some more pictures: light tower and base detail (from here), and a nicer detail of the join (from here). The last picture, especially, appears to show that the connection is not to the stone but to four beams (probably - but it’s hard to tell from these pictures) penetrating it. I’d guess they are short connections to a steel column running inside the stone facade of the archway, since that requires the least amount of cantilevering. There seems to be a walkway behind the arches, and I don’t see any supports there (though it’s hard to tell from the pictures I’ve seen), but the horizontal beams might stretch across the top of the walkway and have more anchoring on the other side.
Done for appearance? Probably. Realistic? Well, it hasn’t fallen down yet, anyway.
