Documenting the historical links between people and places as recorded by commemorative plaques

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So far, plaque hunters around the world have found, photographed, and curated 49163 plaques. Use the search box in the top-right corner, or browse plaques by person, place

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Simon Harriyott on Flickr
Plaque Of The Day

Sake Dean Mahomed and Hindoostane Coffee House green plaque

Jez says,"London's first Indian restaurant in 1810"

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Elliott Brown on Flickr
Place Of The Day

Norwich 252 plaques

Norwich has a long history. It has been a city since 1094. From the Middle Ages until the Industrial Revolution, Norwich was the largest city in England after London and one of the most important. This is refelected in its plaques.

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Most-viewed plaques

In the last 11 years, between 20 May 2009 to 6 Jan 2021, Open Plaques had 4,530,517 page views from 1,234,480 users. Some were triggered by internet memes such as Steve Ullathorne's 2012 image of a George Orwell plaque with a CCTV camera next to it. Others, such as those for Alan Turing, were probably triggered by an anniversary and campaign for recognition.

  1. George Orwell 1903-1950 novelist & political essayist lived here (19526 page views)
  2. Jacob von Hogflume 1864-1909 Inventor of time travel. lived here in 2189 (15077 page views)
  3. George Orwell 1903-1950 novelist and political essayist lived here (6390 page views)
  4. Jimi Hendrix 1942-1970 guitarist and songwriter lived here 1968-1969 (5714 page views)
  5. Alan Turing 1912-1954 founder of computer science and cryptographer, whose work was key to breaking the wartime Enigma codes, lived and died here. (4085 page views)
  6. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 1859-1930 creator of Sherlock Holmes lived here 1891-1894 (3846 page views)
  7. Alan Turing 1912-1954 code breaker lived here from 1945-1947 (3679 page views)
  8. This building housed the offices of Charles Dickens' magazine 'All The Year Round' and his private apartments 1859-1870 (3339 page views)
  9. Dame Agatha Christie 1890-1976 detective novelist and playwright lived here 1934-1941 (3027 page views)
  10. The Peterloo Massacre. On 16th August 1819, a peaceful rally of 60,000 pro-democracy reformers, men, women and children was attacked by armed cavalry resulting in 15 deaths and over 600 injuries. (3006 page views)

recently photographed plaques

Irish Mercantile Marine Memorial. World War II Emergency. 1939 - 1946. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a n-anim.

Sean Moore Road, Irishtown, Ireland

From 1897 to 1935 The Selsey Tramway ran between Chichester and Selsey. At this point the line ran under the road to Selsey Town and East Beach stations

, Selsey, United Kingdom

Hier lebte von 1930 bis 1933 Albert Bassermann 7.9.1867-15.5.1952 Schauspieler, von 1909 bis 1914 am Deutschen Theater unter Max Reinhardt, seit 1913 in vielen Filmen. Emigrierte 1934 aus Solidarität mit seiner Frau Else Schiff und anderen jüdischen Kollegen, zuletzt in die USA.

English translation:

Joachim-Friedrich-Straße 54, Halensee, Berlin, Germany

Subjects

The Barker's Brewery This public house was built in the 1930s and named after the nearby Rose & Crown, which ceased trading at that time. In c2003 it was renamed The Wheatsheaf, after another nearby pub. It is now named the Barkers Brewery, after the brewery that was founded on this site, in 1825, and run by the brothers Richard and William Barker.

Archway Road, Liverpool, United Kingdom

Subjects
Texas Historical Marker #15722

Andrew Hayter. Reverend Andrew Shannon Hayter (1818-1900) was one of the earliest settlers in this area, and is considered by many to be the "Father of Arlington." A native of Tennessee, Hayter left Alabama with his family in late 1850 and arrived in Texas shortly after, settling first in Nacogdoches. Over the next forty-nine years Hayter would establish or serve sixteen Cumberland Presbyterian churches. As with many pioneer preachers, Hayter worked in another procession, as a surveyor, to augment his income. The Hayters moved to Tarrant County in 1869, where Andrew quickly made a name for himself as a preacher, civic leader and surveyor. During the early 1870s a tiny settlement developed on the edge of Hayter's property, and he petitioned for a post office in 1875. The post office was called Haytersville. Hayter had already founded two churches, a school, and a Masonic Lodge in the area when he was asked in 1876 to locate the railroad through eastern Tarrant County and lay out a tiny, half-mile-square settlement between Dallas and Fort Worth. The railroad designers needed in-depth knowledge of the area and its terrain, as well as a plentiful source of timber to construct the road bed. Andrew Hayter could supply the necessary surveying knowledge, and also owned property filled with large timbers that could be furnished to the railroad. When the railroad offered to name their new town Hayter, the reverend declined the offer and instead gave the town the name Arlington, after Robert E. Lee's Virginia estate. The birth of Arlington caused the demise of tiny Hayterville. The post office was soon moved to the new town and Hayterville was abandoned. (2009) #15722

North east corner of W. Abram St. and S. Center St., Arlington, TX, United States

Subjects

Inland Cigar Factory. The Inland Cigar Factory was established in 1894 by George Borthwick. The following year, in 1895, the company was dramatically reorganized and refinanced, and this fine building erected. At the time of construction, 1st Avenue was in the middle of the thriving downtown commercial district. The factory employed twenty-five workers who produced up to 4,000 cigars a day. Consultants from Cuba were brought in to show the workers how authentic Cuban cigars, made with blends of local and Cuban tobacco, should be rolled. When the company moved to Victoria in 1908, five former employees formed the Western Cigar Manufacturing Company. In 1913, they moved into the building next door at 291-293. The original factory building became the Model Bakery for many years. The Fuoco family ran the bakery, and they became famous for their bread. Over the years, the business district moved farther east down Victoria Street, and 1st Avenue declined as a commercial area. Successive businesses have occupied the old factory, and the original wood and brick building has been stuccoed and painted over. However, evidence of the brick and wood can still be found on the north and east sides of the structure.

291 1st Avenue, Kamloops, BC, Canada

Texas Historical Marker #06034

Center City Cemetery. The Center City Cemetery began with the burials in 1874 of Julia M. Bishop and M. E. Hughes, the adult and infant daughters of W. C. and Caroline Hughes, early settlers of this area. Judge L. E. Patterson purchased 2.5 acres containing the Hughes burials in 1905 for use as a community graveyard. Concern for its upkeep prompted the establishment of a cemetery committee in 1951. A $1000 gift to the cemetery in J. M. Dalton's will in 1967 helped establish a maintenance fund. The more than 500 burials recorded here include those of many of this area's earliest settlers. #6034

US 84 E of Goldthwaite about 9 mi., Center City, TX, United States

Liverpool Overhead Railway 1893-1956 Engineers Sir Douglas Fox & J.M. Greathead

George's Dock Building, The Strand, Liverpool, United Kingdom

Subjects

Rosalie Pieck [full inscription unknown]

English translation: Rosalie Pieck

Trautenaustr. 20, Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf, Berlin, Germany

Subjects

Café Procope. Ici Procopio dei Coltelli fonda en 1686 le plus ancien café du monde et le plus célèbre centre de la vie littéraire et philosophique au 18e et au 19e siècles. Il fut fréquenté par La Fontaine, Voltaire, les Encyclopédistes, Benjamin Franklin, Danton, Marat, Robespierre, Napoléon Bonaparte, Balzac, Victor Hugo, Gambetta, Verlaine et Anatole France.

English translation: Café Procope. Here Procopio dei Coltelli founded in 1686 the oldest café in the world and the most famous center of philosophical and literary life in the 18th and 19th centuries. It was visited by La Fontaine, Voltaire, Les Encyclopédistes, Benjamin Franklin, Danton, Marat, Robespierre, Napoléon Bonaparte, Balzac, Victor Hugo, Gambetta, Verlaine and Anatole France.

13 rue de l'Ancienne Comédie, Paris, France

Subjects

La Maison de la Culture Arménienne La stèle réalisée par le sculpteur Artouche Mkrtchian a été inaugurée en 2005. Elle symbolise l'identité arménienne à travers la langue (Mesrob Machtots déroule l'alphabet qu'il a inventé en 405), l'esprit de résistance et la relgion (église avec an arrière-plan le mont Ararat). Deux phénix évoquent la renaissance de la culture et de la vie qui se transmettent par la famille. Deux lions protègent cette histoire et encadrent la roue de l'éternité. Enfin, les frises situées dans la partie supérieure, ornées de grenades, rappellent avec les oiseaux les enluminures du XIIIe siècle.

English translation: The House of Armenian Culture The stela created by the sculptor Artouche Mkrtchian was inaugurated in 2005. It symbolizes the Armenian identity through the language (Mesrob Machtots unfolds the alphabet he invented in 405), the spirit of resistance and the church With the background of Mount Ararat). Two phoenix evokes the revival of culture and life that are transmitted by the family. Two lions protect this story and frame the wheel of eternity. Finally, the friezes in the upper part, decorated with grenades, recall with the birds the illuminations of the thirteenth century.

Rue du Cirque, Vienne, France

Subjects

Mikveh Israel Cemetery. Founded 1740. Notables buried here include Nathan Levy, whose ship brought the Liberty Bell to America; Haym Salomon, Revolutionary patriot; the Gratz family; and Aaron Levy, founder of Aaronsburg.

Spruce St. between Schell & Darien Sts., Philadelphia, PA, United States