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

explore 52023 plaques

So far, plaque hunters around the world have found, photographed, and curated 52023 plaques. Use the search box in the top-right corner, or browse plaques by person, place

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Plaque Of The Day

Dylan Thomas blue plaque

myf says, "Dylan Thomas was a great Welsh poet, whose works are still popular today"

Place Of The Day

Norwich, United Kingdom

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.

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

Monceau on Flickr All Rights Reserved

St. Louis Hotel. Site active 1838-1862. The luxurious St. Louis Hotel included a bank, ballroom, shopping arcade, and trading exchange. Six days a week, under the hotel's domed rotunda, auctioneers sold off land and goods as well as thousands of enslaved people. More at neworleansslavetrade.org A project of the 2018 Tricentennial Commission.

518 Chartres Street, New Orleans, LA, United States

Gerd Salinger [full inscription unknown]

English translation: Gerd Salinger

Rosenthaler Str. 39, Mitte, Berlin, Germany

Subjects

Nina Hawkins [full inscription unknown]

St. Augustine Record Building, 158 Cordova Street, St. Augustine, FL, United States

Subjects

Thomas Paine 1737-1809 Anglais de naissance Américain d'adoption Français par décret a vécu dans cet immeuble de 1797 à 1802. Il mit sa passion de la liberté au service de la Révolution française, fut député à la Convention et écrivit Les Droits de l'Homme. « Lorsque les opinions sont libres, la force de la vérité finit toujours par l'emporter. »

English translation: Thomas Paine 1737-1809 English born American adoption French by decree lived in this building from 1797 to 1802. He put his passion for freedom at the service of the French Revolution, was a member of the Convention and wrote Human Rights. “When opinions are free, the strength of truth always prevails.” [AWS Translate]

10 de la rue de l'Odéon, Paris, France

Subjects

The original station of 1840 was known as 'Brighouse for Bradford'. The second station was called Brighouse for Rastrick. After closing in 1970 a new station was reopened in 2000 as BRIGHOUSE.

Railway Station (Platform 1), Railway Street, Brighouse, United Kingdom

Sainte-Anne de la Maison Blanche. Cette grande église de style romano-byzantin, oeuvre de l'architecte Bobin, a été édifiée de 1894 à 1912, au milieu d'un quartier en voie de peuplement rapide. Elevée sur une crypte, elle possède un autel central et de remarquables vitraux et mosaïques réalisés par Mauméjean en 1937-38. Le conseiller de Paris Nollaval et sa femme en avaient donné le terrain, de même que ceux d'un foyer pour personnes âgées rue Vandrezanne et de l'oeuvre de la Mie de Pain en face de l'église, rue Charles-Fourier. Ici se situe en effet le coeur de ces très nombreuses institutions charitables et sociales du 13e arrondissement de paris, qui était au XIXe siècle le plus pauvre de la capitale.

English translation: St. Anne of the White House. This large Romano-Byzantine church, by architect Bobin, was built from 1894 to 1912, in the middle of a fast-growing neighbourhood. Raised on a crypt, it has a central altar and remarkable stained glass and mosaics made by Mauméjean in 1937-38. The councillor of Paris Nollaval and his wife had given the land, as well as those of a home for elderly people rue Vandrezanne and the work of the Mie de Pain in front of the church, rue Charles-Fourier. Here lies the heart of these many charitable and social institutions of the 13th district of Paris, which was in the 19th century the poorest of the capital. [AWS Translate]

188 Rue de Tolbiac, Paris, France

This Court contains an early Baptist Chapel the home of the Baptist Church whose records dates from 1655. The building has furniture of that period. The Burial Ground has the Tombs of the Shakespeare & other noted Families.

Church Street, Tewkesbury, United Kingdom

Subjects

Commodore Coastal Forces. CO & Trg Office HMS Northney, Dieppe Flotilla Officer, Special Service Executive SOE and SIS Commander Special Boat Unit, Planning & Commanding Officer D Day, Commander Harold Wilkinson Goulding DSO RNR 1903-1945 lived here at Moss Rose. RMBPD RNBD 20CDO SBS SRS Sonic W COPP

Moss Rose Cottage, St Peter’s Road, Northney, Hayling Island, United Kingdom

A Half-Pint History The Queen's Head is Pinner's oldest inn. Records show there has been an inn on the site since 1540, although there is a theory that there was an Ale House here When King Edward Ill signed The Royal Charter to create Pinner's Annual Fair in 1336. During the 16th and 17th centuries the inn was called The Crown, and only in 1715 was it renamed The Queen's Head.

31 High St, Pinner, London, United Kingdom

Subjects

За мужество и героизм проявленные в годы Великой Отечественной войны присвоить звание герой России матросу Новикову ВЛ младшим лейтенантам Игашеву ПС Хохлачеву АМ лейтенанту Парфенову ДГ Москва Кремль 06 07 1995

English translation: For courage and heroism shown during the Great Patriotic War to confer the title of the hero of Russia to sailor Novikov VL junior lieutenants Igashev PS Khokhlachev AM lieutenant Parfenov DG Moscow Kremlin 06 07 1995 [AWS Translate]

Советский проспект 68, Калининград - Kaliningrad, Russia

Regina Hirschberg [full inscription unknown]

English translation: Regina Hirschberg

Karl-Marx-Str. 212, Neukölln, Berlin, Germany

Subjects

On this site stood the Charity School for poor children founded by Bryan Blundell and established by public subscription in 1700.

School Lane, Liverpool, United Kingdom

Subjects