This picture was posted at reddit with the honest question: "For purpose or looks?" As you might expect, people were throwing around guesses while having no idea what the real answer is. It's a scheme to deter skateboarders, roller skaters, or bikes. It's a lawsuit waiting to happen. It's to keep homeless people from sleeping there. It's to deter speeders.
Then folks realized this is not a horizontal surface at all, but a vertical one. It's the side of a building, which the poster assumed was obvious. Okay, now it's an old-fashioned fire escape. Or a ladder for Spider-Man. But Toronto Tom knows. He explained it is for looks, to make a change in the brick color look less like an accident, if they couldn't hide the transition in a corner. In Copenhagen in the early 20th century, they built the front facade from expensive red bricks, then transitioned to cheaper yellow bricks toward the rear. Others have seen this pattern used to delineate the size of different properties in row houses. It can also be used when adding on to an existing house, to blur the line between old brick and newer brick.
(Image credit: Rodutchi_i)
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