Dedication Plaques For Buildings

Researching information on how to design Dedication Plaques for Buildings? Read about the history of the cornerstone, and what you need to know when designing one of your own.

Whenever you come upon an historic building, you're bound to uncover a cornerstone. It is usually a valuable source of information, containing the year that the building was built, and perhaps who it was dedicated to. In my hometown, one of the churches, St. Thomas the Apostle, is the oldest catholic church in the entire area, and its cornerstone indicates that it was blessed by then Cardinal John Newman, who eventually became St. John Newman.

Indeed, cornerstones are fascinating historical landmarks.

In fact, they once held more than just a symbolic significance: the cornerstone was used by masons as the first stone that they placed in building a wall or foundation. This cornerstone then became the template stone for sizing and orienting the rest of the stones and foundation for a building. In this way, the "cornerstone" came to mean the vital anchor in a structure.

As engineering advanced, the need for a cornerstone diminished. However, their use became increasingly symbolic. Today, dedication plaques for buildings are often used as the symbolic cornerstones for the structure, and while there may not be an actual "cornerstone," the dedication plaque is often set into a prominent corner of the building's wall in order to commemorate it.

Content & Design For A Building Dedication Plaque

Generally speaking, there are two approaches that you can take in designing dedication plaques for buildings. The first is to utilize a stone plaque in order to set into the corner wall of the building. The idea of using a granite plaque to do this is to create the effect of a cornerstone. It is best to choose a stone that is slightly different from the wall's construction materials, so that the plaque stands out from the rest of the wall. It is also important to choose the largest plaque possible, so that it matches the sheer size of the building's dimensions.

Another option is to have the architect of the building design a cornerstone design for one of the walls (even if it is only a faux cornerstone). If this is the case, then you can opt instead for a metal plaque -- usually a bronze color -- and set that inside the stone area.

The advantage here is that you can juxtapose stone and metal for a classy, regal look that really adds to the look of the building's exterior.

When it comes to text, it is best to be both minimal and "large" in terms of the size of the font. A best practice is to do nothing more than add a large year for the year that the building was finished. This is a classic cornerstone design and works great with dedication plaques for buildings.

If you feel you need to add more text than just the year, remember: less is more with dedication plaques for buildings, since it will allow you to fit larger fonts onto the plaque itself.

If you're ready to browse ideas for a dedication plaque for your building, be sure to check out Laser Engraved Memories' Memorial Plaques section.

By Michael Nace