After the Civil War Museum of Medicine, we continued our wander in Frederick. I wanted to make sure that the family got to see the Community Bridge. 
“It’s all trompe-l'œil,” I said.
“Oh. Okay.” was the response. I think that they thought there would be just a few faux effects of statues or something. I knew they were in for a treat.
The community bridge is nothing ordinary … all hand-painted, it took a group of artists five years to complete. Everything – and I mean EVERYTHING – is hand panted. So it looks like a stone bridge … but it’s all painted!
Yes, you can see the typical faux statues. There’s an iron gate on the other side.
Now … you see all that stone? Well, it’s painted, too. As you walk around the entire bridge you discover symbols hidden within the stone painting. And there’s a kiosk near the bridge that explains the meaning of some of the symbols.
The project is all about community – the artists asked what symbolizes community; and from the various responses, the symbols were collected and incorporated into the bridge’s paint work.
So, we wandered quite a bit looking for all of these symbols scattered throughout the bridge. And the look on my wife’s face – one of sheer delight as she discovered that the entire bridge is painted and includes all these hidden symbols – was worth every moment!
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