What Are These Forgotten Giant Concrete Arrows Across the American Landscape?
Long before the days of radio, the US Postal service began a cross-country air mail service. To get the planes and mail safely across the country by air, the postman was going to need a little help. In 1924, the Congress funded enormous concrete arrows to be built every 10 miles or so along established airmail routes to help the pilots trace their way across America.
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Every concrete arrow, up to 20 meters in lenght, painted in bright yellow, was accompanied by a 15 m tall tower, emitting a powerful gas powered light. Each arrow pointed towards the next, separated one with another by a distance of 3 to 10 miles.
Improvements in navigation eventually eliminated the need for the beacons, and the Commerce Department decommissioned them in the 1940s, but the enormous solid concrete arrows are likely to stand there for good.
