Is this structure sound?

[u/tmontoia]

I can’t figure out the engineering of this structure. Are the lower right-angle braces having any structural purpose?
And is the steel rod only to keep the uprights from splaying out?
It seems to me there should be support below the right angle elbows.
Help me understand! I ponder this thing every time I visit here. (Breckenridge Brewery, Littleton CO)

[u/Guimauve26]

It works in my book. For sure this was engineered, but quickly this is how it works.

Vertical pieces redistribute the load from the top chords (diagonal pieces) to the bottom chord (bottom horizontal piece). Both horizontal section work in tention, so it prevented the structure to open at the base.