The downtown movie theater and bowling alley--gone. The
red-brick road--reduced to a mere crosswalk.
I believe every hometown should do its best to show the same
face year after year. Where I grew up, Jefferson Street was a throwback
thoroughfare. There was the old movie theater . . . and the red-brick road. My
mom used to pull me along while she shopped, and at the early age of 4 I was
fascinated by the square pieces underneath my feet. I knew then this
wasn't your ordinary road. There was a special feel to it and a special
sound to it. The pitter-patter of the rubber rolling on Jefferson Street was
always inviting.
Suburban development, however, has a way of burning
childhood memories. They tore down the old movie theater. I guess it was too
expensive to maintain. The rustic bowling alley down the block received the
blow of the wrecking ball, too. And the powers that be must have grown tired of
the nostalgia of Jefferson Street. The pavement of the 1800s was scaled back to
strips surrounding a couple of intersections. My hometown's time machine
pulled up the ladder, slammed the door and flew off years ago--never to
return.
But word in the road-building industry is red bricks are
once again providing a surface my Buster Brown shoes loved to cross. The
streets were a welcome alternative to the dusty, dirt routes--which
quickly turned to mud and swallowed horse carriages in the 1800s. Charleston,
W.Va., installed the first modern brick pavement in the U.S. in 1870.
Brickmakers and engineers quickly improved the quality by restricting material
to clay free of impurity and choosing stone-like shale clay as their key
ingredient. The bricks became tougher and more resistant to water. Most of the
red-brick roads in the U.S., however, were knocked out before WWI.
Today there are dozens of cities that prohibit paving over
existing streets with other materials, and some are now going to extremes to
bring the old look back. The city of Wilmette, Ill., is a proud preservationist
when it comes to dealing with red-brick roads, which handle traffic on more
than 20% of the town's streets. Asphalt, however, still dominates the
territory. Crews were ready to resurface Linden Street a few years ago when a
resident noticed red bricks under the existing pavement. A neighborhood group
in favor of the aesthetic alternative soon formed and lobbied to have the
asphalt ripped and the blocks saved. The two-block project cost $330,000 to
complete, $66,000 more than what
it would take to pave using the usual material. City officials hope
they'll recover the difference in the long run due to the durability of
the red bricks. The success led to a complete makeover for Linden Street. In
place is a three-year, three-phase plan to lay bricks on Linden between 5th
Street and Popular Drive.
The benefits of returning to the infrastructure look of the
Industrial Age run short but tug hard at the spirit of Americana. There is the
character angle. The charm and unique dimension of Jefferson Street bronzed
moments of my youth. No other road carries that kind of effect. Brick roads
also survive the test of time, although the foundation is susceptible to
weakening. Safety is another plus. Those in favor of brick say the traffic
noise helps alert children.
On the downside, brick paving has been known to be difficult
to snow plow. An operator could spend 30 additional minutes clearing the area.
Accelerated construction is a useless term in this field. If a subdivision
wants to beautify a road then residents need to be prepared to lose it for a
longer period of time. Bricks also are the roughest option when it comes to
bike, scooter and skateboard riding.
If a city or town has a crop of money to cultivate into some
kind of return-to-historic-roads program, then horse in the bricks, hold some
type of re-enactment gala and enjoy the scenic upgrade only a brick road could
provide.
But if I'm a mayor or a city manager in 2003 and had
my choice between a $330,000 brick paving job or a $330,000 intersection
reconstruction gig aimed at improving traffic and pedestrian safety I'm
most likely going to choose the latter. During lean times there really isn't
any room for dessert.
