A Blog detailing the beauty of St. Louis architecture and the buildup of residue-or character-that accumulates over the course of time.
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Saturday, March 3, 2012
Incline Bricks, Clifton Heights
I saw these bricks on a steeply inclined street in Clifton Heights, and I realized they have little treads in them, no doubt to give traction for vehicles. Very unique, and I have never seen them before.
Boy - new even to this OF! I also noticed that the spacing was staggered, to provide an even better grip - clever! I wonder if these date to horse and buggy days?
Judging by the appearance, I'd say that these are fairly contemporaneous in manufacture. Which is surprising, since the City is not known for doing something as sensible as this. Nor do they generally have the money for it. I wonder if the alderman authorized Block Grant money for this installation. That would be somewhat shocking, as alderman usually spend that money on frivolous BS like "streetscape improvements" and other such pet projects.
I guess Eitman Avenue needed the traction for wet weather, but I bet snow clearing vehicles hate the surface. It seems like the individual placement of bricks for would have been a MAJOR expense for 550' worth of street. Note that the portion immediately next to Sulphur has conventional bricks as a replacement with a partial asphalt covering.
HA! Google Eitman streetview reveals about the only VW Thing in STL that did not die of tinworm - a bright yellow one.
Boy - new even to this OF! I also noticed that the spacing was staggered, to provide an even better grip - clever! I wonder if these date to horse and buggy days?
ReplyDeleteJudging by the appearance, I'd say that these are fairly contemporaneous in manufacture. Which is surprising, since the City is not known for doing something as sensible as this. Nor do they generally have the money for it. I wonder if the alderman authorized Block Grant money for this installation. That would be somewhat shocking, as alderman usually spend that money on frivolous BS like "streetscape improvements" and other such pet projects.
ReplyDeleteI guess Eitman Avenue needed the traction for wet weather, but I bet snow clearing vehicles hate the surface. It seems like the individual placement of bricks for would have been a MAJOR expense for 550' worth of street. Note that the portion immediately next to Sulphur has conventional bricks as a replacement with a partial asphalt covering.
ReplyDeleteHA! Google Eitman streetview reveals about the only VW Thing in STL that did not die of tinworm - a bright yellow one.