How were NY city streets paved in the 1870's?

Not sure when asphalt began being used. Were cobblestones common? Paving stones?

Bricks? I'm most interested in New York City, just after the civil war, say 1870's. Thanks!

Asked by Gerg 50 months ago Similar questions: NY city streets paved 1870's Society > story.

Similar questions: NY city streets paved 1870's.

Macadam, cobblestones/paving stones and packed dirt... Asphalt (bitumen) didn’t come in to common use for roadways until the 1920s and 30s (although its use as a road material goes back to the Ancient Romans! ), so I think 1870s New York would have been a mixture of brick, cobblestone, macadam and dirt roads. ... Many of the older streets in New York (say, down by the financial district) would have been cobblestone paved, some of them still are today, in fact, under the asphalt.

I would imagine the same is true of brick, although I have been unable to find reference to any brick streets in New York. ... Newer streets in more well-to-do or highly trafficd areas would probably have been covered with some variation of macadam. Macadam involves laying down layers of broken stone and sand (and sometimes tar or a similar subsatnce) and then pressing it with a large roller to make a solid surface.

Macadam was dusty and eroded relatively quickly, but it drained well and was adequate for horse and buggy use. Some interesting facts on macadam and the history of paving here: curbstone.com/_macadam.htm ... Checking out a couple of primary sources: (from Google image searches) ... In this picture of East 27th street taken about 1800 it looks like the road is either brick or smallish paving stones: ... ... Wall St. C.1878 looks to be macadam: ... ... Broadway in the 1870s, all fixed up with cobblestones and gaslights ... ... Canal and Mott c.1870, looks like packed dirt to me, though it is hard to be sure. ... ... West 133rd, c 1878 looks to be definitely packed dirt ... So, I think there would have been a mixture of paving materials, mostly macadam, cobblestone (in the older areas) and packed dirt (in the newer and/or poorer areas) in the 1870s.

If you wait about 30 years you would start to find more uniformity in paving, one of the big goals of the Progressive movemnt in New York was to keep the streets clean and well maintained--suggesting that, during the time period you are looking at, they weren’t! Sources: Most pictures from: http://content.cdlib.org/xtf/view?docId=ft4779n9pn&chunk.id=0&doc.view=print .

Not much Pavement at that time was mostly cobblestones or crushed stone. Mostly the lesser streets were just dirt. The first asphalt dates from the late 1860s (in New York City) but it was rare for a while after that.

Sources: hotmix.org/history.php .

Per this article excerpt, they were paved "Tweed was responsible for numerous changes to the built environment, notably the development of the Upper East Side. He used his position in the Department of Public Works to orchestrate the building and coordination of miles of high quality sewer, water, and gas lines along with roads. Mid-decade, the Real Estate Record and Builders' Guide was exuberant: "from One Hundred and Tenth street to Harlem river, from St.Nicholas avenue to the East river, the Boulevards and cross-streets are laid out and improved in the highest style of Tammany Art-opened, regulated, curbed, guttered and sewered, gas and water mains laid, with miles and miles of Telford-McAdam pavement, streets and avenues brilliantly lighted by fancy lamp-post" resulting "in one of the most desirable and picturesque localities for residence." " Sources: http://livingcityarchive.org/htm/decades/1870.htm .

Cobblestones Growing up in the Bronx in the 1940's many of the side streets were paved with the original cobblestones.

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Early 90's song, genre electronica, sampled Mel Blanc saying "The streets are paved with gold". Please name that toon!

Where can I take archery lessons in NY city.

When is the cheapes time of the year to fly from NY to Mexico City.

Looking to buy rhubarb plants/bulbs in NY city or Queens woodside area, maybe garden centre etc if its out there.

Is Venice, Italy the only major city in the world that does not have any cars or motored vehicles in the streets.

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