Sadly, if this area gets developed they may choose to save the old brick pavement but they will rip out the limestone curbing and throw it away as if it were junk. The limestone curb is beat up but is as historically significant as the brick. We have lost a lot of our limestone curbing in recent years.
I live right on the dividing line between St. Joseph and the Old Northside, which also have the brick pavers(although in terrible shape), but some areas of town, like the area pictured, are in really decent shape.
I like the limestone sidewalks, which have a tendency to not have as many obstructions (signs, utility poles, hydrants, ect) running through them. Indiana has an intimate history with limestone :)
Brick pavers pose a real predicament: by many standards they are more aesthetic than concrete or asphalt, and they certainly make a place appear more "cared for"--no doubt largely because they require a lot more work.
Therein lies the problem, because all too often they are, as Graeme noticed, too expensive to build or to maintain--and if they cease to look cared for then they look really bad. Some sections in Holy Cross, I believe, have brick sidewalks that are so decomposed that it basely has become a carpet of herbaceous plants; the brick is barely visible.
Far worse is the stray loose or misplaced brick. Because a network of bricks has far more interstices than concrete slabs, it exponentially increases the likelihood of a tripping hazard.
But darn it they often look good. Especially with a sensitive photo treatment like this.
This particular street is probably the best conditioned example I could find, with the exception of the streets within the mostly abandoned Irish Hill area. Much of the others, like the ones where I live, are probably too poor of condition to save.
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Those are actually brick pavers rather than cobblestones. Of course depending on the state of the bricks the effect may be the same.
I wish Indianapolis would restore the brick pavers on residential streets in important "places", but I'm sure it is cost prohibitive.
Sadly, if this area gets developed they may choose to save the old brick pavement but they will rip out the limestone curbing and throw it away as if it were junk. The limestone curb is beat up but is as historically significant as the brick. We have lost a lot of our limestone curbing in recent years.
I live right on the dividing line between St. Joseph and the Old Northside, which also have the brick pavers(although in terrible shape), but some areas of town, like the area pictured, are in really decent shape.
I like the limestone sidewalks, which have a tendency to not have as many obstructions (signs, utility poles, hydrants, ect) running through them. Indiana has an intimate history with limestone :)
Brick pavers pose a real predicament: by many standards they are more aesthetic than concrete or asphalt, and they certainly make a place appear more "cared for"--no doubt largely because they require a lot more work.
Therein lies the problem, because all too often they are, as Graeme noticed, too expensive to build or to maintain--and if they cease to look cared for then they look really bad. Some sections in Holy Cross, I believe, have brick sidewalks that are so decomposed that it basely has become a carpet of herbaceous plants; the brick is barely visible.
Far worse is the stray loose or misplaced brick. Because a network of bricks has far more interstices than concrete slabs, it exponentially increases the likelihood of a tripping hazard.
But darn it they often look good. Especially with a sensitive photo treatment like this.
This particular street is probably the best conditioned example I could find, with the exception of the streets within the mostly abandoned Irish Hill area. Much of the others, like the ones where I live, are probably too poor of condition to save.
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