Any hundred year old sidewalks in Detroit?...

**Al Publican** · September-20-12, 07:06 PM

I happened to look down on a sidewalk in my neighborhood in Vancouver, Washington and noticed that the concrete was stamped when it was laid with: Kilkenny 1914

Man, I thought. That's some old C-ment. Even when I lived in Corktown, I don't recall seeing any hundred year old sidewalks.

**Scottathew** · September-20-12, 07:28 PM

They don't seem to make concrete like they used to. My street in Warren was poured in 1958 and it's in remarkable condition.

**DetroitHabitater** · September-20-12, 07:33 PM

Sounds strange. Most roads 100 years ago were cedar planks, dirt or pavers.. The first road in the world paved was woodward and that was 1909.

It seems unlikely that sidewalks would be paved 100 years ago.

**Hardhat** · September-20-12, 08:37 PM

The oldest concrete street is in Bellefontaine, Ohio, circa 1891.
From the Wiki entry, where they included a photo:
Court Avenue is a small street in downtown Bellefontaine, Ohio, United States, located adjacent to the Logan County Courthouse. Constructed in 1891, it is known for being the first street in the United States to be paved with concrete.
For more, here's the link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Court_Avenue

**Patrick** · September-20-12, 08:45 PM

Indian Village as some original sidewalks....some are even stamped with the pre-WWII Swastika symbol.

**DetroitHabitater** · September-20-12, 09:40 PM

Originally Posted by Hardhat

The oldest concrete street is in Bellefontaine, Ohio, circa 1891.
From the Wiki entry, where they included a photo:
Court Avenue is a small street in downtown Bellefontaine, Ohio, United States, located adjacent to the Logan County Courthouse. Constructed in 1891, it is known for being the first street in the United States to be paved with concrete.
For more, here's the link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Court_Avenue

I stand corrected. I guess they always use the qualifier of 'first paved mile.'

**Pontiac6000** · September-20-12, 09:45 PM

the few blocks on west grand blvd. across the street from motown have the same symbol, paved from the 1910- 1920 era.

**Parkguy** · September-20-12, 09:45 PM

One of our sidewalks here in Rosedale Park is stamped 1917; Glastonbury south of Grand River.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidlegg/8007990346/

**Mikeg** · September-20-12, 10:07 PM

It's not in Detroit and it's only 84 years old, but here is a 2011 photo of a section of concrete in Center Line that was installed by my grandfather in 1928, along with the brass stamp that he used to make the imprint:

**Hamtragedy** · September-20-12, 11:05 PM

Peter Plewa. Cement Contractor. Hamtramck. 1918

**Wild** · September-20-12, 11:30 PM

There are many in Indian Village. On one of the tours, I noticed a sidewalk that was over 100 years old and had a swastika trade mark [[swastikas used to be a good symbol).

Also, on Commonwealth in Woodbridge, I noticed some dated 1914.

**Al Publican** · September-20-12, 11:47 PM

The Portland-Vancouver area does not go through the freeze-thaw cycles that SE Michigan goes through. It seldom remains below 32F here in the daytime. Average daily high in Feb is around 50F. That may contribute to 100 year old sidewalks here.

**Scottathew** · September-21-12, 05:03 AM

Originally Posted by Mikeg

photo of a section of concrete in Center Line that was installed by my grandfather in 1928, along with the brass stamp that he used to make the imprint:

I cannot tell you how fascinating it is to see the stamp that made that imprint 84 years ago.

It's amazing to think of how much of this area has been captured from wilderness, cleared, leveled, and built upon.

**Frankg** · September-21-12, 07:15 AM

I haven't walked it in a long time, but if you walk around the block my grandparents lived on [[11768 Kilbourne) there are several sections of sidewalk dating back to 1910, etc. Also, on Promenade between Roseberry and Barrett. When we were kids we used to play a game to find the oldest section of sidewalk. I imagine they are still there, or at least most of them,.

**Lowell** · September-21-12, 08:02 AM

Fun thread! Somewhat related and just as fascinating to me is solid stone curbing. There are fragments of them all over the older parts of Detroit. They are not date stamped but I often wonder how old they are. Many appear to be a red sandstone. A lot of them were lost downtown with the big sidewalk makeover prior to the Super Bowl. Will get pic soon to show.

**Honky Tonk** · September-21-12, 09:00 AM

Maybe a trip to the Detroit Historical Meuseum would provide some answers? Though I don't recall them having any "modern Detroit" displays. The stone curbs were probably put in place way before modern concrete sidewalks.

**gnome** · September-21-12, 09:00 AM

It thought i heard that the curbing was basault [[sp) from New York and Penn used as ballast in the shipping trade. Maybe ? Bet MikeG would know.

**leapfrog** · September-21-12, 09:04 AM

Originally Posted by Honky Tonk

Maybe a trip to the Detroit Historical Meuseum would provide some answers? Though I don't recall them having any "modern Detroit" displays. The stone curbs were probably put in place way before modern concrete sidewalks.

The Ferndale Historical Museum has a section of sidewalk on display. It is stamped 1914 IIRC - I think it was the oldest section of sidewalk in the city, and when it finally needed replacement, they displayed it at the museum rather than dispose of it. I always found it interesting since it predates the construction of my home by only 4 years.

**leapfrog** · September-21-12, 09:05 AM

Originally Posted by Mikeg

It's not in Detroit and it's only 84 years old, but here is a 2011 photo of a section of concrete in Center Line that was installed by my grandfather in 1928, along with the brass stamp that he used to make the imprint:

The actual stamp! What an amazing thing for you to have!

**Brock7** · September-21-12, 09:10 AM

The oldest I ever noticed in the 7 Mile & Hayes area were from 1928. They've disappeared along with the last of the red stone curbs over the last deccade.

**Detroitnerd** · September-21-12, 10:03 AM

Funny, I've never seen them that old. From what I understand, they used to really soak the water into the concrete when they laid it. Like, saturate it with water for several days. This was how they laid the slabs, I hear, for the original Davison Expressway, which lasted damn near fifty years. Look over any thread on this site about concrete or contractors and there's usually a lively discussion about how we could lay concrete that would last longer, but today's road-building contractors won't do it.

I usually look for sewer caps and fire hydrants when it comes to years and infrastructure. Oldest sewer cap I've seen is 1908 in Hamtramck, in the alley east of Campau between Hanley and Jacob. Oldest hydrant would be 1914, I think, on the south side of Vernor Highway west of Junction.

**Parkguy** · September-21-12, 10:10 AM

Originally Posted by Mikeg

It's not in Detroit and it's only 84 years old, but here is a 2011 photo of a section of concrete in Center Line that was installed by my grandfather in 1928, along with the brass stamp that he used to make the imprint:

That stamp is very cool. It is fantastic that you still have it. What a family treasure.

**Jimaz** · September-21-12, 12:01 PM

Originally Posted by Detroitnerd

... From what I understand, they used to really soak the water into the concrete when they laid it. Like, saturate it with water for several days. This was how they laid the slabs, I hear, for the original Davison Expressway, which lasted damn near fifty years....

A little piece of trivia about old concrete: it never stops curing. It just keeps getting harder and harder forever. Even stranger, it's simply water that causes this to happen. I'm guessing that's why they saturated it for several days.

**EASTSIDE CAT 67-83** · September-21-12, 12:29 PM

I love this site...what a great topic. When I was a kid growing up down on the east side in the Jeff Chalmers neighborhood, I remember as I walked home from Guyton Elementary along Scripps crossing Marlborough and then Chalmers [[my Block) I always walked over a few slabs that were stamped 1914, I know the oldest house on my block was built in 1916 so these were probably poured as the area was platted out in the teens. So we've got some almost 100 year old concrete out there still. Not to mention the bricks on Marlborough are over 100 years old already. We also had the solid slab curbs that Lowell mentioned before they were replaced sometime in the 1970's. Great Thread folks!

**Parkguy** · September-21-12, 02:20 PM

Originally Posted by Jimaz

A little piece of trivia about old concrete: it never stops curing. It just keeps getting harder and harder forever. Even stranger, it's simply water that causes this to happen. I'm guessing that's why they saturated it for several days.

When we had our garage replaced a few years ago, the builder told us to water the new cement every day for a week. I believe that portland cement cures through a chemical reaction that produces heat, which is what actually cures the cement. The ancient Romans didn't have a chemical reaction in their cement, so they heated the cement in ovens before they poured. Look how long their cement has lasted!