Stonework At Its Best

We always hear that the world around us, that New York, has changed. We’re shown the historic neighborhoods of Brooklyn and Queens… See the cracked, weathered remnants of this old world, of days pasts, amongst us. And though I’d be the first to say I know of, and have even lived in, a few of these places, it wasn’t until I logged onto http://www.forgotten-ny.com/ that I really understood. I had no idea how dominant relics like lamp posts and slate and cobblestone pathways really were. It’s startling to see how very different Today’s NY is from the one portrayed on ForgottenNY.

For some reason, I was drawn to the “Cobblestones” link. This part of this site is dedicated to showing New York in a time before cars. One with narrowed, sometimes uneven, hand-made streets. I wanted to further explore and compare the areas that were once covered with stone. I’d seen a few streets down by South Street Seaport (which I actually didn’t seen on the site), but none of the more residential areas the site owner, Kevin Walsh, photographed. These roads, however sanctioned, or perhaps forgotten, remain untouched by tar, steamrollers and yellow paint. Tribeca (a neighborhood I already love), has been coined “Manhattan's capital of brick-faced streets”. Walsh has even photographed Collister Street and said it is most like a scene from an Edward Hopper painting. These streets have historical value, some bricks covering our streets being originals - even dating as far back as the early 1800’s.

Even some of the slate sidewalks seemingly abundant in Flushing and Astoria, Queens are protected। They blend easily with the houses and businesses with concrete roadways and Belgian-block driveways.

The Belgian-blocked pavements, however few, in Brooklyn and red brick pavement in Queens and Ridge Court (Bay Ridge, Brooklyn) have also become a rarity and are being preserved. In Bay ridge in Red Hook, small avenues like Tiffany Place and Van Dyke Street (the latter with a circular rather than horizontal design) are a compilation of cement, asphalt and brick.

Many of the streets are landmarked and can only be asphalted if absolutely necessary. Unfortunately the increase in water main breaks makes it easier for the city to cover the beautiful stonework.

I understand the reasons behind the discontinued use of cobblestone and brick roadways, though I don’t necessarily condone the destruction of them. It very well may have been the photos Walsh supplied, but really I’d rather live in a landmarked Federal-styled house on Washington or Harrison St. in Tribeca than in a new construction on 7th Ave. It's not like anyone drives in Manhattan anyway!

While this page and ForgottenNY are not yet complete (as some links don't work - under construction?), Walsh has compiled a good amount of basic information about where these sites can be found. I had been looking for a description of the different types of stonework and what type was predominant in which neighborhoods, but perhaps more of that type of data will come at a later time. I’ve written to the author of the site and ‘suggested’ this.