While visiting northern New Jersey recently, I saw quite a few miles of street curbs made of small granite blocks, about the size of street pavers set on end. The blocks were separated by mortar joints, nicely finished.
I'm curious about the history of this unusual method of constructing curbs. It looks as though it would require a lot of labor, and the granite blocks must have been available at a reasonable cost, maybe salvaged from old cobblestone streets.
We have some stone curbs in MN, but nothing like these. Perhaps some surveyors from that area could tell me how these curbs came to be built in this unusual way. I'm also curious as to whether they are any good as evidence when running street and block lines. They seem to follow a pretty orderly line, both on curves and tangents.
While putting a LST back into commission at Camden, NJ, lived at the Navy Base in Philadelphia during the winter of 65-66, would sometime get a good shaking while riding my bike on cobblestone streets, think the curbs for some of them were made from dressed stone. Maybe under the asphalt you will find cobblestones. Get rain on those cobblestones and you had some slick rocks. Sometimes rode the trolly tracks to get away from the shaking, that was tricky and if you were going to fall off, do it on the outside of the rail not where the wheel flange ran, sometimes enough room there to drop a tire into.
jud
Belgian Block Curb
Belgian Block Curbs in NJ
From my recollection the installation cost was not that different from poured concrete. The formwork for poured concrete is very labor intensive. Quite a few towns required it as part of the upscale town character. In other areas the developers did it to improve the home sale ability. There has not been used block available for many man two cartway years. It is all new block. My preference is when only a two width is constructed without on street parking. In those cases the block is laid back at 45° to ease vehicle pulloff onto the grass.
I would say I designed it for at least 2,000 lots worth of development.
Paul in PA
Belgian Block Curbs in NJ
Jud, jhenry, Derek, and Paul, thanks for all this interesting information. It would have bothered me not to know.
ship ballast.
many of the streets in New Orleans were of granite cobblesotone as the result of new Orleans being a the prominrt port in the US.
I know someone who has salvaged a lot of the stone. He has given me some that I used for borders on raised garden beds.
The slate roofs in the French Quarter were also brought to New Orleans as ship ballast. Some of these roofs are 200 yrs old.
Prior to the 1984 World Fair in New Orleans, a lot of the strets were repaved in the Central Business District. A lot of salvaged cobblstone was availble for the hauling. A friend of mine built a nice cobblestone wall in front of his house.
many old streets here in Australia (well Melbourne and Sydney that i know, and in Tasmania) were laid with cobbles and stone curbs.
Mainly bluestone (basalt) and some sandstone, but latter not very durable.
But we had convict labor so that would not have been an issue.
I have seen some restored ones and they look very smart.
John
"Belgian Block" curbs, as they are known ion NJ have been around for some time. I do not have a time frame for when they first appeared, but they have been around my entire life (63 years).
Many towns now require BB curbs for new subdivision construction.
The logic is that instead of repalcing a 10 foot section of concrete curb, you only repair or replace the damaged blocks. This is usually spring work as the snow plows can cause some damage over the winter months.
They generally weigh about 28 pounds, so finding mason willing to sling block all day has been increasingly difficult.
At my location, Port Newark, we have a few impotrters of BB in many shapes and sizes all coming from South America, mostly Brazil.
Here are some photos.
They arrive in bulk and need to be stacked on pallettes. Tough work.
Chuck, thanks for the information and the great pictures. Richard and Robert Hill, thanks for your information also. This is a great site for finding things out.
Although there are no Belgian Block curbs in MN that I know of, people salvage street pavers when they can get them. They are harder to find these days, but there are some. There are even a few wood block pavers around, but those are very rare.
Notice the pile to the left on the last picture. That is one of our many road salt piles. Last year saw little outgoing salt. This year is far different with dump trucks picking up loads daily.
Yes, it looks like a normal winter instead of the non-winter we had last year. Just had 5" of snow in Minneapolis, and the storm is reportedly heading your way.