New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1866-08-23
PAVEMENTS.
A New Era for tho metropoiis-what We
Walk On.


OF all subjects which aeot tho interests OF the busy.
oycrstrne citizens ofths great metropolis few more
worthy consderaonye lees understood than the one
Of paycmens aud roadways. IL may seem very simple
thing 10 construct sroot whercon vehicles and pcdesr
ans nay 60 with and quickness but We In the me-
opois stumble. and slip, aud fall, today, on pavement
which is inferior 10 those on which Romon soldiers
mar he'd 90 centuries ago. good pavement in nore
than one scnsea Fundamental necessity, which VIC have
sought but never found for bur crowded thoroughares
During an ordinary business day not less than A0
vehicles of all descriptions passup and down Broadway at
the lower end Of the Park, every hour amounting In the
"a hours about 900 in all Asu(ciently llrsc humber
one would hnk TO have stimulated science to Successu
efforts for comfort III travel long before this1 In the
matter of pavcmentr however in most things else, wo
are yet young and must still hail with JOY any new
plan (which promises longer life to our beasts OF burden
| AMI fewer patents for our public hospitals.
II is not our object IN the present article to consider
tho subj ct in any Of the many interesting and attractive
respects which devalo tom the strict question of for
travel We might indeed, recall tie devious paths by
which the irst morios took their solitary way when
Tie worli all before them where to choose"
We might witt Sinbad revisit ho wondfous caves whose
pavemen,s glttcrcd With untold weah of diamonds; or
wo mig With trembling Ibcr dive beneath tho bed Of
ocean and study the coral streets up a. BROOKLYN
divine tells u.s. with streets Of bny fish,. Or, more
practical we ght busy ourselves with those rich mo'acs
with which the ancient has taught tho modern world go
cous lessons of wealth and beauty the floors OF the tenn
lies on one Of which the Eternal City lies mapped out IN
an s grandcir or those darker more fearful roads OF
lave once ali with busy harysg thIongs but now iof
we have only 10 speak OF the ways which commerce
has grown and hycd from early down to our own
times marking the experiments of past centuries and the
conclusions which our own age has reached
EARLY ROADS
Tho invention OF paved roads Is nscrbed to the Cartha
ginians from whom the Romans took tho plan OF their
streets famous this dag Previous to this time the IN
stnct which g,s credit for the creation Of Pcars had
ful sway, and the world probably ad under indeo'
edncss y the bovine race which 1t can never repay
THg ROMAN SYSTEM.
The Roman roals differing greatly IN arp arance ma.
cna end durability from ours have never eisd 20 DC ,n
fr.uf o.. q
ton WIS lad with extreme care the lowest course OF
sgo broken stones. resting upon sub,r''um rs sod "a
Nature CO.. II furnish OF art could make Above lh se
nine iuchos Of ubDlo work. and SIX moro ot hner
adoffd the immediate support Tor the suriAee-OocAs ~
tue IAdEay. These were ot irregular snip pu,
fitted a. each other and 30 durable were tue streets
fo-mes IN th, manner that portions still found which
the travel 81 thousand ycar- has fled materially 70
niure These roads were of great length, and, bong
built by tie crhaustcss resources Of the Roman Govern
ment treated the obstacles which Nature had placed IN
their WY with a. much contempt A. docs m.dctn ia
was built 3lJ years before our era, and extended nom
Rome e. Capui aud later far q Brundusum ais
lance OF 80 miles seems to have differed from most
OF the Roman streets Ia having raised iOoialh on either
sde the Others usually bal this 10 tho middle II at all
The Appan street from IL 10 - feet ~ width.
CKSrRAL AND SOUTH AMERICAN PAyBMEsTs.
The science Of rOld-makng however does not seem 10
have boon confined 10 Rome alone Remains have been
found IN Peru and in Central America Of an unknown date
which seem % have ryaled the Roman ways IN solidy
ami eIout Streets Of 20 es wide said ohav tvorsed
800 TO 1000 miles VI almost impossible regions ID the
former county.
EUROPEAN STREETS.
In Europe the Roman plan followed gcnenlly, al
though 10 - within the last five six centuries only that
payemouts Of any rca value have been introduced No
late a. 1853 the rt Turnpike Act providing for the proper
maintenance OF public roads, passed IN England ana
II was until late In the last century that turPikes
into general uso there. The hrs street pavement IL
Pans was laid down by Philip Augustus in ISL. and ap-
pears 10 have somewhat rcsembed our present Belgian
pavement Various methods Of roadmaking have obtained
In modern times but have often ignored the great
fauift t.ruf Viii he
what they Venice and the cities OF Holland are
paved throughout with brick. This may last longer than
the plaster with which they finish the outsdes Of their
dwellings but Is evidently poor material for pavement
where much trc the street CObblestones, with
which cty has too long been cursed find much
favor IN European cities from their cheapness, and much
condemnation with u.s. from their noise. still worse
metlodthas been tried steep inclnations in England,
c0nsi ting of series of such stone blocks used
the cending grades Of city railtraeks except that
they placed 10 forn series Of steps The nose
from such pavement need not be described
THB hon PAVEMENT.
The Iron pavement may next be named a. having found
much favor and presenting appearance Of great beauty
durability and for horses This system is however,
yielding the palm others; has been tined with
and failed The reader will remember the hexagonal
iron blocks with spikes OF inch IN length rising from
each angle and broadencd at the top which were placed
closely together upon the srce,ade and hled with hne
gravel Tas pavement tried IN two places-Court'
lsndist from broadway TO Westinghouse, and Nassau
st. IN front Of the PoO leoand II was universally and
heartily cxecned long before tho authorities removed IT,
II has met with favorable reception IN England,
where very important item omitted IN the Introduction
of the pavement here adds its durability lt Is there
laid upon macadamized surface made with special ret-
erehce 70 the arch and this OF course prevents the SINK
Ing OF the iron blocks
STONE NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
The pavement of Mr. McAdam, familiar 70 all who
travel over fine country roads, formed a plan en-
ti'y different from any hitherto named That eminent
roadmaker Inst brought forward the fact that stones of
uniform SIZE broken into angular pieces have natuTa!
tendency to lock together into hard, compact mass and
he considered that thickness Of ten inches Of this broken
r.fll ~ atff lal lpn1n
were the foundation morass The city OF iipniod, c.,
may be mentioned Of many places where macadam
zed roads are IN use the system having been adopted ex
ciusyoly in that city.
RUSS PAVEMENT
Inc kusi pavement formerly In use Throughout Broad
way up to S6yonteenh-s and a few other streets
sisted OF cubca blocks of hard Staten Island greensboro
or New jersey trap, OF about foot square, and having
diagonal groove cut IN tho exposed iace These wero
put down as closely possible both rank and ic and
made broadway, as once hoard an enthusiastic exile
ron TIE metropolis excaim, ono solid TO-k nom Bowl
ing Green to Union Square The size was found TO be
an mtuponble objection. They smooth, and
Tendoted Broadway wholly unsafe in wet weather, for
pedestrians well for horses. Repeated efforts have
been mad" 10 reduce tho Russ pavement. by cutting
grooves 10 Il; but the fault m tho principle and II s
now beng replaced rapidly possible by The Belgian
sy5iem We do not know that Il has been used else.
whef5.
THR BELGIAN
Doubtless the best stone pavement which has over been
% u5o, ~ least IN modern times Is that which IA called
Belgian why by that name tho present writer con.
isse himself after oitepoatcd inquiry totally unable TO
exfain IL h as every one knows, made OF rectangular,
roueh-hcwn blocks Of blue tmsone, about four TO six
ires IN each direction which are laid directly upon the
gradel SOL OF tho street Its chief difference from the
systems above enumerated Ito IN the squarcncss a tho
Hooks a1d tho lack ~ substrata The Belgian payemcn
has been laid upcn tho streets Of Naples for thousand
years with very slight wear.
CONCRETE
W, may notice, We pass, tho Concrete, which IA
Ia gcy used nice rural towns for side walks 1t IA
oiea cqDnanasd TO a0I9 sAn'ss w. so2Sas ~ VI