The Cincinnati daily star. [volume] ([Cincinnati, Ohio]) 1875-1880, 1880-02-25
STREET PAVEMENTS.

We have on more than one occasion
spoken in the STAR of the lack of a ma
terial for street paving that combines all
the virtues of durability, cleanliness,
smoothness of surface, and that affords
such foothold to horses as does not en-
danger driving in wet or frosty weather.
The wooden payements that had such a
boost few years since have lost popu-
larity owing to their too prompt decay,
retention of moisture and unwholesome
exhalations. The plastic asphaltum
pavements, tried extensively'in the city
of Paris, have been generally discarded !;
the macadamized streets made of our
soft limestone pulverizcs into dust for
the winds to scatter everywhere and that
works in wet weather into mortar that
without more constant scraping than our
authorities manage to afford renders the
streets about as much of morass as a
country swamp.
The limestone block of unequal size
set on edge was long ago discarded, and
the Belgian dressed blocks, such as are
in use in Broadway. New York, are
enormously expensive, and afford no
foothold for horses after brief usage, so
that in wet and frosty weather it is an
almost impossibility to keep horses Oh
their feet while driving over them. Iron
is still worse, and has not been found
satisfactory in anyof the forms in which
it has hitherto been tried. The old
cobble stone or bowlder pavement in
this city has, after all, been found to be
the standby, when put down properly
and allowed to st y down without dis
turbance for repair Of sewers, water or
gas pipes. We noticed few months
ago some honest work of this kind on
East Sixth street, from Main to Lock,
that looked as though it might defy
criticism for time at least.
In this instance the street was graded
to the depth and shape desired, broken
rocks was laid on this to the
proper depth and the Ross steam
rammer was then passed over that until
the surface was uniform. On this was
laid gravel of suitable depth and the
powders then laid, graveled and rammed
so that the street was as perfect as a
bowlder street can be made, and we VEN
ture to predict that if the water pipe and
gas pipe fends can be kept out Of this
part of town that East Sixth street will
continue good for dozen years. The
Messrs. Shillito have put down around
their store on Seventh, George and Race
streets some pavement of asphaltum
blocks that seem to be an advance on
anything yet introduced, combining the
smooth surface and ease of cleaning of
the wooden pavement with the hardness
and seeming durability of stone.
The Pail Mall Gazette of London has
been publishing q series of exhaustive ar
ticles on the subject of street pavements
that have been tried in that city, and
concludes by declaring that as regards
chcapness, asphalt compares favorably
with wood and stone; that it is nearly OF
quite as noiseless as wood; that iu clean.
liness and facility of keeping in order ii
has no superior, while for durability it is
unequaled by any other. How easily il
may be cleaned may be seen by examin.
ing the streets about the Shillito store
Seventh and Race; and, so far as ex.
perience goes here, the greatest defect il
possesses is the same that wood pave.
ments possess, that when not kept clean
it presents slippery surface to horses
feet in drizzling weather. Like all other
pavements, however, it demands an
honest, uniform'and solid foundation te
lie upon, and this, after all, is the secret
of half the trouble with all paved
streets.