There's really no call to espouse another reason while old bluestone sidewalks are so much more aesthetically pleasing than concrete sidewalks. We all know it is. But here's one anyway.
Above, is a stretch of bluestone sidewalk in the rain. Notice how it shimmers, how it reflects the sky and the shapes of the things around it?
And here is a piece of concrete sidewalk in the rain. Dead, blank, mute. It has no communication with the surrounding block. Just some square slabs.
A poignant observation, calling into question all the reasons why we have concrete sidewalks in the first place... short-term cost, convenience... the type of thinking that leads to uglification.
ReplyDeleteYou left out the slate sidewalks with the grooves in them to carry the rainwater from the downspouts coming from the roofs. In NYC, these were connected to the sewer lines in the 1950s and now serve no purpose, but they're still used to get rainwater into the streets in Boston's Back Bay.
ReplyDelete—Andrew Porter