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• The City of South Bend is more fortunate than some cities whereby we still have a number of brick streets still in use today. The life of these streets was actually only guaranteed for about ten years but they have lasted for a hundred years or more.' The foundation for brick streets is the determining factor for their longevity; along with traffic volume, weight and speed of vehicles traversing across the surface which also determine a brick street's life expectancy. Brick streets are probably the most durable road surfaces that we know.' The brick streets which are being presented for landmark status are all rolled - base brick pavements (see Brick Paving Systems, next page). The width of the streets vary, as does the volume of traffic each carries. Some of the brick streets were originally paved with wood cedar block in the early 1890's, but were later repaved with vitrified brick. Early municipal health officials believed that the wood blocks contributed to disease because they held moisture and dirt, thus providing a breeding ground for bacteria.' Most of the early downtown business district was paved with cedar block, some of which was soaked with tar or creosote. Residents preferred the cedar block over brick because wood was quieter under the horse hoofs and carriage wheels. Out of the original seven miles of cedar block streets, laid between 1890 and 1892, only 91-hundreths of a mile were all that remained In South Bend as of 1901.1 The gravel foundations for early brick streets was compacted by a five -ton roller which was pulled by a team of hoses. By 1901 the horse and roller were being ° • replaced by coal powered steam rollers. * These rollers eventually were used for the compaction of asphaltic macadam streets, which replaced brick pavement. By the early twenties portland cement concrete was being introduced as the new method of paving streets. As the cost of producing this concrete began to fall and construction techniques became more efficient, no more brick streets were laid.' Maintenance of a brick street is considerably less than that of other paving materials. As long as the repairs are done correctly, these brick streets will endure for hundreds of years. Since some of the older residential and historic districts still retain their brick streets, the Historic Preservation Commission of South Bend and St. Joseph County wish to designate them as landmarks in hopes that they will be preserved, thus adding to the historical significance of these neighborhoods. ' The Preservation and Maintenance of Brick Streets, Royce Baier, Illinois Preservation Series, Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, 1991. 2ibid. 3City of South Bend Annual Report, 1901, p.73. 4ibid. • 5 Preservation and Maintenance of Brick Streets, Harry Kelso & Joy Dunn, Oklahoma Southwest Prologue Series.