(http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5050/5368151674_e6e2d7086a.jpg)
(http://images18.fotki.com/v60/photos/2/27180/735890/BlueBrickRoad-vi.jpg)
(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_bQsuhPJduqQ/TdnBfI7o26I/AAAAAAAAE9Q/e7b49PlbHrc/s800/blue-brick-downtown.JPG)
"Those bricks were beautiful, but they had some kind of solution on them that oozed off and onto the rails. The city and the company tested and couldn't even figure out if there was any film or glaze on them. When it rained that stuff would get all over the rails and coming down grade at (Hogan?) and Bay... well let's just say nobody had better be in your way because you weren't going to stop."
In the end the City and police inspectors decided the whole story was just a backup for motormen running a certain red lights in town. With a dangerous thing like glazed bricks the motorman's union could get a guy out of anything!
Does anyone know where the bricks were used? As I recall I think in the La Villa area, maybe like Bay and Broad, Jefferson and maybe Pearl? I don't think we had any long stretches but maybe they were patch worked in. They must have shone through at cross walks for me to remember them so clearly. They sure were pretty, I wish we'd use those on our next streetscape, besides pretty, they could be a historic reminder and signature of a neighborhood. OCKLAWAHA
I like the idea, Ock. That would be iconic.
amazing
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_W_tx2Wjqc5M/TN2l5wkIqEI/AAAAAAAAC9o/KLmbKllLoFI/s400/Emerald_City_3.jpg)
Perhaps a more blue shade of Teal is in order.
(http://www.bigsnakes.net/ishtar-gate%201.jpg)
From Ishtar Goddess of life, men and women, nature and fertility, sex, sexual power to HOUSTON STREET. :o
Well, well, Jacksonville, a bit of digging and our blue bricks are a MUST HAVE! Check out this subject that I thought would be about as exciting as watching cotton grow... NOT!
The Latin word for tile is 'tegula' and in French it is 'tuile' which means a roof of baked clay. In English, 'tile' is a wild child with many definitions being correct. In English, any type of earthenware applied anywhere on a building or street.
The root of 'ceramic' is from the Greek word 'keramos', it too had a broader definition meaning pottery, but it is related to an ancient Sanskrit root word meaning 'to burn', this was also widely used as the term for 'burnt stuff.'
Decorations of ceramic, tile and brick go back at least 4,000 years. In the oldest pyramids and throughout whatever is left of Baghdad or ancient Babylon, and on into Greece there are ruins with fantastic bricks and tiles.
The Babylonian people conquered Assyria in 612 B.C. and Nebuchadnezzar (the infamous Bible character right out of the firey "kiln" of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego's roast) was proclaimed King of most of the known world. Using slave labor drawn from the conquest of what would be today's Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Egypt and Israel, and some of the most advanced mathematicians and engineers from any point in history, the King sat out to build a city that would become the center piece of the world. (something "Sudenly Insane" former ruler of Iraq failed to duplicate, though he DID try).
To enter the Tomorrow-Fantasyland of Ancient times one would first come to the Ishtar Gate, said to be the representation of all Babylonian power. It was guarded by 4 crenellated towers and reserved for ceremonial entrances to the original "city beautiful." Beyond the gate doors themselves the walls were set with images of the goddess Ishtar with carvings and bricks of turquoise and gold embedded inside them. But most important to our survey history, the walls themselves at the Ishtar Gate were made of a dark blue, glazed, ceramic brick. "Why only the best for you Lovey..." would have applied to blue bricks as well as golden and gemstone carvings.
Probably as a method of preserving life through being in high demand, the trade was soon dominated by closely guarded secrets, only handed down from father to son. Few documents exist to tell the story and their appears to be no complete history, throughout ancient times and even into Renaissance, and modern history every brick was hand-formed and hand-painted, something that qualifies each and every old brick as a work of art.
From the earliest times (you'll recall long before Babylon, Moses was filing a grievance with the shop steward in a beef over working conditions at the brick plant) clay bricks were made by flattening large sections of clay and cutting pieces into shapes...(think using a heavy knife to follow a cookie cutter pattern). The bricks or tiles depending on region were either pure clay or clay with straw inside and were then sun baked for hardness. (Can't you just imagine how pissed off Moses was when he found out Pharaoh put termites in his straw...)
Mechanics came to the rescue when wooden molds were first used, each wooden mold had an indention with an identifying shape. The clay was thrown into the mold with some force, the top then sliced off even with the top of the mold and allowed to dry enough to shrink somewhat. At that point the bricks could be taken out of the molds and placed on the ground to dry. (One early trademark was reputed to be a moon and stars but when local religious zealots complained that it represented Devil Worship the trademark was yanked from the shelves... ::)
Some Cro-magnon genius finally discovered that leaving a brick near a fireplace greatly increased both it's hardness and the quality of it's glaze. It was finally worked out that 1940f degrees was the ideal firing temperature. But it would be hit or miss at least until Galileo worked out a rudimentary thermoscope, but it wasn't long before thermometers, called thermoscopes were on the way. In 1724 Gabriel Fahrenheit invented the first mercury thermometer, so now brick making could light up the night sky with temperature controlled flames. Unglazed tile or brick was fired once, glazed tile or brick was fired twice, the first firing formed a tile body called a ‘bisque’. A second firing was called a glost firing, general bricks were baked at 1868f degrees, and artistically painted bricks were glost fired at 1364f degrees. Later still about 1840, methods of pressing the "green" (unfired) bricks were developed using two metal plates which would facilitate the eventual mechanization of the industry.
The blue bricks reentered center stage in England as Staffordshire blue brick was discovered and marketed. Staffordshire Brick is a strong type of construction brick, originally made OF COURSE, in Staffordshire, England.
The brick is made from the local red clay, Etruria marl, which when fired at a high temperature in a low-oxygen reducing atmosphere takes on a deep blue color and attains a very hard, impervious surface with high crushing strength and low water absorption. The internet is full of companies in the U.K. selling these bricks for every imaginable project.
This type of brick was and is used for foundations and extensively used for bridges, and tunnels, in canal construction, and later, for railways. Its lack of porosity makes it suitable for capping brick walls, and its hard-wearing properties makes it ideal for steps and pathways. It is also used as a general facing brick for decorative reasons. Staffordshire Blue bricks have traditionally been "Class A" (whatever the hell that means) with a water absorption of less than 4.5%
Which brings us to a more modern era, when the Colonial's first started developing cities with a burning desire to be at least on par with European towns and cities. Red clay was abundant and soon enough piles of brick were springing from the ground all around the country. Philadelphia started a trend when they "scored" the local clubs and pleasure houses by the amount and color of good old Staffordshire knock-offs were placed in the street. BINGO! CHA-CHING!
"Why did the brick move to LaVilla? Obviously to fill a void, in H O U S T O N S T R E E T !!! Why would I remember them in LaVilla? Because I was nearly raised by the railroaders at Jacksonville Terminal, fact is there was once talk of making me a mascot for the Terminal Railroad but nothing ever came of it. Little BOB went where ever the railroaders went, red lanterns and all... AMAZING WHAT A dab of HISTORY CAN TURN UP! Where are the very best rooming houses and clubs in old Jacksonville? Follow the blue brick road! ;)OCKLAWAHA