3 ms·
Nothing in that article suggests that the actual stones come from Europe. It seems like it would be rather impractical to import that much heavy material. Thi
by pimlottc 2mo ago
Nothing in that article suggests that the actual stones come from Europe. It seems like it would be rather impractical to import that much heavy material.
This report [0] from the Historic Districts Council in NYC says:
> Despite the name Belgian block, it remains unclear to what
extent, and during what era, paving stones imported from Belgium
may have provided the raw materials for New York City’s streets.¹ It
is known that the city’s early paving stones included a type of six-
inch-square traprock commonly called “Belgian” block, and said to
have first been used in Belgium.
>1. While it has often been reported that Belgian blocks were
imported to New York as ship ballast, we have not found primary
evidence to confirm this practice.
https://hdc.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/HDC_Historic-Streetscape-Study-Lo-Res.pdf https://hdc.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/HDC_Historic-Stre...
- woodruffw 2mo agoInteresting that there’s no primary evidence. But your point about importing heavy material is mislaid: the blocks are intentionally heavy, because they (apocryphally) served as ballast.