concrete sidewalks

[nachoman]

when did concrete sidewalks first appear?

I am modeling a western mining town circa 1915-1920 and wondered if concrete sidewalks would be appropriate. I'm not looking for a "wild west" looking town with wooden sidewalks, but if that is what they had, I guess that is what I will do. I've seen a few photos, but it's hard to tell.

kevin

 

[MasonJar]

Wood sidewalks, no sidewalks, or "bluestone" slate sidewalks were common.

Some good pictures at: http://www.forgotten-ny.com/COBBLESTONES/slate/slate.html

Andrew

 

[spitfire]

Well, a Google search shows that concrete has been around since Egyptian and Babylonian times. Modern concrete was invented in the 1800s, so you could certainly justify it.

For your town, I think it depends on how established it is. A mining town would probably have been built by the mining company, and amenities would not be high on their list.
A boardwalk would certainly be prototypical. On the other hand, if timber is scarce, they may have used local stone, as Andrew suggested. It also depends on rainfall. If there isn't much, then mud is not a problem, so again, boardwalks and maybe even dirt roads.

Ultimately though, it's your universe, and you create the rules. I can't tell you how many times I've gone ahead and done what I felt like doing only to find out later that there's a prototype for it.

Val

 

[ezdays]

when did concrete sidewalks first appear?

I am modeling a western mining town circa 1915-1920 and wondered if concrete sidewalks would be appropriate. I'm not looking for a "wild west" looking town with wooden sidewalks, but if that is what they had, I guess that is what I will do. I've seen a few photos, but it's hard to tell.

kevin

Go up to Jerome, a mining town of that era and there's lots of concrete there including sidwalks. Much of it still in place today.

 

[MasonJar]

IIRC, the first "modern" engineering project to use concrete as we know it today was the construction of the original Panama Canal, opened in 1914.

Andrew