Monday, November 21, 2011

Where old is allowed to be old; and worn

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The Coconut Grove TreeWatch appeal to save the trees on Florida Avenue will be heard by Historic Preservation Board on December 6 at City Hall (3500 Pan American Drive) at 3 pm. Which got me to thinking.

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I am in Boston and Cambridge right now and as I walk these old streets, I notice so many of the sidewalks are brick and while there are cobblestones in some areas, which are a couple of hundred years old, I don't think the red brick sidewalks are that old, yet they are sturdy and serve their purpose.

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Many areas are uneven, yet hundreds, perhaps thousands of people walk on them daily and no one here in New England is knocking down trees or putting in new sidewalks. The roots do their thing in Boston and Cambridge and they are allowed to without repercussions, namely public works projects. Even here, the sidewalks are coming up, without any tree roots pushing them up, it just happens. But it's ok, it's part of the quintness of New England.

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This is Paul Revere's house in the North End of Boston, which was built in the 1600s, he lived there in the 1700s, but you'll notice the cobble stone streets which I am sure were not replaced and are the originals from when they were put down, maybe in the 1800s.

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Boston's Freedom Trail is red brick. It's a trail that leads you through the old area of the city. You follow it and pass by so much U.S. history, it goes right by the Old North Church and Paul Revere's house, can you imagine if Boston decided to take out the bricks and redo them on a whim?

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