The top picture is of the main brick pathway through Maclay Gardens State Park. It runs from the entrance gates up to the Maclay House and is right next to Lake Hall which you can catch glimpses of through the trees to the right. This walkway was created in 1968 from bricks that were recycled from an old street in Tampa, Florida. These bricks were originally made in different cities and if you look at them closely, you will see names like Baltimore, Augusta and Birmingham. The second shot is a closeup of one of the old bricks. The third shot is another pathway through the gardens leading away from the Maclay House. I love the way the moss hangs down from the trees over your head as you walk down the pathways. It's like walking under a canopy. Enlarge the pictures to get a better view.
13 comments:
Way cool and so peaceful!
beautiful....
Its a beautiful park and nice that the bricks were recycled and preserved in this wonderful walkway. A walk with history and beauty all in one.
Love the hanging lichens in the first shot! Beautiful spot.
I wonder what made them take the bricks from those cities & how they ended up there in Tallahassee? Not that I'm complaining, by no means, I think it's really cool, but where'd the idea come from? I always wonder things like that... remember my OCD?!! heheheee
BTW - The moss is beautiful hanging over the walkway - It really must be nice to take that walk! Great work
Very interesting. The pathway reminds me of those in Sholom Park here in Ocala. Beautiful!
That took some work! It's beautiful.
well done photos with the curvey brick walks.
I think it's facinating that bricks have pedigrees...I remember first seeing them posted by Knoxville Girl http://knoxtndailyphoto.blogspot.com/2009/02/carbofrax.html and I think Dusty Lens posted some too. I've since found imprints on bricks here too.
Lois, that looks like a real nice place just to walk around and enjoy the peaceful area. Would not mind going there and enjoy for myself.
Les
What a wonderful way to recycle used bricks! Much better than burying them as landfill! They seem to invite a person to take a nice long walk ...
Lois - In the late sixties the city of Tampa began a major "urban renewal" project in the Ybor City area. It was a decimation of entire parts of what is today a National Historic District. As they were building the interstate, which cut right through the town, they leveled many homes and buildings and dug up tons and tons of streets with brick pavers. The bricks you photographed must have come from that area...very historic old neighborhood and now, sadly, irreplaceable. Someone, wisely, recognized the value in these sturdy old bricks and put them to very good use; they will last forever. (BTW - the brick streets that remain are carefully preserved now.)
Thank you, Lois, for directing me to this info regarding the bricks. I was considering doing a post about a recent visit to the gardens and couldn't find much online about the history of the walkway. It's good to know that historical preservation has gotten better in recent years, as Mr. Frank pointed out.
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