Restoring Tyler’s Famous Brick Streets To Their Glory Days
A national treasure is being restored and repaired in Tyler.
Tyler is known for several different things: roses, azaleas, brick streets, medical district and much more. One of the big ones in that short list are the brick streets. Tyler's first brick streets were laid down in 1912 and the streets continued to be created and expanded through 1947. These historic brick streets run through the Brick Streets, Azalea and Charnwood National Register historic districts as well as in downtown Tyler and other parts of North Tyler, where some of the oldest brick streets in the city can be found.
In 2004 an area southwest of downtown was designated as a 'National Historic District' and is now known as the 'Brick Streets' part of town and encompasses many quaint and charming neighborhoods. Although these neighborhoods have a historical designation to them, improvements are still happening as homes are being updated and renovated. With these renovations, the brick streets sometimes have to be cut up for utility maintenance and upgrade for water, sewer or telecom lines. Lately these cuts have resulted in the brick streets not being replaced and just filled in with asphalt as a quick fix because of a backlog of street repairs, especially after the winter storm of 2021, which cause many water main breaks.
Recently the Tyler City Council unanimously voted to award a contract to restore 43 utility cuts that were repaired by asphalt in Tyler's historic brick streets. The project will restore the brick streets to their glory days and replacing the unsightly asphalt substitute. This project is being covered by the city's Street Commitment Fund and will be returning the charm of Tyler's brick streets to their glory days.
You can see video of some of the brick streets being created thanks to the City of Tyler. It's great to see the city taking steps to repair this National Historic District by returning the streets to all brick and replacing the unsightly asphalt dots that litter the brick street landscape.