COBBLESTONES, BRICKS AND RAILS
For about the third time in my life time the tar veneers covering the roads
of Red Bank have been stripped away. They reveal the cobblestones bricks and
trolley rails that were the streets of Red Bank from a bygone era. On the third
of August West Front Street was closed and the large grinding machines removed
tons of tar that covered the old road ways. The old brick roads have been
visible while awaiting a new cover that was completed on the tenth of August.
Meanwhile, thousands of us drove over the old brick roads that covered Red Bank
eras ago.
If I have heard it from one person I have heard it from a dozen that the
brick roads are beautiful and wouldn't it be nice if we could keep them that
way. What I found fascinating were the cobble stones in the road just under the
rail road bridge on West Front Street. They do bring back the image of a time
gone by. In the many years I have lived in Red Bank this is the third time I
have seen the bricks and trolley tracks exposed as the roads were re-tarred.
Each time the effect was the same, there is a fascination from many at how they
look and the question comes up could we keep them. I donut believe the bricks
and cobble stones could survive the winters with plows, salts and chemicals.
The trolley tracks bring out the same question again and again…why couldn't
we have that back again. The nostalgia of a trolley totting us around town seems
romantic. The bottom line is that most of us would not ride it except for a
lark. When we had the motorize bus trolley running a route around town during
Christmas most of the time it was empty. Today we are all jointed at the bumper
with our cars. Our life styles do not seem to allow for a slower paced life that
the brick roads and trolleys call for. We are driven…so to speak to travel
hundreds of directions a day to accomplish our goals of the day. Bricks and
trolleys do not fit into that scheme of life.
Many building from that time still remain in town…many do not. Sometimes we
can save a part of the past other times it is not practical. It takes a delicate
balance and a lot of money to preserve the past. Sometimes it is easier to
replace the facade of an old structure with new and lasting materials then to
let a building fall into ruin just for the sake of holding on to something old.
