122.668.4

In 1910, Main Street in Ames was paved with crosote/tar-coated wood "bricks." Wood blocks, it turned out, in time lost the creosote to the effects of weathering. Then wet weather caused the wood paving to settle and break up as seen here. This photo shows Main Street following many days of heavy rain in June of 1918. The wood-brick pavement was finally replace in 1926 with concrete paving. This photo is looking toward the south side of Main Street near the west drive entrance to the Chicago & North Western Railroad depot. A portion of the depot can be seen in the upper right of the photograph. (See also: 169.946.1) Photo, courtesy of the Iowa Department of Transportation.