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The idea of Alleys came to thought during the roman times. (Curious City: Chicagos Alleys)
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Wood block pavement was more well known as Nicolson pavement. This way of pavement was created by Samuel Nicolson in 184. The first pavement by this method lasted 7 years before it was needed to be replaced.
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In 1856 Nicolsons method came to Chicago.
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The most preferred wood to use for this method at the time was cedar which became mainly used after the Great Fire.
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By 1871, Chicago had 37 miles of wood paved street.
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Samuel Greeley was enthusiastically in favor of the new pavement, and in an article, he wrote ¨Wooden pavement…might have great advantages in a city, where suitable stone was scarce, where lumber was the great staple of the market, and where the foundation was new and yielding.” But, wooden pavement did not last long on the heavy traffic on the streets. The wooden pavement only lasted about a decade and by the 1890s wooden pavement was seen as a failure to others.
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Alleys were also beneficial to Chicago because they helped and built the backbone for our main transportation system, the L.
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Having alleys in Chicago help make it a cleaner environment that people would want to come and visit. Instead of having our trash out in the streets like New York, we are able to put them in our alleys.
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Alleys are not just used for garbage, they may also be used to hold essential services such as utility poles and things we may not want out in the open.
