John Bromfield’s Gift
The brick sidewalks that adorn our downtown are not there because they want to establish an ‘historic’ ambiance. They reflect back to an extraordinary man who was born and raised in Newburyport, who fled because of the devastation from the Great Fire of 1811; and went on to become an international merchant acquiring large sums of money. As incredibly wealthy as he was, he never sat for a portrait though many sought him to do so.
John Bromfield’s Fortune
He had made his fortune travelling across the world as a ‘supercargo’ going as far as China. A very important position where negotiations were constantly done port to port to secure cargo and strike important deals. He was so successful that he eventually came back to Boston and opened a successful business in investment. Boston still remembers his legacy with the Boston Atheneum (A private library set up by him) and naming the street in the financial district after him.
But he never forgot his hometown and when he passed away, he bequeathed a large sum to have sidewalks and trees placed around Newburyport to help every citizen with good pedestrian walkways and trees above for shade.
Streets were a dangerous place as a pedestrian
Thanks to John Bromfield, street trees are a unique feature that makes Newburyport stand out over other communities in Massachusetts. He sought their existence as a natural shade from the hot sun and a means to bring nature into the experience of being a pedestrian. Most residents of Newburyport could not afford the expense of assembling the carriages and saddles to do business around town. More often, simply walking around town was sufficient whether a businessman or simply a resident doing errands. The issue was that most streets were packed dirt and often when rainy season descended on the town, they became a morass often mixed with horse dung making them slippery and dangerous to cross. Worse, in the middle of dry summers, wind would whip across the surface and many a pedestrian would end up coated with dust. The town would combat this situation by hiring water carriages up and down to wet the surface to minimize the problem.
Some merchants, even for example in prominent towns such as Salem, Massachusetts, would create tunnels under the street so they could travel quickly to the docks without being covered in mud. Some of these still exist in Newburyport (One lies under Jackman House in the North End which makes its way to the shipyard by the water) and have mistakenly been called ‘smuggling tunnels’.
Bromfield saw the plight of the average citizen trying to transport themselves across the community. He devised a Trust Fund for Newburyport that was issued in 1851 (He had passed away in 1849) which coincided rather nicely as the town officially became a city in that very same year!
The main concern for Mr. Bromfield was the harsh sun in the summer months and un-hindered winds during winter. Trees with deep roots were sought most often American Elm but other deep-rooted species were used also.
Newburyport becomes a Garden
The amount was vast for its time and in short order brick sidewalks were found not just downtown but into the North and South Ends and even extended all the way down High Street as the Belleville community was added to the city at that time. Each sidewalk bound by majestic granite curbs added a sharpness to the entire city.
19th Century into the early 20th century photographs reveal Newburyport as one of the most breathtaking beautiful communities in the entire United States.
Newburyport is brutally attacked!
Sadly, two terrible events ended up trashing the city. First came the onslaught of the Dutch Elm Disease. It wasn’t long before the tree-lined avenues were filled with dead and decaying trees. In the process of taking away the trunks much damage was done to the brick sidewalks. The second event was modern technology. Concrete was introduced. The problem with brick surfaces is the fact that they are labor intensive. Carefully maintained, bricks themselves can last for well over a century and even more. But the advent of weakened subsurface and frost heaves, requires workmen to lift the brick and re-lay the surface which is labor intensive. With the advent of concrete, the impression was that the surface would last far longer. (Many monuments in Europe built by the Romans of concrete are still going strong today! Unfortunately, the type of concrete used in today’s surfaces are of far lower quality and often fully deteriorates in thirty years or less.) Later, much cheaper macadam which deteriorates even more rapidly rose up thoroughly destroying the look and feel of the city. This sadly corresponded with the economic deterioration of the businesses in town.
Bricks, though long-lasting began to receive a stigma as the city could not afford to fix the many undulating sidewalks in the neighborhoods. Worse, invasive trees such as the Norway Maple, and other species with shallow roots thoroughly tore up the level surfaces thus creating the infamous, “Newburyport Walk” forcing many pedestrians to risk their safety by walking thru the streets. The exact opposite of Broomfield’s wishes!
Slow Recovery
In recent years, at least when it comes to trees, the city has hired a professional arborist who has begun the slow, systematic removal of the invasive and shallow-rooted trees. The new Tree Commission is steadily replacing them with deep-rooted species across the entire community.
Many savvy citizens are realizing that putting brick sidewalks in front of their home is a cheap and effective way in the historic district to increase the equity and value of their place. Sadly, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts provides ample funding for putting in concrete sidewalks but no funding for something unique such as brick. This has forced Newburyport to put in concrete in historic areas tapping into the funding source available. At present, there is no funding to pay for the increased labor and installation of brick.