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31 BCE
Very Beginning of Alleys
The Romans were the first to plan and construct alleys -
Laying out Chicago
The I&M Canal Commission hired James Thompson to layout Chicago at the eastern end of the canal in 1830. To attract prospective land buyers, Thompson included alleys in their plans. -
Wood Block Pavement is invented
Samuel Nicolson was the superintendent of Boston and Roxbury Mill Corporation when he invented the process in 1848 -
Wood Block Pavement is brought to Chicago
Nicolson's method to pave streets is brought to Chicago -
First Communities without Alleys
Divergence of the alley trend begins -
Chicago now has 37 miles of wood block pavement
Wood block paving was a way to solve the infrastructural problem of muddy streets -
By the 1890s, Belgian Block paving is introduced
Wood block paving wasn't exactly durable which is why Belgian block paving became popular -
Alley Explosion
By 1900, over 98 percent of the city's residential blocks had alleys -
Theory on Alleys
Around World War I, “modern” planning theory declared alleys wasteful and undesirable, and the last outer fringes of the city of Chicago, along with the vast majority of the suburban territory, were developed thereafter without alley -
Alleys Continue
Alleys have survived the new millennium largely intact and contribute hugely to the pulse of Chicago's daily life