President ’ s Message
News & Notes
This newsletter is published four times a year by the MOUNTAIN VIEW HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION P . O . Box 252 , Mountain View , CA 94042 www . mountainviewhistorical . org
MVHA Board of Directors
President : Pamela Baird Vice-President : Robert Cox Secretary : Jamil Shaikh Treasurer : Melissa Rusch Past President : Nicholas Perry Historical Data : Gill Lane Membership : Lisa Garcia Newsletter : John Cortez Director-at-Large : Carol Donahue Director-at-Large : IdaRose Sylvester Director-at-Large : Vacant
Newsletter Design & Layout by Nicholas Perry
MVHA Board of Directors Email : info @ mountainviewhistorical . org
Pamela Baird
President ’ s Message
By Pamela Baird MVHA President
Searching for History ? Look Down !
During the early stages of the COVID pandemic , like many people , my husband and I did a lot of walking . We live across the street from the Monta Loma neighborhood . While walking around I noticed that many of the sidewalk sections had a date stamp of 1954 with the name of the contractor that constructed the sidewalks ( and probably the asphalt streets as well ).
One section in the middle of Victory Street had two dates and contractors . Later , I learned that the Monta Loma neighborhood was built by three companies : Eichler Homes , Mackay Homes and the Mardell Building Company . Walking around in Old Mountain View one can occasionally see date stamps on sidewalks . Many of the sidewalks have been replaced and the new segments do not include date stamps .
1906 photo of Castro Street showing concrete sidewalks
Evidently the sidewalks in at least the first three blocks of Castro Street were paved by about 1905 . Photos from 1906 show what appear to be concrete sidewalks . A photo from 1895 shows raised wooden sidewalks . Concrete sidewalks are expected to last between 25-80 years depending on the climate and the original installation factors . In our climate , with no snow or extreme temperature conditions , we can expect to have the sidewalks last longer .
According to the Irish Concrete Society , “ the birth of modern concrete as we know it today can be attributed to a stonemason from Leeds , England named Joseph Aspdin . He made a new , improved cement in 1824 by heating chalk and clay together then grinding it down to fine powder . He called it Portland Cement due to its resemblance to Portland stone when hardened .”
Today concrete is the most widely used construction material in the world . It consists primarily of cement , stone aggregate , sand and water . Other materials can be added to change the color , increase the workability of the product or inhibit corrosion .
Take a walk around your neighborhood — what will you find ? — Pamela
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