Court Avenue, Straße in Ohio, Vereinigte Staaten
Court Avenue is a street in Bellefontaine, Ohio, that was the first in the United States to be completely paved with concrete. It extends as an ordinary residential street with a smooth, durable concrete surface that has defined the streetscape since its completion in 1893.
George Bartholomew, an inventor and builder, paved a small test section on Main Street in 1891 to demonstrate that concrete could work for roads. After this successful test, Bellefontaine decided two years later to build Court Avenue as the nation's first complete concrete street.
Court Avenue bears the name of an ordinary street but became a symbol of progress in American transportation history. The street still shows the smooth concrete surface laid over 130 years ago, and it reminds visitors of the innovative spirit of Bellefontaine.
The street is located near the corner of East Court Avenue and South Main Street, where a historical marker explains the story. Visitors can walk the street and find local signs and websites that provide more information about this site.
The concrete for the street came from local marl material sourced from a quarry about 8 miles away operated by the Buckeye Cement Company. Using these regional resources made the project possible and showed how local materials could lead to national innovation.
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