More bricks
#9 is a wall of bricks with salvaged ones from the 1906 Earthquake and fire. You can see the blackened bricks, those are from the fire that came after the earthquake. That wall is on the Armory in the Mission which was built in 1914.
I sense thoughtful composition in these. Some are symmetrical, some whimsical, each suited to the nature of the featured wall. Well done.
Nosaj
Loc: Sarasota, Florida
212kelvin wrote:
More bricks
#9 is a wall of bricks with salvaged ones from the 1906 Earthquake and fire. You can see the blackened bricks, those are from the fire that came after the earthquake. That wall is on the Armory in the Mission which was built in 1914.
I like the concept for these shots. Good variety of textures and shapes.
htbrown
Loc: San Francisco Bay Area
212kelvin wrote:
More bricks
#9 is a wall of bricks with salvaged ones from the 1906 Earthquake and fire. You can see the blackened bricks, those are from the fire that came after the earthquake. That wall is on the Armory in the Mission which was built in 1914.
I believe you are mistaken about the blackened bricks. These are clinkers, bricks that were blackened (and often deformed) in the original firing of the clay. In earlier days, when the even heating of brick kilns was problematic, clinkers were common. Clinkers were sold as inferior but cheaper bricks. As you're in San Francisco, I suggest you wander through Chinatown, particularly some of the smaller streets and alleys. You'll find many buildings where clinkers are used as decorative accents.
My house had a chimney built of clinkers, until it started leaning after the Loma Prieta earthquake. It seems the original mortar had been made using beach sand (not uncommon for the era), and the salt in the sand had, over the decades, reduced the mortar to not much more than the original sand. It was only a later repointing that held the chimney together at all. The clinkers from the chimney have been recycled into planters.
htbrown wrote:
I believe you are mistaken about the blackened bricks. These are clinkers, bricks that were blackened (and often deformed) in the original firing of the clay. In earlier days, when the even heating of brick kilns was problematic, clinkers were common. Clinkers were sold as inferior but cheaper bricks. As you're in San Francisco, I suggest you wander through Chinatown, particularly some of the smaller streets and alleys. You'll find many buildings where clinkers are used as decorative accents.
My house had a chimney built of clinkers, until it started leaning after the Loma Prieta earthquake. It seems the original mortar had been made using beach sand (not uncommon for the era), and the salt in the sand had, over the decades, reduced the mortar to not much more than the original sand. It was only a later repointing that held the chimney together at all. The clinkers from the chimney have been recycled into planters.
I believe you are mistaken about the blackened bri... (
show quote)
According to the Library of Congress (
https://www.loc.gov/item/00694425)
'The demolition took place on May 9, 1906. St. Patrick's Church was rebuilt on this site in much the same style, using the same bricks over a steel frame. "
And here is an article from the SFGate about Earthquake-scarred bricks.
https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Earthquake-scarred-bricks-put-on-a-show-4740899.php#photo-5055343You may be right that some of the bricks. even most of the bricks, are clinkers. But some of them are salvaged from the wreckage of the 1906 earthquake. Based on the 2 reliable sources I quoted, I stand by my assertion that many of the fat uneven bricks are from the 1906 quake.
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