When the decision was made to pave Albert Lea’s Broadway Avenue with concrete in 1934, a problem was created with the disposal of the street’s old pavement.

Saturday, March 30, 2002

When the decision was made to pave Albert Lea’s Broadway Avenue with concrete in 1934, a problem was created with the disposal of the street’s old pavement. What could be done with thousands of wooden blocks which had been used for the street’s surface since 1911 or 1912?

In a recent letter to the Tribune, Robert G. (Bob) Larson of Springfield, Ill., provided the answer. He’s the son of John Peter Larson (1887-1972) who was a concrete construction contractor and manufacturer of street light standards in both Albert Lea and Rush City.

Larson, artist-curator of exhibits emeritus of the Illinois State Museum, explained both the history based on paving streets and highways and what happened regarding Albert Lea’s Broadway. He wrote:

&uot;The early concrete road pavers were in some ways in a race with the early automobile manufacturers. As the American public was rapidly being given &uot;wheels&uot; by the likes of Henry Ford, General Motors, the Packard Motor Car Company and others, city streets, concrete roads and main state highways were urgently needed. With the steady production of automobiles after 1900, people soon realized they could move about with a freedom and independence that only a decade or two earlier, could not have been imagined.

&uot;From just before the turn of the 20th Century, through the topsy-turvy period of the ‘roaring twenties’ and the turbulent early thirties, highway building boomed. For building main highways, concrete was in great demand for its permanency. My father decided his business thrust would be street and road construction in all of its aspects. In spite of &uot;bumpy roads&uot; along the way, John Larson survived in his contracting business for over fifty years … (with his) Larson Construction Company projects.

&uot; … For instance, during the 1930s as the ‘New Deal’ programs were beginning to transfuse businesses across the land, Albert Lea decided that the old creosote block streets which were in very worn, uneven, decades-old condition, should be torn up and the streets rebuilt. My father was awarded that contract. As I recall, he and his crew began the first portion of the street improvement at the old fire station at the north and extended to the south end of the court house block.

&uot;When the old creosote block street was torn up, there arose the problem of what to do with the hundreds of thousands of creosote saturated wooden blocks which had to disposed of. A partial solution was found when the City of Albert Lea offered the very combustible blocks to those folks who could used the wooden blocks for fuel. There was an unknown number of persons who welcomed the offer and took advantage of the opportunity. Many folks during those times welcomed any help they could get. It was a lean time in America. I was about twelve or thirteen Years old at the time and attending school every day; however, I was interested in the welcome change taking place along the City’s Main Street.&uot;

Creosote, a liquid derived from coal tar, is considered to be one of the most effective of wood preservatives. According to an encyclopedia entry, &uot;It is a dangerous poison.&uot; And as Larson mentioned in his letter, the street blocks were &uot;very combustible.&uot;

In a later telephone conversation, Larson said the city soon issued a statement telling local residents to be extremely careful with the burning of the free creosote-treated wooden street blocks. Anyway, the recycled former paving blocks could become very effective kindling to be used for starting fires in furnaces and wood stoves.

Today there’s still a very small segment of this type of street pavement left in the city. Those authentic creosote wooden blocks are located in front of the entry to the former Western Grocer Building on East Pearl Street.