Brick Cleaning Demonstration

In 1984, plans to repave East State Street were in development, and the Mayor, Common Council, and Historic Ithaca were in disagreement over how this should be done. Historic Ithaca argued that about 80% of bricks removed from Ithaca’s streets can be reused. To make this point, a group of 33 Historic Ithaca volunteers participated in a demonstration to show that the bricks could be easily cleaned. Following presentations by Geoffrey Gyrisco, Historic Ithaca’s Executive Director, and Mary Raddant Tomlan, Board President, at Planning and Development Committee and Common Council meetings, a resolution was passed establishing a policy for the treatment of brick streets, including a stockpiling of reusable bricks.