BRICK BUILDINGS

Brick is one of Lancaster's most characteristic urban features, seen on the City's many brick rowhouses, on stately churches, on landmark buildings such as Central Market, on old tobacco warehouses and factories, and even on the new police station on West Chestnut Street. Brick buildings, both old and new, weave a common thread throughout the city.

Brick is one of man's oldest manufactured products. The use of brick as a building material dates back more than 6,000 years, when clay was mixed with straw and baked in the sun.

Brick is a durable building material that has been used to construct buildings in Lancaster since the 1700s. By the 1730s, there were already several local brickmakers. By 1873, there were ten brickyards in or near the City.

During the eighteenth century, bricks were handmade. Clay was mixed with a small amount of sand as a binder, shaped into brick forms or molds, and set out to dry. After the bricks were partially dried by the sun, they were fired in a kiln. By the nineteenth century, this process had been mechanized. Between 1840 and 1880, Lancaster was one of the state's leading centers of brick production, and these bricks were used locally in building construction. In 1887, nearly 70% of Lancaster's 7,787 structures were built of brick. Some of Lancaster's leading brick manufacturers at that time were C. Wise & Brother, at Manor and Prospect Streets, Adam Pontz at the east end of East Chestnut Street, and the Harry Martin Brick Machine Factory that was originally located on East Chestnut Street before moving to larger buildings at West Frederick Street and Lancaster Avenue.

To see photographs of the step-by-step process used to make bricks by hand during the eighteenth century, visit Colonial Williamsburg's web site, www.history.org/Almanack/life/trades/tradebri.cfm. A similar process would have taken place in Colonial Lancaster.

PATTERNS IN BRICK

Even a simple brick building can have complex designs (known as ornamentation) through the use of different masonry shapes, colors, textures and patterns. As you are walking down the street, take a close look at the buildings that you pass to spot how bricks and stones are used to form designs.

How many different shapes or patterns of brick can you count on this building on East Walnut Street?