Who laid them
The record holds a few sentences about the people who built these streets, a city planner’s in 2013 and a nomination’s about the relief rolls of the 1930s, and a city film of the crews at work.
What was said in 2013
predominantly by African American men
Off the relief rolls
More than 1,400 families were on county relief in 1935, the Brick Streets nomination says, and the WPA and PWA projects that took on their men included paving streets.
“Most were unskilled laborers and agricultural workers and it was these men who were employed in local WPA and PWA projects.”2
City engineering records credit the Civil Works, Public Works and Works Progress administrations with paving in brick and asphalt in the mid-to-late 1930s.3 The Charnwood nomination says the Civil Works Administration “provided labor to complete Houston and South Donnybrook in the mid 1930s.”4
The city’s 2000 survey prints an undated Smith County Historical Society photograph of a road crew on Dobbs Street between Augusta and Kennedy.5
The film
A city film shows the crews laying bricks assembly-line style, in real time.1 Schoolchildren who saw it thought it had been sped up; it had not, the planner said.6
The city posts it on YouTube as “Tyler’s famous Brick Streets.” Its year, maker and streets are in no source we have found.7
Watch the film at KLTV (opens in a new tab)The city’s copy on YouTube (opens in a new tab)
Their names are in no record we have verified.
The hands since
As of 2015, a dedicated three-person city crew repaired the brick streets by hand, and the city required utility crews to lift old bricks one by one and stack them for city workers to relay.8
The lift of 2025 and 2026, step by step
If you hold a record of who built these streets, such as family papers, a photograph or a payroll book, Tyler Sites would like to hear from you.
Notes
Every source is listed on Sources and methods.
Note 1. In 2013, City of Tyler planner Heather Nick told KLTV that the brick streets were built 'predominantly by African American men,' and a city film shows the crews laying bricks assembly-line style in real time. The film is described only as showing assembly-line style work, not how the bricks were laid.
Note 2. The Brick Streets nomination says that in 1935 more than 1,400 families were on county relief, that 'most were unskilled laborers and agricultural workers and it was these men who were employed in local WPA and PWA projects,' and that those programs' work included paving streets. The nomination does not tie these men to particular streets.
Note 3. In the mid-to-late 1930s the Civil Works Administration, Public Works Administration and Works Progress Administration paved Tyler streets in both brick and asphalt, according to city engineering records. The nomination calls the PWA the “Progress Works Administration”; the agency was the Public Works Administration.
- National Register nomination, Brick Streets Neighborhood Historic District (Diane E. Williams, Aug. 22, 2003), Section 8, p. 58 atlas.thc.texas.gov
- National Register Multiple Property Documentation Form, Historic and Architectural Resources of Tyler, Texas (Diane E. Williams, July 2000), Section E, p. 30 atlas.thc.texas.gov
Note 4. The Charnwood nomination says Houston Street between Broadway and the Mo-Pac right-of-way and portions of Donnybrook were paved in the 1930s, and that the federally funded Civil Works Administration 'provided labor to complete Houston and South Donnybrook in the mid 1930s.'
Note 5. The 2000 survey includes an undated Smith County Historical Society photo of a road crew on Dobbs Street between Augusta and Kennedy, used to illustrate the New Deal-era paving of dozens of streets.
Note 6. The City of Tyler showed its film of brick street construction to schoolchildren, who thought it was sped up; planner Heather Nick said it was real time.
Note 7. The construction film is posted on the City of Tyler's YouTube channel as 'Tyler's famous Brick Streets,' and the Tyler Morning Telegraph posted a cut titled 'Found Footage Construction Of Tyler's Brick Streets.' No source we have found gives the film’s year, maker or streets.
Note 8. Because the old bricks are a finite resource, the city requires utility crews to lift them one by one and stack them for city workers to relay, and as of 2015 a dedicated three-person city crew repaired brick streets by hand.