How dirt gets around is interesting. Some of the old parking strips obviously still have some original ground down there. I've seen old photos, and grass parking strips seems to have been a feature of urban streets going back at least to the 40's from photos and aerials I can recall seeing, I can recall that with 100% certainty right this moment, and I'm pretty sure I've seen ones from at least as early as the 20's. I'm referring to s. florida now. Concrete sidewalks were in photos I've seen of old downtown miami on Flagler (Main) st. from the 1890's, I did not see strips, but those were commercial buildings there. I bet there were some along the residential streets even then. Miami was incorporated in 1896.
The other day a fella told me not to waste my time hunting the strip in front of his house as they'd put in new curbs and re-sodded the strips on that street a few years back. What he didn't know, was that I'd found a 1910 penny and a sprinkler patented in 1910 over in front of the next house, which had been built in 1915. They weren't deep either, just 2-3 inches under the new sod.
Parking strips can take many forms. To me, they are fascinating. My favorites are the ones that people actually park on. The ones that are deep enough that they park head in seem to be best. Down here in S. Florida, ledges of the native limestone oolite rock often lays bare in a parking strip, and the cars park right on the rock. I found a silver rosie sitting in a shallow pocket of dust on one of those oolite ledges. I don't think anyone would have believed there could have been a silver coin sitting there for the last 60 years.
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2012 totals (3/20/12)/ gold rings-2; Sterling jewelry-12; wheaties-18; IH-2; war nickel-1; Franklin half-1;Mercury dime-1; Valuable Collectible/relic:1; wearable faux jewelry: 1
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