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copperbadge:

A screenshot of text reading: Once the largest producer of brick pavers in the world, Purington employed 800 workers to transform blue shale and yellow soil into more than a hundred and fifty thousand bricks per day. The first brick was manufactured on the site in 1849. Henry Grosscup, a German stonemason, purchased ninety acres of land from Knox College trustees, paying for it with brick which was used to construct Whiting Hall and Old Main.ALT

I was recently in one of Chicago’s more historic neighborhoods and I happened to notice that one of the museum-homes had paving brick outside with the word “Purington” on it, so I gave it a search in an idle moment and found the strange and compelling world of brick fandom. Technically most of the sites are people who salvage and resell historic brick and paving stone, but there’s a certain whiff of hyperfixation within this particular commercial niche.

Imagine paying for ninety acres of land with bricks. Imagine accepting ninety acres of land’s worth of bricks. I mean it makes sense in the era, why bother with cash when bricks will do, but like. Damn.

Also:

A screenshot of text reading: The largest order ever filled came at the start of World War Two when Dupont Company needed twenty-two million building bricks for a munitions plant in southern Indiana. Purington worked at full production capacity for 146 days to complete the order, filling seven or eight freight cars each day. The daily shipment traveled through the night and arrived next morning at the building site, still warm from the kiln.ALT

There’s something insanely compelling about the idea of rocking up to a freight car to start unloading bricks for the day and they’re still faintly warm. I’m not sure if it’s compelling like fresh warm bread or compelling like some kind of weird eldritch horror.

(Both quotes from historicalbricks.com)