Detroit Brick Street Bearing 55 Year Old Scars of Michigan National Guard Tanks Has Uncertain Future

There are very few brick streets left in Detroit. One of the most historically significant has an uncertain future. The street in question is Virginia Park Street - originally Virginia Street. The roadway dates back to 1893 when the street was first paved with brick. Today just a few blocks of bricks remain, but what a story those bricks tell.

The neighborhood around Virginia Street was the site of the 1967 Race Riots. A major incident during that uprising was at the Algiers Motel incident where three civilians were killed and nine others assaulted by Detroit and state police and Michigan National Guardsmen.

During the riot, Michigan Army National Guard tanks drove down Virginia and left deep ruts in the brick that still exist some 55 years later.

READ MORE: Michigan's Capital City Appears Set to Vanish Its Remaining Brick-Lined Streets

A report in Bridge Detroit (with an incredible photo showing the tank track ruts in the street) tells of a project to rehabilitate the street. The city will pave with asphalt, smoothing out the ride but erasing the history.

Community advocates have actually been collecting bricks from other street renovation projects where the pavers have been removed and storing them in hopes of remaking Virginia Park Street with the same brick feel.

There are just three blocks of brick-lined Virginia Park Street between The Lodge and Woodward Ave crossing 2nd and 3rd Streets. A section of Virginia Park to the west of the Lodge is not brick-lined.