Ardmore Place

Uncovering a historic brick street on the city’s West Side

Ardmore is a residential street on the city’s West Side, stretching just one block between Baynes Street and Richmond Avenue. The narrow tree-lined street features large multi-story homes, most of which were built in the early 20th century and have historic charm. At the west end of the street is Lafayette International High School, a large stone, brick, and terra-cotta building in the French Renaissance Revival style and one of the oldest public schools in the city. Ardmore is also home to one of the city’s numerous brick and cobblestone streets. Workers laid the bricks on Ardmore more than a century ago, but they were covered with layers of asphalt and blacktop for decades. During a typical street resurfacing project in 2013, neighbors noticed the bricks beneath the pavement and advocated for their restoration.

The restored brick street offers benefits that asphalt pavement does not—it gives the street a historic appearance that contributes to a distinct community character; it slows vehicles making the street safer for pedestrians; plus, it lets rain and snowmelt seep into the ground rather than running off into the sewer system.