She doesn't miss a brick: Porter wants to reunite people with pavers

It’s part of the West Dearborn construction and renovation project continuing from Indiana Avenue to Old Englewood Road.

“It’s a big deal,” said Porter, who was born and raised in Englewood.

She sees the bricks as commemorating Englewood’s history. She would hate it if they are tossed away.

“This is their families and friends. It goes on for decades,” Porter said. “It’s important to Englewood.”

The bricks themselves originated as a cooperative fundraising “Buy-a-Brick” effort between Olde Englewood Village Association and the Englewood Community Redevelopment Agency in 2000.

Porter’s posts on social media about bricks has proved a success.

She’s received “message after message after message” from people who had not realized the bricks were being removed or a family member purchased a brick 20 years ago to be placed along West Dearborn.

PRESERVING THE BRICKS

CRA manager Debbie Marks hopes to coordinate with Porter on finding homes for the remaining bricks.

As the construction project has progressed along West Dearborn Street — now with the work concentrated from Indiana Avenue to the McCall Road intersection along the 400 block of West Dearborn — the CRA office has been collecting “orphaned bricks,” more than 100 at last count.

The CRA is building a database identifying for whom or what business the bricks were originally dedicated and recording who claims what brick.

Also, some bricks were donated to the Lemon Bay Historical Society and will be preserved with the historic Green Street Church. The church was moved three years ago to State Road 776 and adjacent to the Lemon Bay Cemetery.

The Lemon Bay Woman’s Club, at Cocoanut and Maple streets, is also caring for some bricks.

Reclaiming the bricks is free. To learn more or to claim a brick, call the CRA office at 941-473-9795.