This is the tragic story of St. Petersburg businessman Phineas T. Block and his beloved red-haired daughter, Augusta Block.
Brick paved streets play an important role in the history and charm of St. Petersburg. From 1904 to 1935, 110 miles of brick streets and alleys were laid. Most of the bricks were manufactured in Augusta, Georgia by the Georgia Vitrified Brick & Clay Co. A century later, more than 48 million bricks are still in use on St. Pete's bumpiest streets, including many in The Jungle.
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| Augusta Block vitrified bricks on a Jungle street. |
Who Was Augusta Block?
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| Phineas T. Block and daughter Augusta. |
THE LEGEND:Many years ago there lived in St. Petersburg a prosperous brickyard owner named Phineas T. Block. He had a ravishing red-haired daughter named Augusta, a spoiled beauty, if ever was one. Phineas was so crazy about her that he had her name printed on all his bricks. Well, disaster struck in the form of a San Francisco corset salesman who swept Augusta off her feet and across the state line, never to be seen again.
Phineas was heartbroken. Wherever he walked, her name stared up at him – Augusta Block, Augusta Block. At last the poor man, unable to forget, bricked himself in his closet and died of grief. Only the bricks remain to remind us of the danger offered by traveling men to gullible young women.
This bit of fake news was invented by St. Petersburg Times columnist Dick Bothwell in the 1960's. Variations of the story have been passed along for generations. A few years ago, I (Steve of the Jungle) heard that Augusta Block was a person. I didn't know the rest of the preposterous story, but I trusted my source and, in my role as a neighborhood historian, I let others know about Augusta Block, the person. I wonder how many of them passed the legend on to their friends.
TRIVIA:
- 48,682,000 Augusta bricks are still used on city streets and alleyways – probably five times that amount have been paved over, according to a St. Pete official.
- To reduce moisture absorption, vitrified bricks are fired at a much higher temperature than building bricks.
- In a strength test, the Augusta brick did not break until placed under 25 tons of pressure and it took 50 tons to shatter the brick.
- In a 1927 newspaper advertisement, the Georgia Vitrified Brick & Clay Co. boasted an annual output of 12 million bricks.
- An eBay seller is asking $35 for a single Augusta Block brick.
- Augusta Block bricks can be found on streets in over 30 Southeastern cities.
Sources for this article include the St. Petersburg Times and "Watch Your Step in Tampa and St. Petersburg" by Bill Baab.
Illustrations by DALL-E.
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| Augusta Block, the legend. |
