Bal's Stamp Collection

This is a collection of sidewalk stamps. Ten years ago when I still had a subscription to (and technical knowledge of) ArcGIS, I had a project idea to map out the age and condition of sidewalks in my neighborhood, slab-by-slab. I was curious about any potential trends that might emerge: where were sidewalks neglected? what years held up better than others? which construction teams should clearly never be contracted with again? I thought documenting and geocoding such granular data might be a valuable resource when combined with other environmental and social metrics in a city.

The project never came to fruition for a variety of reasons mostly related to time and deepening alcoholism, but I've never not thought about it while out walking. I still automatically check the year on sidewalks. Finally, recently, I decided to resume collecting. Time will pass anyway, as they say.

Stamps by City