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City of Detroit Sidewalk Marking Code

City of Detroit, you rock. I decided to finish my presentation of the stamps I saw in the Fox Theatre by checking on Detroit’s sidewalk stamp rules. I could tell that they must require them, since they were thick on the ground there, even compared with Lansing. Lansing may have earned my respect by codifying sidewalk stamps, but Detroit’s sidewalk stamp ordinance is on another level:

The Contractor’s name and the year in which the walk or drive was laid shall be carefully and clearly impressed in the concrete surface of each isolated flag, each flag at the property line, and in each end flag or slab of two or more adjoining flags or slabs. Each individual flag adjacent to a tree, whether arced or not, shall be also marked, as directed by the Engineer.

The stamp or plate used for marking shall have an approximate maximum dimension 100 mm x 150mm (4 x 6 inches), outside dimension. The Contractor’s name and the current year’s date shall be in such characters and arrangement that legible and indelible impression may be made in the concrete.

The work will be considered incidental to the cost of construction.

Sec. 12.III.12: “Contractor’s Stamp,” Standard Specifications for Paving and Related Construction, City of Detroit Department of Public Works, March 2009

The very detailed and strict set of rules mostly speaks for itself, but two points stand out. One is that it requires stamping not just at the start and end of a run of sidewalk but at the property line and, curiously, adjacent to each tree. The other is the last line, “The work will be considered incidental to the cost of construction.” I assume that means “Don’t try to charge extra for installing stamps” and it makes me wonder if there were incidents that resulted in adding that clause.

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W. Montcalm St., Detroit, Nagle Paving Co., 2017

All right, here’s the last of the sidewalk stamps I collected walking to and from the Fox Theatre from a parking lot on Montcalm. This one is from our evening walk back, after having seen Trevor Horn perform as a solitary Buggle in support of Seal. It’s right in front of the 127 W. Fischer lot’s entrance on the north side of Montcalm between Park and Clifford.

I’m disappointed that Nagle Paving Company does not have a company history on their Web site. Their About page says that they have “over 60 years of experience” and that they’re a union shop but that’s about all I can tell you about them. Their main line of business actually seems to be asphalt paving, though they do have a page advertising their concrete installation services.

Odd that so many of the stamps in this area are from 2017 yet are all from different contractors. I would have thought that if a bunch of work (either sidewalk work, or utility work necessitating sidewalk replacement) was being done by the city around the same time they would use the same contractor.

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W. Montcalm St., Detroit, Colasanti Specialty Svc., 2017

We’re getting very close to our destination at the Fox Theatre today. This stamp is at the northwest corner of West Montcalm Street and Woodward Avenue, on Montcalm. It’s in front of the City Theatre.

Colasanti’s Web site currently calls them Colasanti Construction Services, Inc., without reference to “Specialty Services,” but some cross-referencing confirms that they are the same company. They were founded in 1953. Their Management Team page lists Angelo Colasanti with the title “Founder,” but it says “Angelo joined the company when it was established by his father, Rocco, in 1953.” Doesn’t that make Rocco the founder? I suppose they could be co-founders, but if Rocco established the company I still think that gives him priority as being the founder. Well, it’s their business, so who am I to say? Just some rando who blogs obsessive about sidewalk markings, that’s who.

Hang on, is that 3/4 of the Beatles up ahead?
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W. Montcalm St., Detroit, Rayco Utility, 2017

Here’s another stamp from the Foxtown district in Detroit, on West Montcalm Street at the northeast corner of Montcalm and Park Avenue. It’s next to the Colony Club building (which faces Park).

I can’t tell you anything about Rayco Utility Inc. There’s a Rayco Utility Services based in Troy, but they seem to be a trucking company, so I’m not sure if it’s the same business or not.

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W. Montcalm St., Detroit, Thayer, 2020

Continuing my walk from the parking lot to the Fox Theatre in Detroit to the Buggles concert, I saw this stamp. I love how much information is packed into it and how crisp it is. It’s at the northwest corner of West Montcalm Street and Park Avenue, in front of what apparently, prior to 2018 or 2019, used to be the Town Pump Tavern.

According to the history page on their Web site, Thayer Power and Communication (or TPC) was founded in 1964 by David Thayer and his (oddly unnamed) brother. They originally set poles for power and telephone companies. Over the years they expanded into installing telephone, power, and eventually fiber lines. They have quite a few offices but most of them are actually in Ohio.

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W. Montcalm St., Detroit, CES, 2017

My husband and I went to the Fox Theatre in Detroit last night to see one of my very favorite bands, Buggles, open for Seal. That’s why this entry is the very first one for a stamp located in the city of Detroit proper. In fact, I quickly discovered that the Foxtown area hosts a splendid menagerie of contractor stamps, and I had to quit pausing to take a photo of every one I saw or else we would be late for the show.

This particular stamp is on the north side of West Montcalm Street between Park and Clifford, next to a parking lot. I am guessing CES might be Corby Energy Services, which “provides construction, engineering and support services to utilities and related businesses throughout southeastern Michigan, Indiana and Ohio,” especially because this sidewalk block surrounds a utility hole cover.