Consider the cobblestone

These are just guys digging up the street. They didn't have to ask permission, they probably would rather do something else, but it's their job. It's harder on Crosby Street, for the reason depicted above. This is a Historic District, so you can't just fix the water main and pave the street. They have to take out those cobblestones, one by one, fix the water main, and then put them back, one by one. More a puzzle than a street.

A week goes by, and they're still at it. A week is a lot of time to think, and I got to thinking:

I want to know the origin of those stones. Also, the age. Do they just date back to the 70's when SoHo became Historic? How old are these stones? Does the city care if the stones are old or new?

If I find out, maybe I'll learn something about the character of the neighborhood, or the character grafted onto it by committees and commissions. Functional or pretty? Well, okay, probably both.

I'm looking for an expert to tell me some facts.