ASPHALT A S P H A LT A History Kenneth O’Reilly University of Nebraska Press Lincoln © 2021 by the Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska All rights reserved. Manufactured in the United States of America. Publication of this volume was assisted by a grant from the Friends of the University of Nebraska Press. Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data Names: O’Reilly, Kenneth, author. Title: Asphalt: a history / Kenneth O’Reilly. Description: Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, [2021] | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: lccn 2020030292 isbn 9781496222077 (hardback) isbn 9781496226365 (epub) isbn 9781496226372 (mobi) isbn 9781496226389 (pdf) Subjects: lcsh: Asphalt— History. | Asphalt— Environmental aspects— History. | Asphalt— Social aspects— History. Classification: lcc ta455.a7 .o74 2021 ddc 620.1/9609— dc23 lc record available at https:// lccn .loc .gov /2020030292 Set in Minion Pro by Laura Buis. Designed by L. Auten. Cover: Highway 63 Bitumen Slick, +57°1’9.82”, -111°34’47.97”, Syncrude Mildred Lake, Alberta, Canada. This image is part of Louis Helbig’s Beautiful Destruction project about the Alberta Oil/Tar Sands. The project is presented as an exhibition, a book, and at beautifuldstruction .ca. In the Beautiful Destruction book, the image “Highway 63 Bitumen Slick” is captioned with its geographical coordinates and in the languages of the two First Nations within whose territories the Oil/Tar Sands exist. In Dene Sulin the name is Tulu k’é 63 t’á tłes tué boret’ı, and in Cree it is 63 mēskanaw ēkwa askiy-pimiy ē-pimicowahk. For the latest arrivals: Brigid, Ollie, James, Bobby, and Theo And mark what object did present itself. Shakespeare, As You Like It, ca. 1599 Contents Preface xi Introduction: Power, Culture, Space 1 PPaarrtt 11.. BBeeffoorree BBllaacckkttoopp 1. Nature: Tar Pits and Asphalt Volcanoes 15 2. Use: Fired Bricks and Mummy Wars 24 3. Faith: Asphalt’s Dark Ages 37 PPaarrtt 22.. CCoommiinngg ttoo AAmmeerriiccaa 4. Triumph: The Blacktop Dawn 49 5. Duty: Conquering Poverty and Mud, Reich and Rising Sun 82 6. Crusades: Asphalt in the Cold War 116