Have You Seen These Cool Personalized Bricks on a Maine Bridge?

A footbridge in Maine is filled with memories on a unique brick walkway that also benefits the community.

Where is This Walkway?

The day started with a trip to Belfast for breakfast and ducks. My friend and I decided to make the trip to see the giant inflatable ducks in the Passagassawakeag River and thought we'd try out a local breakfast spot. Bell the Cat turned out to be the right choice, with outdoor seating and my first experience with chicken and waffles.

After a stop at Goodwill for some shopping, we headed to Front Street, where we could see the ducks called Joy, Greater Joy, and Greatest Joy. For anyone who doesn't know the history, Joy showed up two years ago, mysteriously. The next summer, it was Greater Joy on her own. And this year, all three are gracing the Belfast waterfront, still with no explanation about who put them there.

What Kinds of Messages Are on the Bricks?

As we made our way down the walkway, we stopped to sit on a bench at the entrance to the Armistice Bridge, which is a footbridge that spans the river. (you can see it behind the ducks, in the above picture) That's when I noticed that many of the bricks have messages on them, from 'We got married here' to 'in memoriam.' The one that got me in the feels was the one that had the names of a couple and said "Memories of our Walks." Now, I know nothing about these people, but I imagined that they had aged, or perhaps even one had passed away, and this was a way to remember their walks together on the Belfast Waterfront. I'm so glad we stopped to rest for a minute so we didn't just walk over the bricks without noticing the messages.

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How Can We Get a Brick?

A little research online explained that they're called Memorial Bricks and people can purchase them for $100 each. They can even buy a second keepsake brick for $50. This is a brilliant fundraising tool, with all the proceeds from the sales benefitting the Belfast Downtown Revitalization Fund, that also gives people a chance to record their memories in a public way. The Memorial Bricks can be ordered through the Our Town Belfast website.