Street Department annual reports

The Office of Superintendent of Streets was established by ordinance passed August 22, 1833. Under the direction of the Mayor, the Superintendent of Streets, appointed annually, superintended the general condition of the streets of the City and had charge of constructing, paving and repairing them; also all sidewalks and of numbering all buildings.

Prior to 1882, the department under the charge of the Superintendent of Streets was called the Paving Department. The department under the charge of the Street Commissioners was called the Street Department. From 1883, the departments under charge of the Street Commissioners and the Superintendent of Streets were collectively called the Street Department. The Street Commissioners had charge of the laying out and widening of streets and highways. The Superintendent of Streets had charge of the work of laying out, widening, etc. By Chapters 18 and 36 of the Revised Ordinances of 1890, the department under the charge of the Street Commissioners was called the Street Laying-Out Department and the department under the charge of the Superintendent of Streets was called the Street Department.

By ordinance approved March 9, 1891, in amendment of Chapter 18 of the Revised Ordinances of 1890, the Departments of Sewers, Sanitary Police, and Bridges, and the Office of Commissioner of Cambridge Bridges, were consolidated and placed under the administrative control of the Superintendent of Streets. Chapter 3 of the Ordinances of 1908, approved by the Mayor on April 6, 1908, consolidated the Bridge, Sanitary, Sewer and Street Cleaning and Watering Departments, created by chapters 1, 2, and 3 of the Ordinances of 1906 and the Lamp Department, created by chapter 22 of the Revised Ordinances of 1898, with the Street Department, which was placed under the charge of the Superintendent of Streets.

The Superintendent of Streets had control of the construction and repair of streets, sidewalks and sewers, the cleaning and watering of streets, the care and management of bridges and ferries, the maintenance of public lamps in streets and parks and the collection and disposal of house offal, etc. He was authorized to regulate the numbering of buildings and to issue permits for various purposes, e.g., opening, occupying and obstructing the streets, laying water pipes, entering sewers, etc., laying railway tracks in the streets, or wires or conduits under the streets; or to erect poles for the support of wires.

Chapter 9 of the Ordinances of 1910 established the Department of Public Works and abolished the Engineering Department, Street Department and Water Department.