Monday, March 21, 2011

200th birthday of Manhattan's Rectangular Street grid | NYT

NYT: Manhattan's Rectangular Street

The Commissioners' Plan of 1811 was the original design plan for the streets of Manhattan, which put in place the grid plan that has defined Manhattan to this day. The commissioners published their plan in March 1811 in the form of an eight-foot map with 12 main north-south avenues and numerous cross streets, with Broadway running at an angle through it. The goal was "a free and abundant circulation of air" to stave off disease. The right angles were also favored because "straight-sided and right-angled houses are the most cheap to build."

Original plan of 1807 without Central Park. See also: Egbert Ludovicus Viele
NYC-GRID-1811

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