Quote:
Originally Posted by iheartthed
Manhattan's grid starts at Houston St., not 14th St.
But this reminds me... A large section of Manhattan below Houston is actually laid out as the OP suggests. Mostly between Houston and Canal St. or Grand St.
I suspect that sunlight was a huge reason for the grid being laid out with long blocks east/west instead of north/south.
|
yep sorta.
technically -- to get right down to it per wiki:
The baseline of the Commissioner's remit was set at Houston Street – "North Street" at the time – "Art Street", which was located approximately where Washington Square North is today, and "Greenwich Lane", now Greenwich Street. Greenwich Village, then independent of New York City, and the current West Village were not part of the area the Commission was to deal with.
Previously, city commissioners gave the marching orders for surveyors in 1807:
They were given 4 years to have the island surveyed, and then to produce a map showing the placement of future streets. There were few specifications given to them about those streets, except that streets were to be at least 50 feet (15 m) wide, while "leading streets" and "great avenues" were to be at least 60 feet (18 m) wide.