Talk:Commissioners' Plan of 1811

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The article was edited by 207.237.92.187 to state that the plan divided Manhattan into about "200 long, narrow blocks", instead of the 2000 that was previously stated. I've changed it back. The plan divides Manhattan into a grid of dimensions approximately 155 (streets) by 12 (avenues), and 155 times 12 is 1860, which is about 2000. Izzycat 01:06, 9 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Actual distance between avenues (mostly near 14th Street, if that matters)

I'm calculating this from a series of 1879 Bromley plats on the David Rumsey Map Collection.

  • 11-10, 10-9, 9-8, 8-7, 7-6: 900 ft/0.17 mi (100 road, 800 block)
  • 6-5, 5-4, 4-3: 1020 ft/0.19 mi (100 road, 920 block)
  • 3-2: 710 ft/0.13 mi (100 road, 610 block)
  • 2-1: 750 ft/0.14 mi (100 road, 650 block)
  • 1-A: 703 ft/0.13 mi (90 road, 613 block)
  • A-B: 736 ft/0.14 mi (70 road, 666 block)
  • B-C, C-D: 746 ft/0.14 mi (70 road, 676 block)

--NE2 14:26, 4 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Wide streets

The normal width is 60 feet.

  It should be pointed out here that the 60' number above includes the 15' sidewalks on
  each side. This would make the streets (as determined by the 'blacktop' surfacing)
  only 30'. The 100' avenue measurement is also affected, but is not as uniform, with
  the sidewalk widths varying. The numbers here (60' and 100') are from property line
  to property line.
  Frunobulax (talk) 17:35, 23 April 2008 (UTC)
  • As I understand it, the sidewalk is part of the property. The 60' and 100' widths are from curb to curb. Alansohn (talk) 18:52, 23 April 2008 (UTC)

I am an architecture/engineering professional that is working re-drafting an UES site plan as I write this, which is the reason I am reading about this subject here in the first place. I am referencing the Sanborn Manhattan maps constantly in order to get the property lines correct for a 10 block area. I do not know for certain which way the 'sidewalk ownership' issue falls. But the 60' and 100' measures are basically from brickface to brickface; that is, from the facade of the building on one side of the street/avenue to the facade of the building on the other side. This much I am certain of. Plus, I took a tape measure to both sidewalks and the street to make sure they came out to 60', which they did. Frunobulax (talk) 20:22, 30 April 2008 (UTC)


  • 14th Street, 100 feet
  • 23rd Street, 100 feet
  • 34th Street, 100 feet
  • 42nd Street, 100 feet
  • 57th Street, 100 feet
  • 59th Street, 100 feet along Central Park only
  • 72nd Street, 100 feet
  • 79th Street, 100 feet
  • 86th Street, 100 feet
  • 96th Street, 100 feet
  • 106th Street, 100 feet
  • 110th Street, 60 feet east of Central Park; 80 feet west of 9th; 125 feet between 8th and 9th; 85? feet along Central Park [1] (was 60 in 1891)
  • 116th Street, 100 feet
  • 125th Street, 100 feet (including LaSalle Street; the diagonal portion is also 100 feet)
  • 135th Street, 100 feet
  • 145th Street, 100 feet
  • 155th Street, 100 feet
  • 165th Street was to be 100 feet but does not seem to have been built that way
  • 175th Street, 100 feet (it doesn't look like this was built as such)
  • 185th Street, 100 feet west of Broadway (never built there)
  • 195th Street, 100 feet (never built, period)
  • 205th Street, 100 feet west of 10th Avenue (never built there)
  • 207th Street, 100 feet? (east of 10th Avenue; widened for the bridge [2])
  • 215th Street, 100 feet
  • 225th Street, 100 feet
Block widths (even next to wide streets)
  • 212 feet, 1st to 2nd
  • 212 or 211.11 feet, 2nd to 3rd
  • 192 or 192.1 feet, 3rd to 4th
  • 192.1 feet, 4th to 5th
  • 194.125 feet, 5th to 6th
  • 181.9 feet, 6th to 7th
  • 195 feet, 7th to 8th
  • 187.10 feet, 8th to 9th
  • 184.6 feet, 9th to 10th
  • 189.7 feet, 10th to 11th
  • 206.6 feet, 11th to 16th
  • 184 feet, 16th to 21st
  • 197.6 feet, 21st to 42nd
  • 200.10 feet, 42nd to 71st
  • 204.4 feet, 71st to 86th
  • 201.5 feet, 86th to 96th
  • 201.10 feet, 96th to 125th
  • 199.10 feet, 125th to at least 204th

The information north of 145th Street is mostly from 1879, and was not all built as shown, while the rest is from mainly after 1900. --NE2 11:46, 4 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Major interrruptions

Eh? Rock Center does not interrupt the grid plan; Times Square makes no major interruption, and Grand Central does. Or am I misunderstanding? Jim.henderson 03:33, 17 July 2007 (UTC)