STREETS AS SOCIAL HISTORY: The Case of New York
The orthogonal gridiron dominates New York City’s street pattern, but not entirely -- Lower Manhattan includes irregular streets where New Amsterdam began. Chaz Hutton has recounted the basic history, along with some personal details that help explain how New York’s street grid got its quirks.
Starting as New Amsterdam, you can see the ad-hoc beginnings of a few grids appearing along Wall Street, but later development required a more coordinated plan, with the 1811 Commissioners’ Plan. At a certain point, the new commissioners’ plan begins to intersect with the older grids, producing New York’s distinctive triangular blocks.
The story culminates in the city’s dispute with the Hess family over using their plot of land for a new subway station. While the city seized most of the property, it somehow missed a triangular plot of land not much larger than a pizza slice and covered in mosaic tiles. The family later refused to hand the plot over, creating the infamous “Triangle of Spite.”
Also: see Hutton’s “Map of Every City.”
Source: City Lab Daily (20 July 2018)