While I was looking at maps for the Consolidated Exchange, I was reminded of an anomaly in the pattern of streets and blocks in lower Manhattan. I knew the cause, but not the timing, so I decided to trace it backwards through time. The anomaly is Coenties Slip, a triangle of open space in the …
Given the tragic toll in lives, I’m not going to use “silver lining” language about anything connected with COVID 19. The lessons in the article referenced below could have been learned in other, less destructive ways. “How New Yorkers Want to Change the Streetscape for Good” written by Matthew Haag with photographs and video by Gareth Smit and illustrations …
The map above is the 1807 Commissioners’ Plan for New York, the basis of the numbered street grid north of Houston Street. It is not a city plan as we understand that term today, but it had an enormous effect on how New York developed. In “The real answer is ‘maybe’“, Karrie Jacobs argues that New York …
Various uses have been competing for New York’s waterfront since the beginning, but this issue took a turn with the deindustrialization that started in the 1950s. “Postcards from the Edge” by Nicole Miller addresses some of the current debate, and dies a good job pointing out just how much waterfront we have – over 500 miles …
That’s the “Suicide Curve” from a different angle, looking north and east from the northwest corner of Central Park. The billboards are across the street from the park, presumably at the site of a new building under construction. But that’s not what I want to talk about… New York, 1900, Sixth Avenue looking north from …
