2011 is almost over, so it’s the last week I’ll be able to run random NYC street grid facts with the excuse that it’s the 200th anniversary of New York‘s 1811 Commissioners’ Plan! This WSJ blog post on the high cost of filming in Manhattan rare alleyways reminded me of these bits from Richard Pluntz’s A History of Housing in New York City:
Even in 1811, the gridiron did not work well. For the small single-family row house which predominated at that time, the solar orientation of the gridiron was reversed from the ideal….
