Museum Exhibit Highlights History of Manhattan Grid

By Harrison Golden

Ask a Manhattanite where he or she lives, and one might hear a variety of responses. But there is often a certain pattern in which places around the borough are coordinated.

“It is such a New York thing to define where you live or where something is by just two numbers,” said Andrea Renner, curator of “The Greatest Grid: The Master Plan of Manhattan,” an exhibit at the Museum of the City of New York. “The grid system is the city’s most important artifact, but also one of the city’s most subtle.”

The exhibit shares the plans of the three men – Simeon De Witt, Gouverneur Morris, and John Rutherfurd – who first established Manhattan’s numbered grid system in 1811. Archival materials on display include photographs, illustrations, and testimonies from those living in New York during that time.

When it was first introduced, the proposed street system faced much controversy, particularly from private landowners who felt that the new grid would break apart their properties and make them more difficult to manage.

As the plans became a reality, however, property values around the island began to skyrocket. By 1860, just five decades after the new streets were first built, the city’s population shot up to 800,000. Now, two centuries after the street layout was established, New York is a powerhouse for private business, while those who are unfamiliar with the city can still make their way around without as much fear of getting lost.

“I can walk virtually anywhere and see what’s going on around me without getting bogged down in complicated directions,” said Amanda Rankin, who moved to New York 25 years ago and quickly adapted to navigating the city streets. “There is simply no other place for that.”

Hilary Ballon, an urban studies and architecture professor at New York University, believes that the grid’s accessibility to city landmarks and communities has made the idea of being a New Yorker less intimidating.

“The grid has made the city a more adaptable place to live and work,” said Ballon. “Because of that, people often think of New Yorkers as confident navigators, always knowing where they are and where they are going.”

Although the exhibit was originally scheduled to close April 15, it has been extended through July 15.

“It is crucial that New Yorkers, and Americans in general, understand more about this magnificent city and the ideas that got them there,” Ballon added. “The exhibit is one of the many ways people can connect with the city as it heads deeper into the 21^st century.”