All New York City Streets Are Not Created Equal

27 Replies

The Distances Between Streets & Avenues – Things You Probably Didn’t Know

If you are traveling at the same pace, regardless of the avenue, it is faster to walk between 6th and 7th Streets than walking from 13th to 14th Streets. Why? Because the block between 6th and 7th is only 181 feet, 9 inches while the block between 13th and 14th is 206 feet, 6 inches.

Anyone walking around Manhattan is sure to notice that street distances between blocks and avenues vary widely. But few know that the block lengths can vary by several feet.

When the grid plan for Manhattan’s streets were laid out, you’d think that the streets would be equidistant. They are not.

Maybe this is the sort of thing that almost no one would care about, but living up to this web site’s name, I found this chart very interesting. It is from the New York Bureau of Buildings in the 1892 edition of The World Almanac.

1892 World Almanac (click to enlarge)

As you see, the chart lists the distances between the avenues, the width of the avenues and streets and the length of blocks north of Houston Street.

There are a few interesting things to note. One is how far Avenues A, B, C and D extended northward in 1892. Avenue A was later renamed Sutton Place north from 53rd Street and York Avenue north from 59th Street. Avenue B was renamed East End Avenue from 79th to 90th Street. Many portions of Avenue A, B, C and D were never completed (the landfill required to extend them was never done), or wiped out with map changes and construction in the 20th century (e.g. The Franklin D. Roosevelt Drive). Regardless, the almanac still lists the proposed dimensions for the phantom avenues via the Bureau of Buildings.

The other thing to note is that the main cross streets of 14th, 23rd, 34th etc. are all the same: 100 feet wide as compared to the other streets which are all 60 feet wide.

I have used the modern names of avenues in parentheses. Below are some highlights of the chart.

Avenues in Manhattan are 100 feet wide with some notable exceptions:

Lexington Avenue – 75 feet

Boulevard (Broadway) above 59th Street – 150 feet

Madison Avenue South of 42nd Street – 75 feet

Madison Avenue North of 42nd Street – 80 feet

Madison Avenue From 120th to 124th Streets – 100 feet Continue reading →

Philip Roth On The Death Of Readership, Not The Novel

Leave a reply

Novel Readership, Not The Novel, Being Killed By The Screen According To Philip Roth

On the front page of the November 18, New York Times, Philip Roth discusses his retirement from writing fiction.  2010’s Nemesis, Roth’s last published work of fiction will remain his final novel.

In the article he clears up a long held misquote, that “the novel is dying.” He says, “I do not believe the novel is dying. I said the readership is dying out. That’s a fact, and I’ve been saying it for 15 years. I said the screen will kill the reader, and it has. The movie screen in the beginning, the television screen and now the coup de grace, the computer screen.”

Miss Pigtail Contest – New York 1955

1 Reply

Childhood Innocence In A Unusual Contest

Chester Bugello age 7, borrows Maureen Albanese’s pigtail at the Miss Pigtail contest held at the Sullivan Street Children’s Center, New York City, July 8, 1955.

The look on Maureen’s face is priceless.

There were no “classy” contests like Toddler’s and Tiaras in the 1950’s. Whatever became of Chester and Maureen?

From our reader (comment below) – Margaret Mangiero Campbell winner in 1962 of the longest pigtail (year based on the crown worn by 5-year-old Michelle Paolercio.)

Classic Hollywood #18 – James Cagney At Grand Central Terminal

3 Replies

James Cagney Grabs Lunch At Grand Central

In the days before air travel became popular, almost everyone took the train to get around the United States.  On February 6, 1945 before boarding the Twentieth Century Limited for Chicago, James Cagney stopped in at a restaurant at Grand Central Terminal for a bite to eat. It appears he was enjoying a cup of coffee and a danish. Then he glanced up to see a photographer snapping this picture.

The difference between the “old days” and today is that movie stars of the golden years were not hounded by what has come to be known as the paparazzi – ruthless parasites, who violate every modicum of human decency. Yes, the old newspapers and magazines would send their  photographers out to capture celebrities and news events. But there was a mutual quid pro quo back then, even if the celebrities dd not enjoy the attention, they knew the press generally helped their careers and would accommodate them. The press also kept somewhat of a respectful distance. Those days are long gone.

What It Was Like Riding A Turn Of The Century New York Stagecoach

2 Replies

New York Transportation In The Early 1900’s

Hamilton Fish Armstrong was the longtime editor of the magazine Foreign Affairs. His charming memoir, Those Days published in 1963 by Harper and Row is a wonderfully evocative description of an upper middle class boyhood spent in New York City, the Hudson Valley and Quebec. The book’s dust jacket description states that it is: “A lively, spontaneous re-creation of the childhood of a famous editor and writer at the turn of the century – an unforgettable picture of a vanished New York.”

It’s one of those out of print, forgotten books that deserve to be read by a new generation. I highly recommend it.

Here is an excerpt from pages 68-69 where Armstrong describes getting uptown to school from his home on 10th street via the Fifth Avenue coach which was pulled by horses.

When I was nine the time came for me to go to a “real” school uptown, and unless it was pouring pouring rain or snowing I went of course, on skates. When the weather ruled this out I used the Fifth Avenue stage or the Sixth Avenue El.

On the stage I rode by choice  on the outside, either perched up behind the driver or, if I was lucky, along side him. Continue reading →

Yes, He Really Plays Baseball

1 Reply

Dave Ricketts, St. Louis Cardinals, Topps Baseball Cards 1968 & 1969

It is an unfair characterization to say Dave Ricketts could have easily been mistaken for a high school biology teacher rather than a major league catcher. Players who wore eyeglasses in the 1960’s were still very much a rare breed. When I was a kid, every time I looked at these two baseball cards, I thought that Dave Ricketts never really got to play, but just posed for the card.

Ricketts did play sporadically, appearing in 130 total games for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1963-1969 and the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1970 and ended up with a .249 career batting average and one home run.

After his playing career ended, Ricketts became a fixture in the Cardinals organization mostly as the bullpen coach and minor league manager. Ricketts by all accounts was an excellent coach and had a large influence upon other players.  Derrick Goold of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch wrote about Ricketts after he passed away:

“I’m here because of him,” Yadier Molina said. “He made me into a catcher. I wasn’t a catcher when I got here. I learned a lot from him. He was like my dad, there for me since I was 17. He meant so much to me.”

“I’ve never seen a coach who has worked harder for whatever team he’s involved with than Dave Ricketts. Ever,” former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Steve Blass said. “Totally dedicated. … He had a zest for life that was part of his personal life, and, thank goodness, we are better because it spilled over into his professional life.”

“Sometimes the word ‘great’ gets overused, and it’s a shame,” manager Tony La Russa said. “There have been some truly great Cardinals who have come through the organization, but I don’t know anyone greater or more beloved than Dave Ricketts.”

Dave Ricketts died in St. Louis at the age of 73 on July 13, 2008 of renal cancer.

Classic Hollywood #17 – Director W.S. Van Dyke & Family

6 Replies

“One Take Woody” Gets A Son – 1937

Film director Woodbridge Strong Van Dyke is mostly forgotten today to many movie fans. He was a good director, and known in the film industry for working quickly, shooting many scenes in one take. This earned him the nickname “One Take Woody” and “One Take Van Dyke.” Continue reading →

No Pictures PLEASE

Leave a reply

Jackie Kennedy Judo Flips A Photographer – 1969

Jackie Kennedy Flips A Photographer 10 5 1969

Former first lady Jackie Kennedy Onassis didn’t take kindly to being hounded by photographers. You think the modern celebrities get angry with paparazzi? Not as mad as Jackie got on October 5, 1969 when she demonstrated her displeasure to New York Daily News photographer Mel Finkelstein by taking him down unexpectedly.

As photographers were clicking away as Jackie was exiting a movie, she walked up to Finkelstein and without warning, judo flipped him. Finkelstein, who was of average height and weight, later said he was completely caught off guard. If a celebrity did this today to a photographer, you know there would be a major lawsuit. Jackie claimed he slipped! Finkelstein did not pursue the matter in court.

The news caption photo reads:

10/5/69 New York – New York Daily News photographer Mel Finkelstein sprawls on pavement as Mrs. Jacqueline Onassis walks pass (sic) after flipping the photographer with a judo trick upon leaving a local screening of the film “I am Curious (Yellow)” here 10/5. Finkelstein’s opinion of Mrs. Onassis afterwards was “That girl can handle herself.” Copyright 1969 by News Syndicate Co. Inc. UPI Telephoto