1 00:00:01,000 --> 00:00:01,800 Speaker 1: Hi, everybody. 2 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:05,200 Speaker 2: It is on our COVID timeline June eighteenth, twenty twenty, 3 00:00:05,960 --> 00:00:08,920 Speaker 2: and I am here to introduce the episode on the 4 00:00:08,960 --> 00:00:12,119 Speaker 2: Manhattan Grid. I loved, loved this episode, I think, as 5 00:00:12,160 --> 00:00:16,079 Speaker 2: most people know by now, I in particular, am pretty 6 00:00:16,120 --> 00:00:19,280 Speaker 2: obsessed with not just New York, like I love New 7 00:00:19,320 --> 00:00:22,279 Speaker 2: York as a town, but the inner workings of New 8 00:00:22,400 --> 00:00:25,600 Speaker 2: York and the garbage collection and the mail delivery and 9 00:00:26,239 --> 00:00:28,639 Speaker 2: building that city up from the ground up, which is 10 00:00:28,640 --> 00:00:30,880 Speaker 2: what this episode relates to, is how they laid out 11 00:00:30,920 --> 00:00:34,360 Speaker 2: that Manhattan grid. And here's one thing I remember from it, 12 00:00:34,400 --> 00:00:36,480 Speaker 2: and here's a fun tip if you're traveling to New York. 13 00:00:37,440 --> 00:00:41,120 Speaker 2: They use spikes in the ground, I think iron spikes 14 00:00:41,640 --> 00:00:43,920 Speaker 2: to map out that grid, and you'll learn that in 15 00:00:43,960 --> 00:00:47,560 Speaker 2: this episode to follow. You know, so they knew where 16 00:00:47,600 --> 00:00:50,159 Speaker 2: the streets and the street corners would meet up in 17 00:00:50,159 --> 00:00:54,840 Speaker 2: that big rectangle, and to this day you can still 18 00:00:54,840 --> 00:00:57,800 Speaker 2: find some of those. The only place I know about them, 19 00:00:57,840 --> 00:01:00,640 Speaker 2: I'm not sure if they're on the streets anymore at all. 20 00:01:01,000 --> 00:01:02,920 Speaker 2: It seems highly unlikely, but I know you can find 21 00:01:02,920 --> 00:01:04,679 Speaker 2: them for a fact in Central Park here and there 22 00:01:04,680 --> 00:01:07,600 Speaker 2: in the rocks, those big giant boulders there because I 23 00:01:07,760 --> 00:01:09,600 Speaker 2: learned about these and when I was in New York 24 00:01:10,160 --> 00:01:13,200 Speaker 2: sometime between June eighteenth, twenty twenty when we released this and 25 00:01:13,240 --> 00:01:14,720 Speaker 2: now I can't remember. 26 00:01:14,720 --> 00:01:15,959 Speaker 1: I feel like it's a few years ago. 27 00:01:16,280 --> 00:01:18,360 Speaker 2: I saw one of those spikes, and I think I 28 00:01:18,400 --> 00:01:21,360 Speaker 2: talked about that on a later episode, but it thrilled 29 00:01:21,360 --> 00:01:22,960 Speaker 2: me to no end, and I geeked out and told 30 00:01:23,000 --> 00:01:25,360 Speaker 2: everybody I was with what that was and what it represented, 31 00:01:25,920 --> 00:01:28,440 Speaker 2: and it was a real thrill for me. No lie, 32 00:01:28,959 --> 00:01:31,440 Speaker 2: just a spike in the rock. Thought it was super cool. 33 00:01:31,480 --> 00:01:39,560 Speaker 2: So check this episode out on the Manhattan Grid. Welcome 34 00:01:39,720 --> 00:01:48,040 Speaker 2: to Stuff You Should Know, a production of iHeartRadio. 35 00:01:48,840 --> 00:01:51,560 Speaker 3: Hey, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Josh Clark, and 36 00:01:51,600 --> 00:01:54,600 Speaker 3: there's Charles w Chuck Bryant, and this is Stuff you 37 00:01:54,680 --> 00:01:59,720 Speaker 3: Should Know another in our Endless Annals of New York 38 00:01:59,800 --> 00:02:00,559 Speaker 3: City edition. 39 00:02:01,320 --> 00:02:01,800 Speaker 1: That's right. 40 00:02:02,600 --> 00:02:07,000 Speaker 2: This is a pretty interesting episode, I think, And my 41 00:02:07,080 --> 00:02:11,280 Speaker 2: favorite part about it this was Dave ruse Are, one 42 00:02:11,320 --> 00:02:12,639 Speaker 2: of our writers, helped put this together. 43 00:02:12,680 --> 00:02:15,720 Speaker 1: And Dave is clearly annoyed. 44 00:02:16,639 --> 00:02:19,680 Speaker 2: Yeah about this whole thing, and I think it's hysterical 45 00:02:19,720 --> 00:02:25,000 Speaker 2: how many times he gets annoyed by the laziness of 46 00:02:25,040 --> 00:02:26,200 Speaker 2: the commission. 47 00:02:26,160 --> 00:02:28,200 Speaker 3: I have to say I agreed with Dave too. I 48 00:02:28,320 --> 00:02:31,520 Speaker 3: was annoyed by it as well. I think, Yeah, it's 49 00:02:31,560 --> 00:02:34,639 Speaker 3: always annoying when you see somebody like have a great 50 00:02:34,680 --> 00:02:37,880 Speaker 3: opportunity and just pee it away, you know what I mean. 51 00:02:38,480 --> 00:02:40,480 Speaker 2: Yeah, And we should also point out Dave got a 52 00:02:40,480 --> 00:02:44,040 Speaker 2: lot of his information from a really wonderful book called 53 00:02:44,240 --> 00:02:48,359 Speaker 2: City on a Grid colon How New York Became New 54 00:02:48,440 --> 00:02:51,800 Speaker 2: York by Gerald Keppel. 55 00:02:52,560 --> 00:02:56,200 Speaker 4: Not Gerald McCraney. Different Jerald, right, or is it Copple? 56 00:02:56,240 --> 00:02:56,960 Speaker 1: I think it's Kepel. 57 00:02:57,000 --> 00:02:59,880 Speaker 4: If it's Koe That's what I was going with, was Keppel. 58 00:03:00,360 --> 00:03:01,680 Speaker 1: Yeah, I'm going to get this book though. 59 00:03:01,680 --> 00:03:04,280 Speaker 2: This is right at Malley because you know, I'm obsessed 60 00:03:04,320 --> 00:03:07,000 Speaker 2: with the history and the sort of formation of New 61 00:03:07,080 --> 00:03:08,280 Speaker 2: York City as we know it today. 62 00:03:08,440 --> 00:03:10,640 Speaker 4: Yeah, where'd you get the idea for this episode? 63 00:03:11,360 --> 00:03:18,040 Speaker 2: Just my constant desire to learn about Mannahatta and how 64 00:03:18,120 --> 00:03:20,480 Speaker 2: that became eventually Manhattan. 65 00:03:20,080 --> 00:03:22,760 Speaker 1: That we know and love. Okay, I'm just fascinated by it. 66 00:03:22,800 --> 00:03:24,079 Speaker 1: I love it. I love everything about it. 67 00:03:24,240 --> 00:03:26,640 Speaker 3: This is definitely a big chapter because what we're talking 68 00:03:26,680 --> 00:03:30,120 Speaker 3: about is the plan called the Commissioner's plan of eighteen 69 00:03:30,160 --> 00:03:34,400 Speaker 3: eleven that basically laid out Manhattan as we know and 70 00:03:34,600 --> 00:03:38,360 Speaker 3: understand and love it today. Everything north of Houston Street, 71 00:03:38,400 --> 00:03:39,240 Speaker 3: I should say. 72 00:03:39,560 --> 00:03:44,280 Speaker 2: Yeah, And here's sort of a quick primer is Manhattan 73 00:03:44,400 --> 00:03:49,720 Speaker 2: above Houston is almost a perfect grid. Broadway kind of 74 00:03:49,760 --> 00:03:53,640 Speaker 2: screws everything up, but you know, great street, but it's 75 00:03:53,800 --> 00:03:55,360 Speaker 2: just broadways. 76 00:03:54,840 --> 00:03:57,320 Speaker 1: Like I'm not following any rules, so I'm going to 77 00:03:57,360 --> 00:03:58,080 Speaker 1: confuse people. 78 00:03:58,520 --> 00:04:01,280 Speaker 2: But aside from that, it's pretty very much a grid 79 00:04:02,120 --> 00:04:06,160 Speaker 2: of eleven numbered avenues that run north to south generally speaking. 80 00:04:06,720 --> 00:04:10,280 Speaker 2: Then you've got Lexington Park and Madison Avenues and then 81 00:04:10,960 --> 00:04:15,040 Speaker 2: two hundred and this was at the time numbered streets 82 00:04:15,120 --> 00:04:18,320 Speaker 2: running roughly east to west. And if you want to 83 00:04:18,360 --> 00:04:23,760 Speaker 2: get a little more granular than that, the southernmost street 84 00:04:24,120 --> 00:04:26,880 Speaker 2: in the East Villages East first, as you would imagine, 85 00:04:27,520 --> 00:04:31,440 Speaker 2: the northernmost is two hundred and twentieth Street as we 86 00:04:31,480 --> 00:04:34,599 Speaker 2: live in Breed today, and Enwood, well. 87 00:04:34,440 --> 00:04:38,520 Speaker 3: That's on the island technically in Manhattan. If you're talking 88 00:04:38,560 --> 00:04:41,760 Speaker 3: about the borough, it goes up to two hundred and 89 00:04:41,839 --> 00:04:43,200 Speaker 3: twenty seventh I. 90 00:04:43,120 --> 00:04:47,640 Speaker 2: Believe, right, And if you want to go through the Bronx, 91 00:04:47,680 --> 00:04:49,400 Speaker 2: you go all the way up to sixty three. 92 00:04:49,920 --> 00:04:53,680 Speaker 4: Man, that's crazy. You've got so many streets. 93 00:04:53,760 --> 00:04:54,679 Speaker 1: That's so many streets. 94 00:04:54,680 --> 00:04:57,280 Speaker 4: You've got it, two hundred and sixty three streets. 95 00:04:58,120 --> 00:05:01,560 Speaker 2: You've got an east and west signify, which says, and 96 00:05:01,600 --> 00:05:04,080 Speaker 2: this is sort of a dummies guy to getting around 97 00:05:04,080 --> 00:05:06,960 Speaker 2: New York for the first time. Too, if you broke 98 00:05:07,000 --> 00:05:09,080 Speaker 2: your smartphone, and you also don't want to walk around 99 00:05:09,080 --> 00:05:10,440 Speaker 2: just staring at your smartphone. 100 00:05:10,080 --> 00:05:12,200 Speaker 4: The whole time, No, you're going to miss a lot. 101 00:05:12,320 --> 00:05:14,320 Speaker 2: Yeah, So try and get a little intuitive feel, because 102 00:05:14,320 --> 00:05:16,280 Speaker 2: it's really easy to get around if you know this stuff. 103 00:05:18,080 --> 00:05:20,280 Speaker 2: East and west will signify whether you're in east or 104 00:05:20,320 --> 00:05:21,400 Speaker 2: west of Fifth Avenue. 105 00:05:22,560 --> 00:05:23,760 Speaker 1: And then. 106 00:05:24,920 --> 00:05:29,920 Speaker 2: Here's a little trick too. Odd number street streets run west, 107 00:05:30,279 --> 00:05:34,600 Speaker 2: even numbers streets run east. So if you come out 108 00:05:34,600 --> 00:05:38,560 Speaker 2: of a subway and you and you know which way north, south, east, 109 00:05:38,560 --> 00:05:41,000 Speaker 2: and west are, then you will never do the thing 110 00:05:41,040 --> 00:05:43,640 Speaker 2: that I always do and walk in the wrong direction 111 00:05:43,839 --> 00:05:45,359 Speaker 2: trying to go up or down. 112 00:05:46,240 --> 00:05:48,120 Speaker 3: Yeah, because that's the thing, like, if you know what 113 00:05:48,279 --> 00:05:51,560 Speaker 3: direction you're facing, and you know where you're trying to 114 00:05:51,640 --> 00:05:53,960 Speaker 3: go and where you are right now, you can basically 115 00:05:54,000 --> 00:05:58,480 Speaker 3: make make your way anywhere in Manhattan above Houston Street. 116 00:05:59,360 --> 00:06:01,520 Speaker 2: Yeah, and if you're like me and you have no 117 00:06:01,560 --> 00:06:04,560 Speaker 2: idea ever what's north, south, east and west? And you know, 118 00:06:05,880 --> 00:06:07,880 Speaker 2: I had an easy time in LA because La has 119 00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:11,880 Speaker 2: the sun, well they have, they have that, but they 120 00:06:11,920 --> 00:06:16,279 Speaker 2: also have geographical landmarks that make it super easy to 121 00:06:16,360 --> 00:06:19,400 Speaker 2: tell which way north and like the Hollywood Sign and 122 00:06:19,480 --> 00:06:21,000 Speaker 2: the hills and stuff like that. 123 00:06:21,360 --> 00:06:23,799 Speaker 4: Is that real? Is the Hollywood Sign real? 124 00:06:24,160 --> 00:06:24,720 Speaker 1: What do you mean? 125 00:06:24,839 --> 00:06:25,440 Speaker 4: Is it real? 126 00:06:26,520 --> 00:06:27,440 Speaker 1: Okay? 127 00:06:29,040 --> 00:06:30,760 Speaker 2: So that makes a lot easier In New York when 128 00:06:30,800 --> 00:06:32,320 Speaker 2: I come out there are all those big tall buildings. 129 00:06:32,360 --> 00:06:34,640 Speaker 1: I never know. I can never come out and say like, well, 130 00:06:34,640 --> 00:06:35,200 Speaker 1: that's north. 131 00:06:36,520 --> 00:06:38,200 Speaker 2: But if you know that stuff and you know that 132 00:06:38,279 --> 00:06:41,640 Speaker 2: the even numbered streets run east the odd ones run west, 133 00:06:42,640 --> 00:06:46,599 Speaker 2: then you can You won't walk in the wrong direction 134 00:06:46,720 --> 00:06:48,320 Speaker 2: for a block and then get there like I do 135 00:06:48,400 --> 00:06:49,920 Speaker 2: and go, oh, we should have gone the other way. 136 00:06:50,160 --> 00:06:52,680 Speaker 3: Yeah, because depending on what direction you're walking, if you're 137 00:06:52,720 --> 00:06:55,280 Speaker 3: walking north or south, going the wrong direction in a 138 00:06:55,320 --> 00:06:57,760 Speaker 3: block isn't that bad. But if you're going east or west, 139 00:06:57,800 --> 00:07:02,040 Speaker 3: it's real bad. We are very long blocks going east 140 00:07:02,040 --> 00:07:04,400 Speaker 3: to west. And that's all part of that Commissioner's plan 141 00:07:04,480 --> 00:07:07,000 Speaker 3: that was laid out in eighteen eleven. And on the 142 00:07:07,000 --> 00:07:09,920 Speaker 3: one hand, you know, we've kind of hit upon the 143 00:07:09,960 --> 00:07:12,800 Speaker 3: pros and the cons of it. That it's easy to 144 00:07:12,800 --> 00:07:15,720 Speaker 3: get around, which is really saying something because New York 145 00:07:15,800 --> 00:07:18,760 Speaker 3: is absolutely huge. But you could make it from one 146 00:07:18,840 --> 00:07:22,840 Speaker 3: end to the other without a map, just knowing that 147 00:07:23,320 --> 00:07:25,120 Speaker 3: it's on a grid and how the grid's laid out, 148 00:07:26,240 --> 00:07:29,440 Speaker 3: even roughly. But the problem is is it's on a grid, 149 00:07:29,720 --> 00:07:32,960 Speaker 3: and a grid is one of the least organic shapes around. 150 00:07:33,520 --> 00:07:36,720 Speaker 3: And because this grid stretches over almost all of Manhattan, 151 00:07:36,760 --> 00:07:41,280 Speaker 3: most of Manhattan, for sure, it's viewed by a lot 152 00:07:41,320 --> 00:07:45,119 Speaker 3: of people as kind of soulless and canyon esque because 153 00:07:45,120 --> 00:07:49,240 Speaker 3: you're just totally surrounded almost constantly by big, imposing buildings, 154 00:07:49,480 --> 00:07:52,080 Speaker 3: all at these right angles, which it feels like a 155 00:07:52,240 --> 00:07:56,720 Speaker 3: very built environment. And until Central Park came along, which 156 00:07:56,760 --> 00:07:59,760 Speaker 3: we did an episode on in what the eighteen fifties 157 00:07:59,840 --> 00:08:02,000 Speaker 3: or sixties, Yeah, like that was it. 158 00:08:02,040 --> 00:08:04,960 Speaker 4: That was New York. There was nothing but that built environment. 159 00:08:06,080 --> 00:08:07,920 Speaker 2: I got a few more of my things, Oh, okay, 160 00:08:08,000 --> 00:08:12,080 Speaker 2: let's have them. But Manhattan's about thirteen and a half 161 00:08:12,160 --> 00:08:15,360 Speaker 2: miles long. And then so this grid makes sense. But 162 00:08:15,360 --> 00:08:17,560 Speaker 2: then once you get north of fifty ninth Street, you 163 00:08:17,600 --> 00:08:20,440 Speaker 2: start to get like Atlanta does, and a road will 164 00:08:20,480 --> 00:08:23,920 Speaker 2: just change names out of nowhere. Atlanta's very famous for that, 165 00:08:23,920 --> 00:08:25,200 Speaker 2: and people get very confused here. 166 00:08:25,480 --> 00:08:28,119 Speaker 3: Hey, it's very confusing also because the road will will 167 00:08:28,240 --> 00:08:31,880 Speaker 3: change names, but one of the names, Peachtree, will still 168 00:08:31,880 --> 00:08:34,600 Speaker 3: be there, but it's a totally different street, right, and 169 00:08:34,640 --> 00:08:35,960 Speaker 3: it does not help things. 170 00:08:36,240 --> 00:08:36,800 Speaker 1: That's right. 171 00:08:37,160 --> 00:08:40,760 Speaker 2: So north of fifty ninth, avenues on the west side 172 00:08:40,840 --> 00:08:43,760 Speaker 2: change names, but avenues on the east side do not. 173 00:08:44,600 --> 00:08:48,120 Speaker 2: So eighth becomes Central Park, west ninth becomes Columbus Avenue, 174 00:08:48,679 --> 00:08:52,400 Speaker 2: tenth becomes Amsterdam Avenue, and eleventh becomes West End Avenue. 175 00:08:52,679 --> 00:08:54,920 Speaker 4: What about Avenue of the Americas? 176 00:08:55,000 --> 00:08:57,400 Speaker 1: Well, that's six right or is that seventh? 177 00:08:58,240 --> 00:08:58,440 Speaker 4: Oh? 178 00:08:58,520 --> 00:09:00,880 Speaker 2: Man, I thought I think it sixth. I think it's 179 00:09:00,920 --> 00:09:03,600 Speaker 2: might understanding. But that's really not a name change. That's 180 00:09:03,679 --> 00:09:07,680 Speaker 2: just that's something that tourists call it, right. 181 00:09:07,720 --> 00:09:09,400 Speaker 4: I remember you making fun of me when I call 182 00:09:09,440 --> 00:09:10,960 Speaker 4: it that? Did I really? Yeah? 183 00:09:11,120 --> 00:09:11,920 Speaker 1: That sounds about right. 184 00:09:12,400 --> 00:09:13,280 Speaker 4: It was really jarring. 185 00:09:14,280 --> 00:09:18,800 Speaker 2: And then to get people really confused between third and 186 00:09:18,880 --> 00:09:23,680 Speaker 2: fifth Avenue, there are three avenues instead of what you 187 00:09:23,679 --> 00:09:26,840 Speaker 2: would think would be one because Lexington Park and Madison 188 00:09:26,880 --> 00:09:31,000 Speaker 2: fall between those. Yeah, and then south of twenty third 189 00:09:31,040 --> 00:09:35,040 Speaker 2: you've got your lettered avenues ABC and D, which is 190 00:09:35,040 --> 00:09:35,800 Speaker 2: alphabet city. 191 00:09:36,440 --> 00:09:38,640 Speaker 4: So you wouldn't need to ever pull out a map. 192 00:09:38,920 --> 00:09:40,679 Speaker 3: You just have to stand in the middle of New 193 00:09:40,760 --> 00:09:42,920 Speaker 3: York and listen to the first like ten minutes of 194 00:09:42,960 --> 00:09:44,720 Speaker 3: this episode, and you'll find your way. 195 00:09:44,760 --> 00:09:46,000 Speaker 4: No problem. 196 00:09:46,440 --> 00:09:48,760 Speaker 2: All right, should we get into this? He said, people 197 00:09:48,960 --> 00:09:51,800 Speaker 2: don't like the grid. There are a lot of people. 198 00:09:53,400 --> 00:09:55,120 Speaker 2: I mean, what did Walt Whitman call it. 199 00:09:56,679 --> 00:09:58,760 Speaker 4: Ikey? I think no, I think he. 200 00:09:58,760 --> 00:10:01,840 Speaker 1: Said he called it one perpetual dead flat. 201 00:10:02,280 --> 00:10:05,439 Speaker 3: Yeah, and streets cutting each other at right angles are 202 00:10:05,520 --> 00:10:08,440 Speaker 3: certainly the last things in the world consistent with beauty 203 00:10:08,480 --> 00:10:09,200 Speaker 3: of situation. 204 00:10:09,800 --> 00:10:13,000 Speaker 2: How about this one from Edith Wharton Rectangular New York. 205 00:10:13,080 --> 00:10:17,720 Speaker 2: This cramped horizontal gridiron of a town without towers, porticos, fountains, 206 00:10:17,760 --> 00:10:23,040 Speaker 2: or perspectives, hide bound in its deadly uniformity of mean ugliness. 207 00:10:23,280 --> 00:10:25,319 Speaker 4: Yeah, I like hide bound. That's great. 208 00:10:25,480 --> 00:10:26,160 Speaker 1: That's a great word. 209 00:10:26,679 --> 00:10:31,320 Speaker 3: And mean ugliness definitely captures like a certain sense of 210 00:10:31,360 --> 00:10:36,240 Speaker 3: New York, depending on your mood or mindset, you know. Yeah, 211 00:10:36,280 --> 00:10:40,120 Speaker 3: there's one a guy named Peter Markhuse who's an architecture critic. 212 00:10:40,160 --> 00:10:41,880 Speaker 4: He said that the grid layout. 213 00:10:41,520 --> 00:10:44,760 Speaker 3: Of Manhattan was one of the worst city plans of 214 00:10:44,800 --> 00:10:47,360 Speaker 3: any major city in the developed countries of the world. 215 00:10:48,160 --> 00:10:50,600 Speaker 2: Right, but some people love it. Some people said it 216 00:10:50,640 --> 00:10:54,480 Speaker 2: was pragmatic. Some people said it really accommodated for the 217 00:10:54,480 --> 00:10:57,360 Speaker 2: one thing it needed to accommodate for, which was massive growth. 218 00:10:57,720 --> 00:10:57,960 Speaker 4: Right. 219 00:10:58,800 --> 00:11:04,040 Speaker 2: Let me see here an architect named Raphael Vinoli, who's 220 00:11:04,360 --> 00:11:06,960 Speaker 2: I think a modern architect. Not modern, I just mean 221 00:11:07,040 --> 00:11:09,920 Speaker 2: current architect, right, but he may do modern. 222 00:11:09,600 --> 00:11:10,120 Speaker 1: Work, it knows. 223 00:11:11,400 --> 00:11:16,320 Speaker 2: He said the grid is the best manifestation of americangmatism, 224 00:11:17,120 --> 00:11:23,319 Speaker 2: pragmatism in the creation of urban form. And then in 225 00:11:23,440 --> 00:11:27,480 Speaker 2: nineteen seventy eight, a Dutch architect named Rim Kool has 226 00:11:28,160 --> 00:11:30,360 Speaker 2: said that the grid was the most courageous act of 227 00:11:30,440 --> 00:11:32,720 Speaker 2: prediction in Western civilization. 228 00:11:33,000 --> 00:11:36,000 Speaker 1: Clearly talking about the growth. 229 00:11:36,559 --> 00:11:40,400 Speaker 3: Yes, but courageous act. That's like architect talk right that 230 00:11:40,800 --> 00:11:44,040 Speaker 3: right there. So, but for the most part, from what 231 00:11:44,080 --> 00:11:48,440 Speaker 3: I understand, and definitely Dave says the same thing, most 232 00:11:48,679 --> 00:11:52,200 Speaker 3: New Yorkers, especially born and raised New Yorkers, are not 233 00:11:52,320 --> 00:11:55,160 Speaker 3: happy that that's how their city is laid out. That 234 00:11:55,240 --> 00:11:59,560 Speaker 3: there's a lot of room for improvement. Yeah, your experience too, sure. 235 00:11:59,320 --> 00:12:01,439 Speaker 2: I mean Central Park is great. But you know, as 236 00:12:01,440 --> 00:12:05,280 Speaker 2: we'll find out, they did not. They didn't didn't really 237 00:12:05,280 --> 00:12:07,520 Speaker 2: plan for green spaces, and New York has done their 238 00:12:07,520 --> 00:12:10,240 Speaker 2: best to kind of carve them out since then. But 239 00:12:11,000 --> 00:12:12,839 Speaker 2: you know, let's get into this commission. 240 00:12:13,600 --> 00:12:15,199 Speaker 4: Well, let's talk about grids first. 241 00:12:15,240 --> 00:12:17,199 Speaker 2: Do you want to Yeah, all right, do you want 242 00:12:17,200 --> 00:12:19,800 Speaker 2: to take a break and then talk about the grid story? 243 00:12:21,120 --> 00:12:21,480 Speaker 4: Yes? 244 00:12:42,080 --> 00:12:46,120 Speaker 3: So New York didn't invent the grid, as much as 245 00:12:46,160 --> 00:12:48,000 Speaker 3: they like to boast that they did, they did not. 246 00:12:48,240 --> 00:12:52,520 Speaker 3: In fact, a grid layout of a city goes back 247 00:12:52,559 --> 00:12:55,960 Speaker 3: to that Indus Valley civilization that for some reason keeps 248 00:12:56,000 --> 00:12:59,599 Speaker 3: popping up in the last like year or so. I 249 00:12:59,600 --> 00:13:01,720 Speaker 3: guess they're going to make a comeback or something like that, 250 00:13:01,920 --> 00:13:04,040 Speaker 3: but they've just been coming out all over the place. 251 00:13:04,840 --> 00:13:07,040 Speaker 4: But one of the what was it, Chuck, was it? 252 00:13:08,120 --> 00:13:09,280 Speaker 4: Did they invent the zipper? 253 00:13:10,080 --> 00:13:11,560 Speaker 1: I don't think it was a zipper? 254 00:13:11,600 --> 00:13:12,600 Speaker 4: What was indigo? 255 00:13:13,559 --> 00:13:14,920 Speaker 1: Uh? 256 00:13:15,120 --> 00:13:16,760 Speaker 4: There's been a number of them. 257 00:13:16,800 --> 00:13:19,920 Speaker 3: But anyway, about at least five thousand years ago, the 258 00:13:20,120 --> 00:13:24,079 Speaker 3: Indus Valley civilization was using the grid layout to create 259 00:13:24,400 --> 00:13:29,000 Speaker 3: Mohan Joe Daro, which was a seven and fifty acre 260 00:13:29,080 --> 00:13:32,520 Speaker 3: city on a grid. And then shortly after that the 261 00:13:32,559 --> 00:13:35,480 Speaker 3: Greek said, I really like this. In fact, there's a 262 00:13:35,960 --> 00:13:41,320 Speaker 3: Greek thinker and mathematician named Hippodamus who's known as the 263 00:13:41,320 --> 00:13:45,200 Speaker 3: father of city planning, and he was bully for grids too. 264 00:13:45,920 --> 00:13:48,040 Speaker 2: Yeah, if you have a grid, that's still they people 265 00:13:48,080 --> 00:13:52,120 Speaker 2: still call that the Hippodamian plan, which is kind of 266 00:13:52,120 --> 00:13:54,320 Speaker 2: great all these years later to still get recognized for 267 00:13:54,360 --> 00:13:54,960 Speaker 2: your grid work. 268 00:13:55,320 --> 00:13:57,880 Speaker 3: Yeah, if you're ever talking to somebody and they refer 269 00:13:57,960 --> 00:14:00,839 Speaker 3: to a grid as a Hippodamian plan, that person knows 270 00:14:00,880 --> 00:14:01,880 Speaker 3: what they're talking. 271 00:14:01,559 --> 00:14:05,680 Speaker 1: About, or listens to this show. It's one in the 272 00:14:05,679 --> 00:14:07,640 Speaker 1: same basically. And you were going to say that. 273 00:14:08,440 --> 00:14:12,240 Speaker 2: Let me see, the conquistadors of Spain, they kind of 274 00:14:12,280 --> 00:14:16,160 Speaker 2: had a habit of coming in conquering and then having 275 00:14:16,240 --> 00:14:20,200 Speaker 2: their template in place to create these grids as what 276 00:14:20,240 --> 00:14:22,840 Speaker 2: they call the law of the Indies, and they would 277 00:14:22,920 --> 00:14:25,680 Speaker 2: sort of just come in setup shop. You got a 278 00:14:25,760 --> 00:14:29,080 Speaker 2: town with a big central plaza and then a grid 279 00:14:29,280 --> 00:14:31,320 Speaker 2: surrounding that central plaza. 280 00:14:31,480 --> 00:14:35,280 Speaker 3: Right, and they use that for everything from Lima to 281 00:14:35,640 --> 00:14:36,520 Speaker 3: Los Angeles. 282 00:14:37,840 --> 00:14:39,920 Speaker 4: And this took me back in my mind to. 283 00:14:41,480 --> 00:14:45,080 Speaker 3: What was the name of that colonial town in Guatemala 284 00:14:45,080 --> 00:14:45,920 Speaker 3: that we visited. 285 00:14:46,800 --> 00:14:49,800 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, I know what you mean. 286 00:14:50,120 --> 00:14:53,240 Speaker 3: It was wonderful, driving crazy, It really was wonderful. Is 287 00:14:53,480 --> 00:14:55,400 Speaker 3: one of the most beautiful towns I've ever been in. 288 00:14:55,680 --> 00:14:58,080 Speaker 3: But it had like a central plaza with a fountain. 289 00:14:58,720 --> 00:15:01,400 Speaker 3: It was a much smaller town. But now that I 290 00:15:01,440 --> 00:15:03,120 Speaker 3: think about, it was laid out on a grid too, 291 00:15:03,360 --> 00:15:05,080 Speaker 3: And it was part of that law of the Indies 292 00:15:05,080 --> 00:15:07,520 Speaker 3: that you were mentioning that it was just like, this 293 00:15:07,560 --> 00:15:10,640 Speaker 3: is how you build a town. And apparently the reason 294 00:15:10,680 --> 00:15:15,720 Speaker 3: that they they used that law, like in town after 295 00:15:15,760 --> 00:15:18,960 Speaker 3: town after town that they just basically took over and 296 00:15:19,000 --> 00:15:22,920 Speaker 3: said this is ours now it's Spain's is applying a 297 00:15:23,000 --> 00:15:28,720 Speaker 3: grid was kind of a metaphor for applying order and 298 00:15:28,840 --> 00:15:35,720 Speaker 3: civilization to a formerly disordered and wild indigenous. 299 00:15:35,280 --> 00:15:36,160 Speaker 4: You know town. 300 00:15:36,520 --> 00:15:40,160 Speaker 3: Yeah, which makes sense from a colonizer's perspective, but I'm 301 00:15:40,200 --> 00:15:43,600 Speaker 3: sure it sucked from the indigenous person's perspective. 302 00:15:43,720 --> 00:15:44,560 Speaker 1: Like everything else. 303 00:15:44,880 --> 00:15:47,520 Speaker 4: Yeah, that's with this stupid right angle stuff. 304 00:15:48,240 --> 00:15:52,600 Speaker 2: So New York City comes along. Philadelphia had been laid 305 00:15:52,600 --> 00:15:55,800 Speaker 2: out in a grid by William Penn very deliberately, though, 306 00:15:57,120 --> 00:16:01,280 Speaker 2: and that grid was kind of roomy and spacious, because 307 00:16:01,280 --> 00:16:06,040 Speaker 2: William Penn did not like the congestion of London. But again, 308 00:16:06,160 --> 00:16:09,560 Speaker 2: Philly very much purposeful too. 309 00:16:10,000 --> 00:16:12,800 Speaker 1: Yeah. Boy, DC has has kind of a crazy grid. 310 00:16:13,680 --> 00:16:16,440 Speaker 3: Yeah, but once you understand it, it makes total sense. 311 00:16:16,760 --> 00:16:19,800 Speaker 3: Numbers and letters and directions. Yeah, I always, but it 312 00:16:19,880 --> 00:16:20,720 Speaker 3: takes a little more. 313 00:16:21,040 --> 00:16:23,120 Speaker 4: It takes more getting used to than New York too, 314 00:16:23,200 --> 00:16:25,720 Speaker 4: from my experience and what I. 315 00:16:25,680 --> 00:16:26,920 Speaker 1: Understand, Yeah, for sure. 316 00:16:27,600 --> 00:16:31,200 Speaker 2: So the Commissioner's Plan of eighteen eleven is really sort 317 00:16:31,200 --> 00:16:35,760 Speaker 2: of the demarcation point between what was first New York, 318 00:16:36,640 --> 00:16:39,840 Speaker 2: New Amsterdam and then what we now know is Manhattan. 319 00:16:40,000 --> 00:16:44,240 Speaker 2: Because anyone who's ever seen almost said Games of New York, 320 00:16:44,480 --> 00:16:48,920 Speaker 2: Gangs of New York knows that those were crazy days 321 00:16:48,960 --> 00:16:51,920 Speaker 2: down there in Lower Manhattan and things just sort of 322 00:16:52,000 --> 00:16:56,080 Speaker 2: sprouted up organically from the river upward as far as 323 00:16:56,120 --> 00:17:00,000 Speaker 2: the layout and the design, And you know, you can 324 00:17:00,120 --> 00:17:02,520 Speaker 2: still feel that when you go down to Lower Manhattan, 325 00:17:02,520 --> 00:17:04,920 Speaker 2: which is why I love the villages. 326 00:17:04,960 --> 00:17:05,160 Speaker 1: Now. 327 00:17:05,240 --> 00:17:08,600 Speaker 2: I think it's just I mean, I like the simplicity 328 00:17:08,600 --> 00:17:10,680 Speaker 2: of the grid, but I think what I love about 329 00:17:10,680 --> 00:17:13,240 Speaker 2: Lower Manhattan is how organic it feels. 330 00:17:13,520 --> 00:17:15,639 Speaker 3: It's a jumble, and I mean it's a jumble for 331 00:17:15,720 --> 00:17:20,440 Speaker 3: a reason, because those streets largely follow these original organic 332 00:17:20,520 --> 00:17:25,560 Speaker 3: paths that the Dutch settlers and earliest English settlers basically said, oh, 333 00:17:25,560 --> 00:17:29,119 Speaker 3: we need to get from the waterfront up to the 334 00:17:29,119 --> 00:17:32,640 Speaker 3: common lands or whatever. It's because here's a good path. Yeah, 335 00:17:32,640 --> 00:17:35,520 Speaker 3: and this path happens to meander around a salt marsh, 336 00:17:35,600 --> 00:17:38,520 Speaker 3: and we avoid having to go up a hill by going. 337 00:17:38,359 --> 00:17:39,080 Speaker 4: Around this way. 338 00:17:39,240 --> 00:17:42,040 Speaker 3: So it's kind of like meandering, and it's it's definitely 339 00:17:42,119 --> 00:17:46,119 Speaker 3: locked in time from those streets down there in Lower Manhattan. 340 00:17:46,400 --> 00:17:48,600 Speaker 3: I like it too, but it is very easy to 341 00:17:48,600 --> 00:17:52,000 Speaker 3: be like, are you sure we're going the right direction? Still, 342 00:17:52,200 --> 00:17:54,159 Speaker 3: it's very easy to get lost in those because it 343 00:17:54,200 --> 00:17:55,240 Speaker 3: isn't at all a grid. 344 00:17:55,480 --> 00:17:55,920 Speaker 1: Yeah. 345 00:17:56,160 --> 00:17:58,520 Speaker 2: I've spent enough time in Lower Manhattan now to where 346 00:17:58,600 --> 00:18:01,800 Speaker 2: I can landmarket. It's just familiar enough to me to 347 00:18:01,800 --> 00:18:05,080 Speaker 2: where I kind of know, like this block in that block, right, 348 00:18:05,119 --> 00:18:08,080 Speaker 2: so I know where I'm going. And you mentioned something important. 349 00:18:08,080 --> 00:18:11,280 Speaker 2: I don't think we've even kind of said that New 350 00:18:11,359 --> 00:18:14,240 Speaker 2: York was not all this just big, one big flat 351 00:18:14,400 --> 00:18:18,639 Speaker 2: slab thirteen miles long that we love today because you 352 00:18:18,680 --> 00:18:21,560 Speaker 2: can walk forever without ever getting out of breath, because 353 00:18:21,560 --> 00:18:25,919 Speaker 2: it's not Seattle, right, New York was swamp land and 354 00:18:25,960 --> 00:18:29,679 Speaker 2: it had hills and marshes and creeks and rocks, and 355 00:18:30,000 --> 00:18:31,640 Speaker 2: it was you know, it was kind of wild East 356 00:18:31,720 --> 00:18:32,560 Speaker 2: Coast territory. 357 00:18:33,400 --> 00:18:33,760 Speaker 4: Yeah. 358 00:18:33,800 --> 00:18:37,840 Speaker 3: And I mean the reason that those marshes and the 359 00:18:37,880 --> 00:18:40,800 Speaker 3: ponds and hills and stuff aren't there anymore is because 360 00:18:40,840 --> 00:18:44,359 Speaker 3: of this eighteen eleven commissioners Planet basically said tear it 361 00:18:44,400 --> 00:18:47,400 Speaker 3: all down, fill it all in, build this over it. 362 00:18:47,920 --> 00:18:50,479 Speaker 4: And they did. That's the most astounding thing is they 363 00:18:50,520 --> 00:18:51,400 Speaker 4: did that. 364 00:18:51,520 --> 00:18:53,679 Speaker 3: They they you know, as we'll see, they passed a 365 00:18:53,760 --> 00:18:57,800 Speaker 3: law that basically said, we're going to appoint a commission 366 00:18:57,840 --> 00:19:00,479 Speaker 3: of three people. They're going to come up with three people, 367 00:19:00,760 --> 00:19:01,919 Speaker 3: and whatever they come. 368 00:19:01,880 --> 00:19:03,160 Speaker 4: Up with is law. 369 00:19:03,640 --> 00:19:06,679 Speaker 3: It can't be challenged in court, and we're not going 370 00:19:06,720 --> 00:19:09,680 Speaker 3: to back it up and change it in any way. 371 00:19:09,920 --> 00:19:12,720 Speaker 3: And they really didn't. As bad as the plan was 372 00:19:12,800 --> 00:19:16,000 Speaker 3: in almost every way, they really stuck to it. But 373 00:19:16,080 --> 00:19:18,520 Speaker 3: the thing that struck me, I had no idea about 374 00:19:18,600 --> 00:19:24,240 Speaker 3: this was that's the eighteen eleven Commissioner's plan was just 375 00:19:24,320 --> 00:19:30,000 Speaker 3: a ripoff of another earlier surveying map that basically provided 376 00:19:30,080 --> 00:19:32,680 Speaker 3: the basis of this of the Commissioner's plan, not even 377 00:19:32,680 --> 00:19:34,320 Speaker 3: the basis of it. They were like, oh, we'll take 378 00:19:34,359 --> 00:19:37,080 Speaker 3: this as a starting point. They just said, we'll take this, 379 00:19:37,359 --> 00:19:38,480 Speaker 3: print it and put our. 380 00:19:38,520 --> 00:19:40,840 Speaker 4: Names on it. And that's ultimately what happened. 381 00:19:41,680 --> 00:19:41,920 Speaker 1: Yeah. 382 00:19:42,000 --> 00:19:47,199 Speaker 2: So, pre Revolutionary War, most of Manhattan was in that 383 00:19:47,320 --> 00:19:50,680 Speaker 2: lower third of the island, and we got into big 384 00:19:50,720 --> 00:19:54,000 Speaker 2: time debt because of the Revolutionary War. And so the 385 00:19:54,040 --> 00:19:56,439 Speaker 2: city said in the seventeen eighties, all right, here's what 386 00:19:56,440 --> 00:20:00,480 Speaker 2: we got to do. We own tons of land, publicly land, 387 00:20:01,119 --> 00:20:05,639 Speaker 2: and all this marshy, kind of reedy, rocky pondy area. 388 00:20:06,920 --> 00:20:10,280 Speaker 2: It's not developed. Let's sell this stuff off and make 389 00:20:10,359 --> 00:20:13,800 Speaker 2: some dough. It's called the common Lands. And we need 390 00:20:13,800 --> 00:20:16,359 Speaker 2: somebody to get in there and just sort of, you know, 391 00:20:16,400 --> 00:20:18,119 Speaker 2: survey this and plot it all out so we know 392 00:20:18,200 --> 00:20:19,679 Speaker 2: exactly how to best sell this. 393 00:20:20,240 --> 00:20:23,359 Speaker 3: Yeah, so they hired a guy named Casimir Theodore Girk. 394 00:20:24,320 --> 00:20:27,359 Speaker 3: That's how I'm going with this, Girk. Sure it's not 395 00:20:27,440 --> 00:20:31,480 Speaker 3: a cucumber, it's a girkin. Do you remember mister cabbagehead 396 00:20:31,560 --> 00:20:35,200 Speaker 3: from Kids in the Hall? Sure, well this had nothing 397 00:20:35,240 --> 00:20:39,920 Speaker 3: to do with that, right, right. So this, this surveyor 398 00:20:39,960 --> 00:20:43,399 Speaker 3: actually went through the common lands. Like, basically, what we 399 00:20:43,480 --> 00:20:50,840 Speaker 3: understand is all of Manhattan between Houston and North Harlem. 400 00:20:51,920 --> 00:20:54,320 Speaker 3: He just went across and broke it into five hundred 401 00:20:54,320 --> 00:20:57,520 Speaker 3: acre parcels. He had a sixty six foot chain on 402 00:20:57,560 --> 00:21:01,080 Speaker 3: his surveying poles, and so he said, well, I'll just 403 00:21:01,240 --> 00:21:04,840 Speaker 3: use that as the basic measurement for the widest streets. 404 00:21:04,880 --> 00:21:06,600 Speaker 4: Sixty six feet is what it's going to be. 405 00:21:07,119 --> 00:21:09,240 Speaker 1: I think he said, five hundred acre parcels. Weren't they 406 00:21:09,280 --> 00:21:09,800 Speaker 1: five acre? 407 00:21:10,800 --> 00:21:14,080 Speaker 3: Oh yes, I'm sorry, this is a little bit of 408 00:21:14,080 --> 00:21:16,640 Speaker 3: a difference. They were five acre parcels. So that's even 409 00:21:16,640 --> 00:21:18,760 Speaker 3: more work. That's one hundred times more work than what 410 00:21:18,840 --> 00:21:19,520 Speaker 3: I described. 411 00:21:20,000 --> 00:21:20,480 Speaker 1: That's right. 412 00:21:20,640 --> 00:21:24,399 Speaker 2: So he laid him out as a grid because he 413 00:21:24,560 --> 00:21:27,520 Speaker 2: wasn't like, this guy wasn't out to say here's how 414 00:21:27,560 --> 00:21:28,919 Speaker 2: Manhattan should be built. 415 00:21:28,800 --> 00:21:30,720 Speaker 3: Right right, this is the best way to promote the 416 00:21:30,760 --> 00:21:32,359 Speaker 3: future of growth in Manhattan. 417 00:21:32,400 --> 00:21:33,679 Speaker 1: No, that was not his charge. 418 00:21:33,720 --> 00:21:35,399 Speaker 2: His charge was like, hey, let's just to buy this 419 00:21:35,400 --> 00:21:39,359 Speaker 2: stuff up and sell it. He had some interesting constraints. 420 00:21:40,119 --> 00:21:42,520 Speaker 2: They had to be five acres, they had to have 421 00:21:42,600 --> 00:21:45,960 Speaker 2: a central road that all of these could sort of 422 00:21:46,000 --> 00:21:50,080 Speaker 2: access like fairly easily. And then he had a survey chain. 423 00:21:50,560 --> 00:21:52,280 Speaker 2: It's crazy to think about. This was one of the 424 00:21:52,320 --> 00:21:55,159 Speaker 2: things that informed what is modern New York. His survey 425 00:21:55,240 --> 00:21:58,320 Speaker 2: chain was sixty six feet. So he said, all right, 426 00:21:58,400 --> 00:21:59,520 Speaker 2: that's how why the road. 427 00:21:59,400 --> 00:22:03,400 Speaker 3: Is exactly So, I think that was like the widest road, 428 00:22:03,600 --> 00:22:06,679 Speaker 3: the central access road. He called that one Middle and 429 00:22:06,760 --> 00:22:09,639 Speaker 3: now I believe that's Fifth Avenue is Middle what was 430 00:22:09,680 --> 00:22:13,080 Speaker 3: originally Middle Road back in seventeen ninety six. 431 00:22:13,520 --> 00:22:14,600 Speaker 1: Yeah, that's adorable. 432 00:22:15,119 --> 00:22:18,240 Speaker 3: So he carved this up, this place up into into 433 00:22:18,280 --> 00:22:23,639 Speaker 3: these plots that are two hundred feet on the east 434 00:22:23,680 --> 00:22:26,960 Speaker 3: and west boundaries of it, so going up and down, 435 00:22:27,359 --> 00:22:29,800 Speaker 3: running north south, but if you're on the plot, it 436 00:22:29,840 --> 00:22:31,080 Speaker 3: would be on the east side of the plot, in 437 00:22:31,119 --> 00:22:33,480 Speaker 3: the west side of the plot. If that was not 438 00:22:33,640 --> 00:22:38,080 Speaker 3: confusing before it is now. Yeah, and then across or 439 00:22:38,280 --> 00:22:41,679 Speaker 3: the width was nine hundred and twenty feet and that 440 00:22:41,800 --> 00:22:43,760 Speaker 3: was the Those were the plots. He said, here you go, 441 00:22:44,040 --> 00:22:45,520 Speaker 3: this is a there's a bunch of them up there. 442 00:22:45,520 --> 00:22:47,960 Speaker 3: But I've carved up all of these common lands and 443 00:22:48,000 --> 00:22:49,600 Speaker 3: you can start selling them if you want. 444 00:22:49,760 --> 00:22:52,120 Speaker 1: Yeah, did you mention the names of the other two roads? 445 00:22:52,600 --> 00:22:52,719 Speaker 2: Oh? 446 00:22:52,800 --> 00:22:54,880 Speaker 3: Yeah, he said, I'm gonna I'm gonna put two more 447 00:22:54,920 --> 00:22:58,600 Speaker 3: in of these sixty six feet wide roads, and he 448 00:22:58,640 --> 00:22:59,959 Speaker 3: had some very clever names for them. 449 00:23:00,359 --> 00:23:00,600 Speaker 1: Yeah. 450 00:23:00,880 --> 00:23:03,480 Speaker 2: One was Middle, remember yeah. The one to the east 451 00:23:03,560 --> 00:23:06,800 Speaker 2: he named East, and the one to the west he 452 00:23:06,880 --> 00:23:07,720 Speaker 2: named west. 453 00:23:08,040 --> 00:23:11,199 Speaker 3: Yeah, which which makes sense if you're looking at it 454 00:23:11,240 --> 00:23:14,040 Speaker 3: from if you're on the Middle Road to the east 455 00:23:14,119 --> 00:23:15,960 Speaker 3: is the East road to the west of the West road. 456 00:23:16,200 --> 00:23:21,080 Speaker 3: But they run north south right, man, I hate directions. 457 00:23:22,200 --> 00:23:24,040 Speaker 2: And like you said that, it was fifth in the center, 458 00:23:24,080 --> 00:23:25,840 Speaker 2: so that's now fourth, fifth, and sixth. 459 00:23:25,640 --> 00:23:30,280 Speaker 4: A right or fourth Avenue, fifth Avenue. 460 00:23:29,960 --> 00:23:34,600 Speaker 1: And the avenue that are in America. You know, you're 461 00:23:34,600 --> 00:23:36,440 Speaker 1: really not supposed to say that. What a jerk. I 462 00:23:36,480 --> 00:23:37,359 Speaker 1: can't believe I said that. 463 00:23:37,640 --> 00:23:39,960 Speaker 3: You didn't say it like that, and you just you 464 00:23:40,119 --> 00:23:42,520 Speaker 3: just made sure that you waited until the crowd had 465 00:23:42,560 --> 00:23:44,679 Speaker 3: gathered and really laid into me. 466 00:23:44,800 --> 00:23:46,320 Speaker 1: I think I remember it was that our first trip 467 00:23:46,320 --> 00:23:46,840 Speaker 1: to New York. 468 00:23:47,720 --> 00:23:50,240 Speaker 4: Probably, man, probably. 469 00:23:50,520 --> 00:23:52,520 Speaker 1: That's funny. We've been back a couple of times since 470 00:23:52,520 --> 00:23:53,840 Speaker 1: then as a team. Huh. 471 00:23:53,960 --> 00:23:55,960 Speaker 4: Yeah, I know. I've got some really great memories of 472 00:23:56,000 --> 00:23:56,440 Speaker 4: New York. 473 00:23:56,520 --> 00:23:57,080 Speaker 1: I miss it. 474 00:23:57,880 --> 00:23:58,800 Speaker 4: Yeah, it's been a while. 475 00:23:59,560 --> 00:24:03,120 Speaker 1: Twenty two. We will see you again, Yes, we will. 476 00:24:03,200 --> 00:24:04,400 Speaker 4: New York. Don't you work at. 477 00:24:04,400 --> 00:24:06,280 Speaker 1: Least I hope. So there are no guarantees, right. 478 00:24:06,760 --> 00:24:10,840 Speaker 4: No, we will see New York again, all right, So do. 479 00:24:10,800 --> 00:24:12,520 Speaker 1: We take another break? I feel like there's still a lot. 480 00:24:12,840 --> 00:24:14,520 Speaker 4: There's still a lot. We should keep going for now, 481 00:24:14,560 --> 00:24:15,320 Speaker 4: I think, all right. 482 00:24:15,400 --> 00:24:18,679 Speaker 2: So in eighteen oh seven, this is when the New 483 00:24:18,760 --> 00:24:22,560 Speaker 2: York State legislature said, you know what we need to like, 484 00:24:22,720 --> 00:24:25,480 Speaker 2: we're growing here. It's clear that this southern tip of 485 00:24:25,520 --> 00:24:28,520 Speaker 2: Manhattan is just the beginning. So they passed a bill 486 00:24:28,560 --> 00:24:31,920 Speaker 2: that they described as an Act of Relative, an Act 487 00:24:32,040 --> 00:24:36,800 Speaker 2: relative to improvements touching the laying out of the streets 488 00:24:36,800 --> 00:24:38,679 Speaker 2: and roads in the City of New York and for 489 00:24:38,760 --> 00:24:40,080 Speaker 2: other purposes. 490 00:24:39,960 --> 00:24:40,840 Speaker 4: Right, which made sense. 491 00:24:40,880 --> 00:24:44,760 Speaker 3: But like I said, this law they decided to just 492 00:24:45,160 --> 00:24:50,240 Speaker 3: vest absolute authority into these three commissioners and said, we're 493 00:24:50,240 --> 00:24:53,840 Speaker 3: going to follow whatever they come up with, whatever they 494 00:24:54,040 --> 00:24:57,480 Speaker 3: seems to them most conducive to public good. We're just 495 00:24:57,520 --> 00:24:59,320 Speaker 3: going to take on its face that it is most 496 00:24:59,359 --> 00:25:01,920 Speaker 3: conducive to public good and just go with it. 497 00:25:02,040 --> 00:25:05,159 Speaker 2: That's crazy that it was just three people, and that 498 00:25:05,240 --> 00:25:09,080 Speaker 2: it wasn't like ten teams of three people submitting the 499 00:25:09,119 --> 00:25:11,480 Speaker 2: best designs that then would be gone over and voted 500 00:25:11,520 --> 00:25:12,040 Speaker 2: on like. 501 00:25:12,200 --> 00:25:15,600 Speaker 3: Yeah, took this. No one took it seriously weirdly enough, 502 00:25:16,000 --> 00:25:16,400 Speaker 3: very odd. 503 00:25:16,440 --> 00:25:17,439 Speaker 1: So who were these guys? 504 00:25:17,640 --> 00:25:20,360 Speaker 3: So there are three commissioners appointed. One was Governor Morris. 505 00:25:21,000 --> 00:25:23,760 Speaker 3: His first name was Governor. He was one of the 506 00:25:23,760 --> 00:25:26,400 Speaker 3: founding fathers. He wrote a lot of the Constitution, including 507 00:25:26,440 --> 00:25:30,520 Speaker 3: the preamble. Yeah, he had a peg leg. He lost 508 00:25:30,520 --> 00:25:34,639 Speaker 3: his leg in a carriage accident, although there's rumors that 509 00:25:34,680 --> 00:25:37,080 Speaker 3: it was something else. But he was known as a 510 00:25:37,320 --> 00:25:42,200 Speaker 3: Dave puts it, an energetic philanderer. But he was apparently 511 00:25:42,240 --> 00:25:47,560 Speaker 3: a very likable Benjamin Franklin esque kind of dude who 512 00:25:47,600 --> 00:25:52,040 Speaker 3: seemed to be fairly smart, but had really no understanding 513 00:25:52,080 --> 00:25:53,960 Speaker 3: of surveying as far as I can tell. 514 00:25:54,520 --> 00:25:54,600 Speaker 4: No. 515 00:25:54,920 --> 00:25:58,280 Speaker 2: Then his nephew in law, John Rutherford. He was a 516 00:25:58,359 --> 00:26:01,360 Speaker 2: landowner in New Jersey, in fact, I think the largest 517 00:26:01,440 --> 00:26:05,159 Speaker 2: landowner in New Jersey at the time. And by all 518 00:26:05,160 --> 00:26:08,159 Speaker 2: accounts it looks like this was pure nepotism. He was 519 00:26:08,240 --> 00:26:11,600 Speaker 2: late for meetings, he was not especially interested, even to 520 00:26:11,720 --> 00:26:13,440 Speaker 2: the annoyance of Governor Morris. 521 00:26:13,600 --> 00:26:16,800 Speaker 3: All the reasons to not exercise nepotism. This guy brought 522 00:26:16,840 --> 00:26:19,960 Speaker 3: to the table is one third of this commission, who's 523 00:26:20,000 --> 00:26:22,439 Speaker 3: figuring out how to lay out the plan for New 524 00:26:22,520 --> 00:26:23,040 Speaker 3: York City. 525 00:26:23,320 --> 00:26:23,760 Speaker 1: That's right. 526 00:26:23,840 --> 00:26:28,000 Speaker 2: And then the third guy, Simon Lebon No, no, no, 527 00:26:28,080 --> 00:26:31,680 Speaker 2: Simeon DeWitt, excuse me. And this guy actually knew what 528 00:26:31,680 --> 00:26:36,160 Speaker 2: he was doing. He was a really very respected, accomplished surveyor, 529 00:26:36,280 --> 00:26:41,080 Speaker 2: worked with George Washington, I think eventually became the which 530 00:26:41,119 --> 00:26:44,520 Speaker 2: I didn't even know was a thing, was the official 531 00:26:44,560 --> 00:26:48,040 Speaker 2: surveyor for the Continental Army, and then the surveyor General 532 00:26:48,080 --> 00:26:48,840 Speaker 2: of New York State. 533 00:26:49,400 --> 00:26:51,600 Speaker 3: Right, So he knew what he was doing, which makes 534 00:26:51,640 --> 00:26:55,720 Speaker 3: his role all the more shameful that he didn't say like, oh, well, 535 00:26:55,840 --> 00:26:58,320 Speaker 3: we really got to we gotta get cracking. It's been 536 00:26:58,640 --> 00:27:00,479 Speaker 3: three years and we've got four year to do. 537 00:27:00,680 --> 00:27:02,479 Speaker 2: Maybe he did, though, who knows, he might have been 538 00:27:02,560 --> 00:27:04,600 Speaker 2: completely run over by these other two jumps. 539 00:27:04,800 --> 00:27:06,480 Speaker 4: Oh and he just got shouted down. I guess. 540 00:27:06,480 --> 00:27:06,840 Speaker 1: I don't know. 541 00:27:07,440 --> 00:27:08,440 Speaker 4: Well, at the very least. 542 00:27:08,440 --> 00:27:11,320 Speaker 3: Governor Morris was also one of the founding members of 543 00:27:11,400 --> 00:27:14,679 Speaker 3: the commission that created the Erie Canal, which was for 544 00:27:14,720 --> 00:27:17,280 Speaker 3: a very long time considered one of the greatest public 545 00:27:17,320 --> 00:27:20,359 Speaker 3: works projects in the history of America, certainly in the 546 00:27:20,400 --> 00:27:24,520 Speaker 3: history of New York State, and that kind of energy 547 00:27:24,680 --> 00:27:27,679 Speaker 3: and imagination and drive just did not make it to 548 00:27:27,880 --> 00:27:30,840 Speaker 3: this eighteen eleven Commission for the Planning of New York. 549 00:27:30,920 --> 00:27:33,879 Speaker 2: I wonder if he, I mean this sounds cynical, but 550 00:27:33,920 --> 00:27:36,600 Speaker 2: I wonder if he literally was, like, man, that Erie 551 00:27:36,680 --> 00:27:40,240 Speaker 2: Canal project really was a big bummer in how hard 552 00:27:40,240 --> 00:27:42,680 Speaker 2: we had to work, and let's just kind of, Hey, 553 00:27:42,920 --> 00:27:44,960 Speaker 2: look at these maps that this guy drew to sell 554 00:27:44,960 --> 00:27:45,760 Speaker 2: off New York. 555 00:27:46,320 --> 00:27:47,200 Speaker 1: Let's just use those. 556 00:27:47,480 --> 00:27:48,000 Speaker 4: Yeah. 557 00:27:48,040 --> 00:27:49,920 Speaker 3: So that's I mean, that's kind of what they did. 558 00:27:50,000 --> 00:27:54,320 Speaker 3: Like they had four years or they took four years. 559 00:27:54,359 --> 00:27:56,680 Speaker 3: I'm not sure how long they had, but they took 560 00:27:56,720 --> 00:28:00,840 Speaker 3: four years from eighteen oh seven to eighteen eleven to 561 00:28:00,960 --> 00:28:06,000 Speaker 3: turn in their report. Four years of meeting sporadically true, 562 00:28:06,040 --> 00:28:09,160 Speaker 3: but they still met. Over this four year period, they 563 00:28:09,200 --> 00:28:13,160 Speaker 3: came up within eleven page report to lay out these 564 00:28:13,240 --> 00:28:18,240 Speaker 3: thirteen miles in length, not even square miles of Manhattan, 565 00:28:18,359 --> 00:28:20,359 Speaker 3: these common lands, all the way from House and Street 566 00:28:20,400 --> 00:28:24,080 Speaker 3: up to North Harlem. They came up with eleven pages 567 00:28:24,119 --> 00:28:27,400 Speaker 3: to explain their map, and their map really made sense 568 00:28:27,440 --> 00:28:31,640 Speaker 3: as a grid. But again they stole the grid from 569 00:28:31,960 --> 00:28:36,200 Speaker 3: Kashmir Gork. I can't remember what I called them before, Girk. 570 00:28:37,160 --> 00:28:41,040 Speaker 3: I'm going with Gork now, okay, sure, but they didn't 571 00:28:41,040 --> 00:28:42,840 Speaker 3: give them any credit for it whatsoever. 572 00:28:43,800 --> 00:28:46,000 Speaker 2: No, I mean, I don't want to go so far 573 00:28:46,040 --> 00:28:50,160 Speaker 2: as to call it a tracing project. But you know, 574 00:28:50,680 --> 00:28:53,920 Speaker 2: they borrowed pretty heavily. Like the streets and the avenues 575 00:28:54,480 --> 00:28:57,760 Speaker 2: were basically the exact same when you know, earlier you 576 00:28:57,800 --> 00:28:59,760 Speaker 2: mentioned the blocks were two hundred by nine hundred and 577 00:28:59,760 --> 00:29:03,640 Speaker 2: twenty feet in Girk from Kirk, right, Yeah, this had 578 00:29:03,680 --> 00:29:06,360 Speaker 2: the exact same way out and that was no accident. 579 00:29:06,320 --> 00:29:09,280 Speaker 3: No, and they were in virtually the same spot. They 580 00:29:09,320 --> 00:29:11,720 Speaker 3: did do some stuff, you know, they didn't just take 581 00:29:11,800 --> 00:29:13,880 Speaker 3: his map like you were saying and trace it and 582 00:29:13,920 --> 00:29:16,880 Speaker 3: call it their own. They made some changes to it. 583 00:29:16,920 --> 00:29:21,360 Speaker 3: They created instead of the three middle, east and West, 584 00:29:21,640 --> 00:29:26,480 Speaker 3: they created twelve avenues running north south and not true 585 00:29:26,560 --> 00:29:29,520 Speaker 3: north south, but just you know, for our purposes north 586 00:29:29,560 --> 00:29:31,880 Speaker 3: and south. And then they created one hundred and fifty 587 00:29:31,880 --> 00:29:34,520 Speaker 3: five numbered streets. 588 00:29:34,920 --> 00:29:36,840 Speaker 2: What they added this stuff, but it's sort of just 589 00:29:37,160 --> 00:29:39,520 Speaker 2: copy paste kind of. 590 00:29:39,600 --> 00:29:42,360 Speaker 3: But the big thing is so adding the twelve numbered 591 00:29:42,360 --> 00:29:47,239 Speaker 3: avenues was definite change to the Girk's. Gorks never going 592 00:29:47,320 --> 00:29:50,400 Speaker 3: to say the same thing twice. But was it Yeah, 593 00:29:50,440 --> 00:29:52,560 Speaker 3: because he only had the three, I know. 594 00:29:52,520 --> 00:29:55,040 Speaker 2: But he just had the three and they were like, well, 595 00:29:55,080 --> 00:29:56,720 Speaker 2: we need more, so let's just do what he did 596 00:29:56,760 --> 00:29:57,520 Speaker 2: all over the place. 597 00:29:57,720 --> 00:29:59,520 Speaker 3: Sure, sure, okay, all right, yeah, you know what I'm saying, 598 00:29:59,560 --> 00:30:01,760 Speaker 3: that's fair. Yeah, I'm they're these guys are definitely not 599 00:30:01,800 --> 00:30:03,760 Speaker 3: a hill I'm willing to die on, So say what 600 00:30:03,800 --> 00:30:07,160 Speaker 3: you will about I think they're lazy schmos too, all right. 601 00:30:07,480 --> 00:30:09,960 Speaker 4: And then they took these they took these cross. 602 00:30:09,680 --> 00:30:13,080 Speaker 3: Streets that are formed by the surveying of these blocks 603 00:30:13,080 --> 00:30:16,760 Speaker 3: and turn them into numbered streets. So avenues running north south, 604 00:30:16,800 --> 00:30:18,680 Speaker 3: they were the big ones, one hundred and fifty five 605 00:30:18,800 --> 00:30:24,400 Speaker 3: numbered streets running east to west. They they widened the avenues. 606 00:30:24,440 --> 00:30:25,840 Speaker 3: They said they're going to be one hundred feet. 607 00:30:25,840 --> 00:30:27,720 Speaker 4: Why. I guess they had a longer survey. 608 00:30:27,400 --> 00:30:31,480 Speaker 3: In the bigger chain, right, And then they widened some 609 00:30:31,600 --> 00:30:35,760 Speaker 3: of the cross streets. I guess ease congestion. I think 610 00:30:35,800 --> 00:30:38,960 Speaker 3: they widened fifteen of them total. 611 00:30:40,080 --> 00:30:42,560 Speaker 2: Yeah, they I think the other streets were sixty feet, 612 00:30:42,600 --> 00:30:48,040 Speaker 2: and then fifteen of them went to one hundred at fourteenth, twenty, third, thirty, fourth, forty, second, 613 00:30:48,080 --> 00:30:50,480 Speaker 2: fifty seven to seventy two, seventy nine, eighty six, ninety six, 614 00:30:50,880 --> 00:30:53,360 Speaker 2: one o six, one sixteen, one twenty fifth, one thirty fifth, 615 00:30:53,360 --> 00:30:55,240 Speaker 2: one forty fifth, and one fifty fifth. 616 00:30:55,560 --> 00:30:59,680 Speaker 1: Right, but why why those particular ones? 617 00:31:00,000 --> 00:31:01,920 Speaker 3: It doesn't seem to be much rhyme or reason because 618 00:31:01,960 --> 00:31:04,440 Speaker 3: if you notice, they didn't really hit their stride into 619 00:31:04,520 --> 00:31:10,520 Speaker 3: keeping them separated by ten cross streets until eighty sixth Street. Yeah, 620 00:31:11,160 --> 00:31:13,640 Speaker 3: so there's not really much rhyme or reason there. 621 00:31:13,560 --> 00:31:15,600 Speaker 1: When they only did that for three of them. 622 00:31:15,560 --> 00:31:17,320 Speaker 4: Right of them, and then the. 623 00:31:20,040 --> 00:31:23,560 Speaker 3: Streets that they did choose to widen didn't necessarily make 624 00:31:23,640 --> 00:31:25,880 Speaker 3: much sense one way or the other. Like, for example, 625 00:31:26,320 --> 00:31:30,240 Speaker 3: seventy first Street was already fairly wide. It was definitely 626 00:31:30,280 --> 00:31:33,360 Speaker 3: wider than seventy second Street, but they decided to make 627 00:31:33,400 --> 00:31:37,960 Speaker 3: seventy second Street the widened the widen cross street rather 628 00:31:38,000 --> 00:31:41,560 Speaker 3: than seventy first, And apparently no one knows why. The 629 00:31:41,640 --> 00:31:44,440 Speaker 3: closest thing I could find is there's some record in 630 00:31:44,480 --> 00:31:48,800 Speaker 3: eighteen fifty seven of somebody having to remove a big 631 00:31:48,920 --> 00:31:52,840 Speaker 3: rock from seventy second Street to widen it. But that 632 00:31:52,880 --> 00:31:55,320 Speaker 3: doesn't even explain it. It makes sense because there was a 633 00:31:55,320 --> 00:31:57,640 Speaker 3: bunch of houses that had to be torn down to 634 00:31:57,720 --> 00:32:01,680 Speaker 3: make seventy second Street widen rather than seventy first, which 635 00:32:01,720 --> 00:32:02,680 Speaker 3: was already. 636 00:32:02,240 --> 00:32:05,560 Speaker 1: Wide and had almost no houses exactly. 637 00:32:05,640 --> 00:32:09,760 Speaker 3: So these guys were just when you start to compile 638 00:32:09,840 --> 00:32:13,200 Speaker 3: all the evidence, we'll kind of pay more out. It 639 00:32:13,360 --> 00:32:17,040 Speaker 3: really seems like these guys didn't even go to the 640 00:32:17,040 --> 00:32:20,680 Speaker 3: common lands, that maybe they were just working from Girk's map, 641 00:32:21,520 --> 00:32:23,240 Speaker 3: or if they did go to the common Lands, they 642 00:32:23,280 --> 00:32:26,280 Speaker 3: took zero notes or paid zero attention, and that all 643 00:32:26,320 --> 00:32:29,880 Speaker 3: of this came from a place of laziness and ignorance, 644 00:32:29,960 --> 00:32:33,040 Speaker 3: like not knowing that seventy second was wider than seventy 645 00:32:33,080 --> 00:32:37,200 Speaker 3: first or vice versa would explain that decision more than 646 00:32:37,200 --> 00:32:37,920 Speaker 3: anything else. 647 00:32:38,480 --> 00:32:41,440 Speaker 2: Yeah, if the another example is if you've ever been 648 00:32:41,480 --> 00:32:44,040 Speaker 2: on the West Side and you feel like, man, these 649 00:32:44,080 --> 00:32:47,600 Speaker 2: avenues are big, it's because they are. The avenues on 650 00:32:47,680 --> 00:32:51,320 Speaker 2: the east side are spaced at six hundred and fifty 651 00:32:51,320 --> 00:32:54,840 Speaker 2: and six hundred and ten feet apart or six hundred 652 00:32:54,880 --> 00:32:56,800 Speaker 2: and ten feet apart, and on the west they are 653 00:32:56,840 --> 00:32:59,800 Speaker 2: all eight hundred feet apart for no reason. 654 00:33:00,080 --> 00:33:00,720 Speaker 4: Reason at all. 655 00:33:00,880 --> 00:33:04,400 Speaker 3: Yeah, it doesn't make any sense. Again, it just it 656 00:33:05,000 --> 00:33:07,680 Speaker 3: seems like they just phone this in and what's even 657 00:33:07,680 --> 00:33:11,600 Speaker 3: more astounding is that New York's founding father said, Okay, 658 00:33:12,040 --> 00:33:14,840 Speaker 3: we're going to do exactly what you say without questioning it. 659 00:33:15,080 --> 00:33:17,480 Speaker 2: Yeah, and actually we kind of do have the reason 660 00:33:17,520 --> 00:33:20,560 Speaker 2: if you read closely, and we'll tell you the secret reason. 661 00:33:20,640 --> 00:33:43,400 Speaker 1: Right after this was that for a cliffhanger, it was great. 662 00:33:43,640 --> 00:33:46,040 Speaker 4: I'm still a little tense waiting for you to pay 663 00:33:46,080 --> 00:33:46,440 Speaker 4: it all. 664 00:33:46,720 --> 00:33:49,240 Speaker 2: All right, here's the real reason everyone, and it all 665 00:33:49,320 --> 00:33:54,080 Speaker 2: lies in this quote that is pulled from their commission report. 666 00:33:54,920 --> 00:33:58,080 Speaker 2: If it should be asked, why was the present plan 667 00:33:58,160 --> 00:34:01,360 Speaker 2: adopted in preference to any other? The answer is because 668 00:34:01,720 --> 00:34:06,320 Speaker 2: after taking all circumstances into consideration, it appeared to be 669 00:34:06,400 --> 00:34:11,440 Speaker 2: the best or in other more proper terms, attended with 670 00:34:11,560 --> 00:34:13,000 Speaker 2: the least inconvenience. 671 00:34:13,719 --> 00:34:16,760 Speaker 4: And I think that's the magic phrase right there. 672 00:34:16,680 --> 00:34:20,600 Speaker 2: That last phrase attended with the least inconvenience. And Dave 673 00:34:21,520 --> 00:34:27,440 Speaker 2: rightfully says, what is obvious which is inconvenient for the 674 00:34:27,480 --> 00:34:28,359 Speaker 2: three commissioners. 675 00:34:28,880 --> 00:34:35,040 Speaker 3: Yeah, because their plan was extraordinarily inconvenient for basically everyone involved. 676 00:34:35,120 --> 00:34:38,160 Speaker 3: Like there was from the people who were in charge 677 00:34:38,239 --> 00:34:42,200 Speaker 3: of like making this this like building this grid or 678 00:34:42,239 --> 00:34:45,440 Speaker 3: this plan, to the people who were already living in 679 00:34:45,480 --> 00:34:50,560 Speaker 3: places that were torn down. Yeah, forty percent of places 680 00:34:50,560 --> 00:34:54,200 Speaker 3: were torn down to adhere to this plan, this eighteen 681 00:34:54,239 --> 00:34:59,000 Speaker 3: to eleven commission plan. Yeah, that's crazy. And again when 682 00:34:59,040 --> 00:35:01,200 Speaker 3: you start to add all stuff up, it does seem 683 00:35:01,239 --> 00:35:04,360 Speaker 3: like the least inconvenient for the three commissioners. 684 00:35:04,480 --> 00:35:04,719 Speaker 1: Yeah. 685 00:35:04,719 --> 00:35:07,200 Speaker 3: And the fact that if that is true and they 686 00:35:07,280 --> 00:35:10,640 Speaker 3: just included that is kind of like a cheeky little joke. 687 00:35:11,680 --> 00:35:16,680 Speaker 3: You know, these guys are They're not necessarily burning in hell, 688 00:35:16,800 --> 00:35:19,120 Speaker 3: but they're probably in purgatory somewhere. 689 00:35:19,320 --> 00:35:20,799 Speaker 1: I also have a lot of respect for that kind 690 00:35:20,800 --> 00:35:21,960 Speaker 1: of laziness at times, So. 691 00:35:22,600 --> 00:35:25,720 Speaker 4: The kind that makes fun of itself in public documents, Well. 692 00:35:25,800 --> 00:35:30,440 Speaker 2: Just is that upfront about the fact, Like, you know what, 693 00:35:30,560 --> 00:35:32,319 Speaker 2: I didn't really want to work too hard on this, so. 694 00:35:32,320 --> 00:35:34,840 Speaker 1: Here's here it is, right. 695 00:35:34,920 --> 00:35:38,960 Speaker 2: So, yeah, it was very inconvenient for everyone but them. 696 00:35:39,600 --> 00:35:44,560 Speaker 2: They did this because of the growth population they expected, 697 00:35:45,320 --> 00:35:46,439 Speaker 2: so it sort of made sense. 698 00:35:46,480 --> 00:35:48,000 Speaker 1: But they even got that wrong. 699 00:35:48,040 --> 00:35:50,719 Speaker 2: They were wrong by about half of what they thought 700 00:35:50,719 --> 00:35:51,799 Speaker 2: the growth rate was going to be. 701 00:35:52,600 --> 00:35:55,160 Speaker 3: Yeah, that's the thing is they were saying, like, Okay, 702 00:35:55,320 --> 00:36:01,040 Speaker 3: this is this affords enough population growth, afford a population 703 00:36:01,160 --> 00:36:04,120 Speaker 3: greater than any other this side of China. 704 00:36:03,840 --> 00:36:06,120 Speaker 4: Is how they put it. 705 00:36:06,200 --> 00:36:09,520 Speaker 3: So they clearly did have at least growth on their mind, 706 00:36:09,600 --> 00:36:12,719 Speaker 3: and that if you build on a grid, it affords 707 00:36:12,719 --> 00:36:13,640 Speaker 3: for the most growth. 708 00:36:13,880 --> 00:36:15,319 Speaker 4: It's the easiest to build on. 709 00:36:15,800 --> 00:36:19,840 Speaker 3: Right angled structures are the easiest to build and settle 710 00:36:19,880 --> 00:36:23,920 Speaker 3: and live in. But the thing is is part of 711 00:36:23,920 --> 00:36:27,040 Speaker 3: that law, that eighteen oh seven law that established the commission, 712 00:36:27,480 --> 00:36:31,680 Speaker 3: charged them with creating public squares, although it said in 713 00:36:32,560 --> 00:36:35,440 Speaker 3: size and form and all that in number that the 714 00:36:35,480 --> 00:36:39,480 Speaker 3: Commissioners see fit. Unfortunately, the Commissioners didn't see fit to 715 00:36:39,520 --> 00:36:44,680 Speaker 3: make almost any kind of public gathering places, especially green 716 00:36:44,760 --> 00:36:49,239 Speaker 3: spaces for mental health, I guess is what you would 717 00:36:49,239 --> 00:36:49,560 Speaker 3: call it. 718 00:36:50,080 --> 00:36:53,360 Speaker 2: Yeah, And the reasoning is kind of kind of bs. Actually, 719 00:36:54,239 --> 00:36:56,400 Speaker 2: I'm not sure which one it was. I guess it 720 00:36:56,440 --> 00:36:59,320 Speaker 2: was Morris that I'm not going to read the whole quote, 721 00:36:59,320 --> 00:37:02,440 Speaker 2: but he basically we said, hey, listen, we don't have 722 00:37:02,760 --> 00:37:05,960 Speaker 2: the sin River or the Thames winding through the middle 723 00:37:05,960 --> 00:37:09,319 Speaker 2: of town. But what we do have are these two 724 00:37:09,400 --> 00:37:13,480 Speaker 2: wonderful rivers that just kind of hug Manhattan. And that's 725 00:37:13,600 --> 00:37:16,400 Speaker 2: enough because everyone's just going to go hang out the 726 00:37:16,480 --> 00:37:19,680 Speaker 2: river all the time, right, because it's beautiful and gorgeous 727 00:37:19,680 --> 00:37:23,120 Speaker 2: and you can swim in it, and the East River 728 00:37:23,160 --> 00:37:25,640 Speaker 2: and the Hudson River will forever be our green space. 729 00:37:25,680 --> 00:37:29,400 Speaker 3: Basically, Yeah, basically that was the city had enough. It 730 00:37:29,400 --> 00:37:31,560 Speaker 3: didn't need green spaces because of the East and the 731 00:37:31,640 --> 00:37:37,440 Speaker 3: Hudson rivers, and like in about forty years people were like, no, 732 00:37:37,520 --> 00:37:39,360 Speaker 3: we do we need to build Central Park. 733 00:37:39,920 --> 00:37:42,880 Speaker 2: Yeah, which was a savior because I think it says 734 00:37:42,920 --> 00:37:46,640 Speaker 2: here on their original plan, only five percent of the 735 00:37:46,640 --> 00:37:51,000 Speaker 2: grid was public green space, and two hundred and forty 736 00:37:51,040 --> 00:37:53,760 Speaker 2: of those four hundred acres was a parade ground. 737 00:37:54,239 --> 00:37:58,480 Speaker 3: Yes, which I didn't know exactly where that was, so you. 738 00:37:57,640 --> 00:38:01,520 Speaker 2: No, I'm not sure, I don't know. I mean, you know, 739 00:38:01,560 --> 00:38:04,360 Speaker 2: there's Washington Square Park, there's some cool kind of central 740 00:38:04,800 --> 00:38:08,600 Speaker 2: promenades and things like that, and then these you know, 741 00:38:08,640 --> 00:38:12,120 Speaker 2: New York's famous for these tiny little slivers of park 742 00:38:13,360 --> 00:38:15,520 Speaker 2: kind of all over the place, but they're small. 743 00:38:16,400 --> 00:38:20,240 Speaker 3: They are very small, especially compared to the surrounding areas. 744 00:38:20,280 --> 00:38:21,280 Speaker 4: For sure, in the buildings. 745 00:38:21,360 --> 00:38:22,839 Speaker 1: That's why the highline was such a big deal. 746 00:38:23,280 --> 00:38:25,920 Speaker 3: Yeah, it was a big deal. And I remember not 747 00:38:26,120 --> 00:38:29,479 Speaker 3: quite grasping why. I know, I definitely do, because there's 748 00:38:29,560 --> 00:38:32,760 Speaker 3: just people need that. People need green space, they need nature, 749 00:38:32,840 --> 00:38:35,719 Speaker 3: they need to be like outside of a built environment, 750 00:38:35,800 --> 00:38:38,400 Speaker 3: even if it's a built natural environment, you know what 751 00:38:38,440 --> 00:38:38,759 Speaker 3: I mean. 752 00:38:39,239 --> 00:38:42,080 Speaker 2: Yeah, And Central Park is amazing and we love it, 753 00:38:42,120 --> 00:38:45,480 Speaker 2: but that's a long way if you're in southern Manhattan 754 00:38:45,600 --> 00:38:46,520 Speaker 2: to get up there. 755 00:38:47,160 --> 00:38:47,799 Speaker 4: Right right. 756 00:38:47,880 --> 00:38:50,120 Speaker 3: But basically, these guys said, you don't need it, go 757 00:38:50,160 --> 00:38:51,879 Speaker 3: hang out at the hud center of the East River. 758 00:38:52,000 --> 00:38:53,520 Speaker 1: It's so wonderful and lovely. 759 00:38:54,200 --> 00:38:57,280 Speaker 3: So there were a lot of people, like we said, 760 00:38:57,480 --> 00:39:01,200 Speaker 3: that were really unhappy with this. This was a huge 761 00:39:01,800 --> 00:39:05,480 Speaker 3: exercise of eminent domain. There were a lot of people 762 00:39:05,520 --> 00:39:10,759 Speaker 3: on these lands already. Remember Seneca Village that was destroyed 763 00:39:10,760 --> 00:39:15,800 Speaker 3: to create Central Park. They managed to survive the eighteen 764 00:39:15,840 --> 00:39:20,000 Speaker 3: eleven commission. I can't remember how long that was around, 765 00:39:20,040 --> 00:39:22,319 Speaker 3: but I want to say Seneca Village was around for 766 00:39:22,360 --> 00:39:24,840 Speaker 3: a good fifty years before it was leveled in the 767 00:39:24,960 --> 00:39:27,920 Speaker 3: eighteen fifties, so it would have been around on the 768 00:39:27,960 --> 00:39:31,600 Speaker 3: common lands during this time. But there were, like you said, 769 00:39:31,600 --> 00:39:36,719 Speaker 3: about thirty nine or forty percent of homeowners or established 770 00:39:36,719 --> 00:39:39,520 Speaker 3: buildings had to be torn down. They filled in ponds, 771 00:39:39,560 --> 00:39:44,120 Speaker 3: they filled in salt marshes, they completely altered the ecosystem 772 00:39:44,520 --> 00:39:47,040 Speaker 3: of stuff that could have been built around or incorporated 773 00:39:47,040 --> 00:39:49,359 Speaker 3: had they stopped and thought about how to do that. 774 00:39:49,880 --> 00:39:53,239 Speaker 3: They just leveled everything and built a grid over it. 775 00:39:53,280 --> 00:39:55,520 Speaker 3: And so a lot of people were really really unhappy 776 00:39:55,560 --> 00:39:59,960 Speaker 3: about us, and they were particularly unhappy that the city 777 00:40:00,120 --> 00:40:03,520 Speaker 3: the administration was just sticking to this no matter what. 778 00:40:03,640 --> 00:40:05,560 Speaker 3: And there were a lot of lawsuits in all of them, 779 00:40:05,560 --> 00:40:07,600 Speaker 3: from what I understand, were unsuccessful. 780 00:40:07,960 --> 00:40:10,239 Speaker 2: Oh yeah, for about sixty years, there were tons of 781 00:40:10,480 --> 00:40:13,560 Speaker 2: lawsuits going on. And I know you said it was 782 00:40:13,600 --> 00:40:18,000 Speaker 2: a big eminent Domain Act, but it was I think 783 00:40:18,080 --> 00:40:21,680 Speaker 2: still the largest act of eminent domain in New York City. Yeah, 784 00:40:21,680 --> 00:40:25,880 Speaker 2: and that includes Central Park and the how they get 785 00:40:25,920 --> 00:40:27,520 Speaker 2: their water, which was another good episode. 786 00:40:27,760 --> 00:40:30,680 Speaker 3: Yeah, because I mean Central Park was huge, but it's 787 00:40:30,760 --> 00:40:33,080 Speaker 3: just a small sliver of this larger area. 788 00:40:34,120 --> 00:40:34,400 Speaker 1: Yeah. 789 00:40:35,400 --> 00:40:39,520 Speaker 2: This one quote from landowner Clement Clark Moore. He published 790 00:40:39,520 --> 00:40:43,880 Speaker 2: a pamphlet about the Tyrannical Commissioner's plan, and in it 791 00:40:43,880 --> 00:40:47,799 Speaker 2: it says this nothing is to be left unmolested, which 792 00:40:47,840 --> 00:40:51,400 Speaker 2: does not coincide with the street Commissioner's plummet and level. 793 00:40:51,800 --> 00:40:53,840 Speaker 2: These are men who would have cut down the Seven 794 00:40:53,920 --> 00:40:54,960 Speaker 2: Hills of Rome. 795 00:40:55,280 --> 00:40:59,800 Speaker 1: Burn big time yeap, So it didn't matter, though. 796 00:41:00,400 --> 00:41:01,439 Speaker 4: It really didn't matter. 797 00:41:01,480 --> 00:41:05,080 Speaker 3: They just went ahead with it blindly and thoughtlessly and 798 00:41:05,120 --> 00:41:09,440 Speaker 3: did and again like it did accommodate growth, although they 799 00:41:09,520 --> 00:41:12,239 Speaker 3: underestimated the growth. But it took a little while for 800 00:41:12,320 --> 00:41:17,040 Speaker 3: this stuff to fill up. This plan was delivered in 801 00:41:17,080 --> 00:41:20,239 Speaker 3: eighteen eleven, but it wasn't until eighteen seventy five that 802 00:41:20,400 --> 00:41:22,839 Speaker 3: enough people had started to move in that there were 803 00:41:22,920 --> 00:41:27,120 Speaker 3: more New Yorkers living above fourteenth Street than there were 804 00:41:27,200 --> 00:41:30,840 Speaker 3: living below it. Because remember, I mean, Lower Manhattan was 805 00:41:30,880 --> 00:41:33,759 Speaker 3: where it all began, so that I mean it took 806 00:41:33,760 --> 00:41:35,919 Speaker 3: a little while to fill in, and it didn't even 807 00:41:35,960 --> 00:41:40,520 Speaker 3: necessarily fill in uniformly. By that same year, in eighteen 808 00:41:40,560 --> 00:41:44,399 Speaker 3: seventy five, there were still forty thousand vacant lots left 809 00:41:44,440 --> 00:41:47,319 Speaker 3: in this grid plan, and that was like about half 810 00:41:47,360 --> 00:41:48,000 Speaker 3: of the space. 811 00:41:48,680 --> 00:41:50,880 Speaker 1: Yeah, I love that fact. That's good. Dave has some 812 00:41:51,000 --> 00:41:52,040 Speaker 1: nice facts here. At the end. 813 00:41:53,840 --> 00:41:56,480 Speaker 2: Eighteen sixty nine, the very first apartment build in New 814 00:41:56,560 --> 00:42:02,719 Speaker 2: York was built, called the Stivesant and they called them 815 00:42:02,960 --> 00:42:04,919 Speaker 2: I don't even think they called them apartments at the time. 816 00:42:05,000 --> 00:42:06,840 Speaker 2: It was called a French flat or a French house. 817 00:42:07,360 --> 00:42:10,840 Speaker 2: But prior to that it was you know, tenement houses 818 00:42:10,880 --> 00:42:14,760 Speaker 2: and houses, and so the Stuve is Ant is built 819 00:42:14,960 --> 00:42:18,920 Speaker 2: and everyone thinks it's silly that anyone would want to 820 00:42:19,080 --> 00:42:21,880 Speaker 2: live in the same building as other people, and they 821 00:42:21,920 --> 00:42:25,759 Speaker 2: called it stuives Ant's folly, but that it was at 822 00:42:25,760 --> 00:42:28,760 Speaker 2: one hundred and forty two East eighteenth between Irving Place 823 00:42:28,800 --> 00:42:33,480 Speaker 2: and Third and it was a huge hit, Like people 824 00:42:33,520 --> 00:42:36,960 Speaker 2: made fun of it in the newspapers, but people signed 825 00:42:37,040 --> 00:42:38,600 Speaker 2: up to live there almost immediately. 826 00:42:38,600 --> 00:42:39,279 Speaker 1: It filled up. 827 00:42:40,000 --> 00:42:44,319 Speaker 2: It was demoed and replaced in nineteen sixty, so this 828 00:42:44,400 --> 00:42:47,080 Speaker 2: is eighteen sixty nine. Very it didn't take long though. 829 00:42:47,320 --> 00:42:49,879 Speaker 2: In eighteen eighty four the Dakota was built, which still 830 00:42:49,880 --> 00:42:53,000 Speaker 2: stands today. So apartment buildings kind of came into fashion, 831 00:42:54,200 --> 00:42:56,320 Speaker 2: I think probably due just stuive's Ant's folly. 832 00:42:57,080 --> 00:42:59,400 Speaker 3: Yeah I will yeah, I mean it went over so 833 00:42:59,480 --> 00:43:02,000 Speaker 3: well and so quickly that it really opened the way for. 834 00:43:01,960 --> 00:43:03,080 Speaker 4: More and more to be built. 835 00:43:03,200 --> 00:43:03,799 Speaker 1: Pretty cool. 836 00:43:05,160 --> 00:43:08,520 Speaker 3: So one thing that people point to is this Commissioner's 837 00:43:08,520 --> 00:43:11,880 Speaker 3: plan of eighteen to eleven is just like that same 838 00:43:12,040 --> 00:43:17,719 Speaker 3: principle or the same significance that the Spanish coming in 839 00:43:17,800 --> 00:43:23,319 Speaker 3: and imposing a grid over an indigenous settlement was somehow 840 00:43:23,600 --> 00:43:26,480 Speaker 3: taming the wild or the organic. 841 00:43:26,120 --> 00:43:29,320 Speaker 4: Or something like that. There's a This is the turning 842 00:43:29,360 --> 00:43:37,160 Speaker 4: point between kind of unplanned, organic, much more harmonious, naturally 843 00:43:37,600 --> 00:43:42,759 Speaker 4: New York and the planned modern New York that we 844 00:43:42,800 --> 00:43:43,800 Speaker 4: know and love today. 845 00:43:44,160 --> 00:43:46,120 Speaker 3: This is where it went from one to the other, 846 00:43:46,960 --> 00:43:49,919 Speaker 3: almost like flipping a switch. And granted, for it took 847 00:43:49,960 --> 00:43:55,920 Speaker 3: decades and decades to realize this plan, but when it 848 00:43:55,960 --> 00:43:58,600 Speaker 3: was delivered and when it was adopted, that was that 849 00:43:58,719 --> 00:44:02,400 Speaker 3: was it. That change happened and the transition began. 850 00:44:02,800 --> 00:44:03,920 Speaker 1: Yeah, it's pretty amazing. 851 00:44:04,680 --> 00:44:05,439 Speaker 4: I think so too. 852 00:44:05,880 --> 00:44:07,239 Speaker 1: What else is there for New York? 853 00:44:07,280 --> 00:44:10,480 Speaker 2: I mean, we figure we got water, we got the 854 00:44:10,520 --> 00:44:13,160 Speaker 2: subways covered, We've got Central Park, We've got this. 855 00:44:13,360 --> 00:44:16,160 Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah, let's see, there. 856 00:44:16,040 --> 00:44:17,880 Speaker 2: Can't be much else as far as just the bones 857 00:44:17,880 --> 00:44:19,279 Speaker 2: of Oh I know what I want to do is 858 00:44:19,320 --> 00:44:22,640 Speaker 2: maybe how that how the mail and the trash work? 859 00:44:24,719 --> 00:44:27,759 Speaker 4: Okay, all right, yeah, we did the rockets once even too. 860 00:44:27,880 --> 00:44:28,520 Speaker 1: Oh that's right. 861 00:44:29,200 --> 00:44:31,280 Speaker 4: I mean we've done a lot of New York topics, 862 00:44:31,600 --> 00:44:32,960 Speaker 4: it's true. 863 00:44:33,480 --> 00:44:35,239 Speaker 2: Or maybe we should move to a different city. Let's 864 00:44:35,239 --> 00:44:36,440 Speaker 2: start talking about des Moines. 865 00:44:37,120 --> 00:44:42,839 Speaker 4: Holy cow, dude, it almost simultaneously came out of my mouth. 866 00:44:42,920 --> 00:44:43,400 Speaker 1: Des moines. 867 00:44:43,680 --> 00:44:47,960 Speaker 4: Yes, it's so weird. It is weird. It's in the zeitgeist. 868 00:44:48,000 --> 00:44:51,120 Speaker 4: Apparently you got anything else? 869 00:44:51,120 --> 00:44:51,919 Speaker 1: I got nothing else. 870 00:44:52,120 --> 00:44:54,120 Speaker 3: Okay, Well, if you want to know more about New 871 00:44:54,200 --> 00:44:58,600 Speaker 3: York to start reading and then eventually travel there. They'll 872 00:44:58,600 --> 00:45:01,440 Speaker 3: give you the all clear when they're And since I 873 00:45:01,480 --> 00:45:02,959 Speaker 3: said that, it's time for listener mail. 874 00:45:06,320 --> 00:45:10,560 Speaker 2: Hey guys, my sixteen year old son Owen is probs 875 00:45:10,719 --> 00:45:14,640 Speaker 2: your biggest fan for real. He also has narcolepsy. I 876 00:45:14,680 --> 00:45:18,040 Speaker 2: appreciate you taking on this topic and bringing some understanding 877 00:45:18,320 --> 00:45:20,440 Speaker 2: of it to the masses. He was diagnosing his ten 878 00:45:20,960 --> 00:45:23,400 Speaker 2: and it affects every single aspect of his life. I 879 00:45:23,520 --> 00:45:25,640 Speaker 2: think it has made him wise beyond his years personally 880 00:45:25,719 --> 00:45:28,800 Speaker 2: and compassionate to other people with invisible struggles. 881 00:45:28,800 --> 00:45:30,440 Speaker 1: But it still sucks. 882 00:45:31,040 --> 00:45:33,160 Speaker 2: If you ever want to read or hear first hand 883 00:45:33,160 --> 00:45:38,480 Speaker 2: accounts from people with narcolepsy, check out Julie flygare That 884 00:45:38,600 --> 00:45:41,560 Speaker 2: is f l y g a r E or flygare A. 885 00:45:41,840 --> 00:45:43,319 Speaker 1: I'm not sure how would you say that? 886 00:45:43,960 --> 00:45:47,879 Speaker 4: Oh? I like the one with flavor of the second one. 887 00:45:48,400 --> 00:45:51,120 Speaker 2: Who is doing all kinds of advocacy for people with narcolepsy, 888 00:45:51,120 --> 00:45:55,720 Speaker 2: including a scholarship foundation. She founded projects Sleep and Voices 889 00:45:55,760 --> 00:45:58,040 Speaker 2: of Narcolepsy. She also read a great book about her 890 00:45:58,040 --> 00:46:02,280 Speaker 2: experiences with being diagnosed during law school called Wide Awake 891 00:46:02,360 --> 00:46:05,759 Speaker 2: and Dreaming. When Owen received his diagnosis, I reached out 892 00:46:05,800 --> 00:46:07,920 Speaker 2: to her for help. She sent own a care package 893 00:46:07,960 --> 00:46:11,719 Speaker 2: with a book, a T shirt, wristbands, a very kind card, etc. 894 00:46:12,040 --> 00:46:13,680 Speaker 1: To let him know that he's not alone. That is 895 00:46:13,800 --> 00:46:14,960 Speaker 1: very sweet, it is. 896 00:46:15,320 --> 00:46:17,080 Speaker 2: I think she deserves an award for the work she's 897 00:46:17,120 --> 00:46:18,879 Speaker 2: doing anyway, A great resource for sure. 898 00:46:19,160 --> 00:46:22,239 Speaker 1: Thanks for the work that you do. I mean, could 899 00:46:22,280 --> 00:46:22,960 Speaker 1: we get an award? 900 00:46:24,480 --> 00:46:26,240 Speaker 4: You know we've won a Webby before. 901 00:46:26,280 --> 00:46:28,319 Speaker 1: I think, well that's true. Yeah. 902 00:46:28,360 --> 00:46:31,319 Speaker 2: Sometimes it's fun and entertaining, but sometimes and often it's 903 00:46:31,320 --> 00:46:34,560 Speaker 2: really important and educational as well. Sincerely, the mom of 904 00:46:34,600 --> 00:46:36,520 Speaker 2: your biggest fan. And that is from Brooke. 905 00:46:37,200 --> 00:46:39,839 Speaker 3: Thanks Brooke, and thanks Owen for listening. It's really good 906 00:46:39,840 --> 00:46:43,279 Speaker 3: to hear from you, guys. And I feel like we 907 00:46:43,320 --> 00:46:47,120 Speaker 3: should send Owen something too. Sure, let's do it, Chuck, we'll. 908 00:46:46,960 --> 00:46:48,920 Speaker 4: Figure it out, all right. We can't be shown up 909 00:46:48,920 --> 00:46:50,320 Speaker 4: by this flygawary person. 910 00:46:50,560 --> 00:46:54,080 Speaker 1: No no, no, send us your physical address and we'll 911 00:46:54,120 --> 00:46:54,560 Speaker 1: mail you. 912 00:46:54,560 --> 00:46:58,360 Speaker 3: Something that's right and in the meantime, thanks for listening, 913 00:46:58,680 --> 00:47:01,920 Speaker 3: and thanks for being a fan, and thank you for listening, 914 00:47:02,000 --> 00:47:03,640 Speaker 3: and thank you for being a fan. Tune and if 915 00:47:03,640 --> 00:47:05,359 Speaker 3: you want to get in touch with us, like Brook did, 916 00:47:05,840 --> 00:47:08,360 Speaker 3: you can send us an email, wrap it up, spanking 917 00:47:08,440 --> 00:47:10,640 Speaker 3: on the bottom, and send it off to Stuff Podcasts 918 00:47:10,719 --> 00:47:14,160 Speaker 3: at iHeartRadio dot com. 919 00:47:15,960 --> 00:47:18,600 Speaker 1: Stuff you Should Know is a production of iHeartRadio. 920 00:47:18,760 --> 00:47:21,960 Speaker 2: For more podcasts my heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, 921 00:47:22,120 --> 00:47:25,040 Speaker 2: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.