Commissioners’ Plan of 1811 for Manhattan

27 September 2019 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Architecture, New York City Reading Time:  8 minutes

Central Park is by far the largest interruption of the Commissioners' Plan © Piotr Kruczek

Central Park is by far the largest interruption of the Commissioners’ Plan © Piotr Kruczek

The Commissioners’ Plan of 1811 was the original design for the streets of Manhattan above Houston Street and below 155th Street, which put in place the rectangular grid plan of streets and lots that has defined Manhattan to this day. It has been called “the single most important document in New York City’s development,” and the plan has been described as encompassing the “republican predilection for control and balance … [and] distrust of nature”. It was described by the Commission that created it as combining “beauty, order and convenience.”   read more…

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