19th Century
Commissioners' Plan of 1811Commissioners' Plan of 1811
A century later, with the side-effects of the Revolutionary war behind them, New York continued to show its worth by becoming one of the most important ports of the newly established United States of America. With the population booming, tripling between 1790 and 1810, city jurisdiction saw the necessity of developing a more structured way of laying out streets within the city [i]. Borrowing from successful models of ancient cities in Egypt, Mesopotamia, China, Greece, etc just to name a few, city planners sought to adopt and model NYC after proven archetypes [iii]. Therefore, the Commissioner's Plan of 1811 was conceived. This surveying scheme set up a grid system of 200 by 800 foot blocks that ran up and down the entire length of the island. Planners chose to use a grid system because they believed that New York was "to be composed principally of the habitations of men, and that straight-sided and right-angled houses are the most cheap to build and the most convenient to live in" [ii]. The revolutionary and visionary plan would serve to be the backbone of land use planning in New York City from that point forward.
With the rigidity of the 12 major north-south avenues and 155 east-west streets, many early New Yorkers heavily criticized the plan [ii]. For one, residents unfamiliar with the grid layout opposed the change mainly because they were unwilling to adapt to something so unprecedented [ii]. More importantly, though the grid system looked good on paper, the actual implementation proved to be very difficult due to the topography of Manhattan Island. Land was forcefully taken by eminent domain and buildings razed, approximately 39 percent of existing buildings, as the hills that riddled the island needed to be leveled in order to successfully implement the grid, much to the dismay of residents affected [i,iii].
In addition, there were many flaws with the plan such as the lack of public parks and open space, and lack of space designated for important civic buildings [ii]. While it seems appalling that the masterminds behind this plan would leave out something as critical as open space, they originally justified it by reasoning that riverbanks alone would suffice and were reluctant to invest the funds to maintain such spaces [iii]. These flaws would serve to be obstacles for future New York City planners. All in all, despite the shortcomings of the Commissioner's Plan of 1811, many historians still regard the plan as "the single most important document in New York City's development" because of the part it played in nurturing the culture and social atmosphere of NYC [ii,iii].
A century later, with the side-effects of the Revolutionary war behind them, New York continued to show its worth by becoming one of the most important ports of the newly established United States of America. With the population booming, tripling between 1790 and 1810, city jurisdiction saw the necessity of developing a more structured way of laying out streets within the city [i]. Borrowing from successful models of ancient cities in Egypt, Mesopotamia, China, Greece, etc just to name a few, city planners sought to adopt and model NYC after proven archetypes [iii]. Therefore, the Commissioner's Plan of 1811 was conceived. This surveying scheme set up a grid system of 200 by 800 foot blocks that ran up and down the entire length of the island. Planners chose to use a grid system because they believed that New York was "to be composed principally of the habitations of men, and that straight-sided and right-angled houses are the most cheap to build and the most convenient to live in" [ii]. The revolutionary and visionary plan would serve to be the backbone of land use planning in New York City from that point forward.
With the rigidity of the 12 major north-south avenues and 155 east-west streets, many early New Yorkers heavily criticized the plan [ii]. For one, residents unfamiliar with the grid layout opposed the change mainly because they were unwilling to adapt to something so unprecedented [ii]. More importantly, though the grid system looked good on paper, the actual implementation proved to be very difficult due to the topography of Manhattan Island. Land was forcefully taken by eminent domain and buildings razed, approximately 39 percent of existing buildings, as the hills that riddled the island needed to be leveled in order to successfully implement the grid, much to the dismay of residents affected [i,iii].
In addition, there were many flaws with the plan such as the lack of public parks and open space, and lack of space designated for important civic buildings [ii]. While it seems appalling that the masterminds behind this plan would leave out something as critical as open space, they originally justified it by reasoning that riverbanks alone would suffice and were reluctant to invest the funds to maintain such spaces [iii]. These flaws would serve to be obstacles for future New York City planners. All in all, despite the shortcomings of the Commissioner's Plan of 1811, many historians still regard the plan as "the single most important document in New York City's development" because of the part it played in nurturing the culture and social atmosphere of NYC [ii,iii].
Central Park
By 1835, New York officially became the largest city in the States, partially in part to the fluidity of city growth allowed by the grid system. As population density grew, residents began to push an open, public park amidst the towering buildings in the city. Others looked to other thriving cities such as London's and Paris' public grounds and yearned for New York to establish its own for reputation's sake [iv]. As mentioned earlier, public parks were not originally accounted for in the Commissioner's plan of 1811, therefore, city planners had to forcefully acquire almost 700 acres of land in order to accomplish this lofty goal. Finally, by 1857, the park now famously known as Central Park, designed by famed landscaper Frederick Law Olmsted, became the first ever landscaped park in America [v]. More importantly, this marked the first moment in time when NYC city planners valued the importance of subdividing land for parks and open space.
By 1835, New York officially became the largest city in the States, partially in part to the fluidity of city growth allowed by the grid system. As population density grew, residents began to push an open, public park amidst the towering buildings in the city. Others looked to other thriving cities such as London's and Paris' public grounds and yearned for New York to establish its own for reputation's sake [iv]. As mentioned earlier, public parks were not originally accounted for in the Commissioner's plan of 1811, therefore, city planners had to forcefully acquire almost 700 acres of land in order to accomplish this lofty goal. Finally, by 1857, the park now famously known as Central Park, designed by famed landscaper Frederick Law Olmsted, became the first ever landscaped park in America [v]. More importantly, this marked the first moment in time when NYC city planners valued the importance of subdividing land for parks and open space.
[i] Legro, Michelle. The Greatest Grid: How Manhattan's Famous Street Map Came to Be. Brain Pickings. http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2012/01/17/the-greatest-grid/. Accessed on 7/29/13
[ii] Roberts, Sam. 200th Birthday for the Map that Made New York. New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/21/nyregion/21grid.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&. Accessed on 7/29/13
[iii] Hoffman, Zeynep Turan (2013). The Greatest Grid: The Master Plan of Manhattan 1811-2011. Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians. 72(1), 102-103. DOI: 10.1525/jsah.2013.72.1.102
[iv] Blackmar, Elizabeth et al. History. Central Park.com. http://www.centralpark.com/guide/history.html. Accessed on 7/29/13.
[v] Historical New York City & Manhattan Maps. NYC Tourist. http://www.nyctourist.com/historic-nyc-maps.htm. Accessed on 7/29/13
Header image retrieved from http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/cas/fnart/fa267/19th/parkrow1.jpg
[ii] Roberts, Sam. 200th Birthday for the Map that Made New York. New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/21/nyregion/21grid.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&. Accessed on 7/29/13
[iii] Hoffman, Zeynep Turan (2013). The Greatest Grid: The Master Plan of Manhattan 1811-2011. Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians. 72(1), 102-103. DOI: 10.1525/jsah.2013.72.1.102
[iv] Blackmar, Elizabeth et al. History. Central Park.com. http://www.centralpark.com/guide/history.html. Accessed on 7/29/13.
[v] Historical New York City & Manhattan Maps. NYC Tourist. http://www.nyctourist.com/historic-nyc-maps.htm. Accessed on 7/29/13
Header image retrieved from http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/cas/fnart/fa267/19th/parkrow1.jpg