NYC Street Guide – Mastering Avenues and Streets Like a Pro

by Petr Novák, ? This article’s information was last verified on this date. If you notice any errors, let us know in the comments. Thank you! :-) Updated 06/02/2023 Instructions, New York City, Tips & Tricks

Navigating larger cities in the USA is simple. Buildings are assigned progressively increasing numbers, with odd numbers on one side of the street and even numbers on the other. At intersections, signs indicate the numbers of neighboring buildings. In cities like New York or Los Angeles, a grid plan is implemented, where buildings are arranged in grid formation.

1. Table of Contents

   1. Grid Plan: All Streets in the City Form a Grid
   2. The New York City Street System and How to Navigate It

   Grid Plan: All Streets in the City Form a Grid

   The grid plan is a city-building system originating in ancient Rome. Its principle dictates that all streets intersect at right angles, forming a type of grid. Buildings along one or both axes are identified with consecutive numbers. For instance, 34th Street is succeeded by 35th Street, and perpendicular to these is 5th Avenue followed by 6th Avenue.
   A street begins with a house numbered 1, and at the opposite end, there could be a house numbered 12000. Some American streets stretch for tens of miles, yet they still uphold the numbering system.

   To navigate, all one needs to do is approach the nearest intersection and follow the direction of the street name sign. Each street name sign also carries a range of numbers for the buildings on that block. Moreover, there is a helpful pattern: buildings with even numbers are always on one side of the street, and buildings with odd numbers on the other.

   The grid plan is utilized by many cities in the USA, including Dallas, Chicago, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.

2. The New York City Street System and How to Navigate It

   From east to west, the streets of Manhattan are known as Avenues. Fifth Avenue bisects Manhattan, with the streets to the west labeled ‘West’ and the streets to the east labeled ‘East’.
   Streets running perpendicular to the Avenues are referred to as Streets. The lowest numbered is East 1st Street in the Alphabet City area, and the highest numbered is 263rd Street at the northern edge of Van Cortlandt Park.

   Buildings with odd numbers are always on the west or north side of the street, while buildings with even numbers are always situated facing east or south. On a north-south street, buildings with odd numbers are on the west side, and those with even numbers on the east.

   In Central Park, it is simple to orient yourself by observing the number plates on lampposts, which always correspond to the nearest intersection.

➕ Do you understand the meaning of the street names Avenue, Street, or Lane and how to formulate an American address?