A weakness of the Queens street numbering system devised by Charles U. Powell of the Queens Topographic Bureau in the 1910s was that in order to keep east-west and north-south streets on the same general latitude and longitude, there were actually too many streets that had to be numbered. Thus, in Forest Hills, most east-west numbered streets are duplicated and you have 67th Avenue, 67th Road and 67th Drive before the number turns over to 68th Avenue. This was carefully regulated, though, as when more than one number is used, Avenue always comes first, followed by “Road” and then “Drive.” on those rare occasions when a number had to be repeated a 4th time, “Terrace” was used. Similarly, for north-south numbered streets, “Street” comes first, followed where necessary by “Place, “Lane” and if necessary, “Court.”
I have been paying more attention to the small tiles signs the IND Subway designed in the 1930s used in mezzanines to direct passengers to exits. In most cases they were tiled; but, on occasion, you’ll see signs. painted directly on the tiling, as here. Sometimes, these painted signs also pointed to buildings (some exist that direct peoiple to buildings no longer standing) as well as public toilets, that also are no longer there. As a matter of fact I have a photo of one such “TO TOILETS” sign tacked on a doorway near my bathroom for the benefit of visitors.
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1/7/25
2 comments
The Queens numbering system really went haywire in my hometown, Kew Gardens Hills. There are duplicated avenues and missing streets. There is a 79th Avenue but no 79th Road. There is a 78th Road, 78th Avenue and 78th Crescent. 77th, 76th and 75th have road/avenue duplicates but there is no 74th at all and two 73rd’s, Avenue and Terrace. 72nd is the worst of all – there are four of them. 72nd Avenue, 72nd Road, 72nd Drive and 72nd Crescent. My friend lived at the intersection of 72nd (Road) and 72nd (Crescent) when I was growing up. On the “Street” side, things start off OK with 136th, 137th, 138th, 139th and 140th Streets, of different locations and lengths. But from there, look out. There is 141st Street and 141st Place. The next street is Main Street, but addresses off Main Street start with a “144” even though there is no “144”. From there, the numbers skip to 147th, 150th, 153rd and finally Parsons Boulevard.
I have to agree with you about the ” Avenues” (East -West). and their additional named roadways. Very confusing. Love the ones that turn and intersect with a similar numbered one. Not an expert but I believe the reason for the numbered blocks jumping by 3’s is due to a grid layout with a certain width and length for a block. (see Astoria, Jackson Heights, Manhattan) And the Named streets usually substitute for a number, such as Main & Parsons, and like Ditmars Blvd (22 Ave). But a very interesting post. TY