At one time the Stuyvesant family owned everything East of what is
now Fourth Avenue, from today's 30th Street down to Stanton Street.
About 1788 Petrus Stuyvesant, great-grandson of the Dutch governor,
laid out a grid of streets on his land. It was centered on
Stuyvesant Street, which had been the old dividing line between
Bowery Nos. 1 and 2. Proceeding south from Stuyvesant Street were
streets named Nicholas William, Verplanck and Quick. North of
Stuyvesant Street were Peter, Governor, Gerard, Winthrop and Ten
Broeck Streets. At right angles to these were four streets named
after Petrus' four daughters. Proceeding east from the Bowery they
were Judith, Eliza, Margaret and Cornelia Streets. The
Mangin-Goerck Plan of 1803 expanded this grid considerably, adding
seven streets north of Ten Broeck (Dow, White Cruger, Gates,
Livingston, Dove and Spruce); five streets south of Quick
(Rensselaer, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Antwerp and Bruges); and two
streets east of Cornelia (Martha and Hariot).
Unfortunately the City Commissioners came up with a competing
plan in 1807. They felt that a North-South East-West grid made no
sense, and that
the Grid should start somewhere else. The Commisioners Plan was
adopted in 1811, and this why in Manhattan, we say "uptown" and
"downtown" instead of North and South. "Uptown" is actually 28.9°
East of True North, as the thoughtfully placed compass
demonstrates. Using this compass, you can find
Stuyvesant's Street by projecting from 80 degrees.
So stand on the sidewalk 'uptown' from the compass, reach out and
grab the cache.
