# Has the White House always been 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 17, 2014, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-white-house-always-been-1600-pennsylvania-avenue/688651 "2014-05-17T19:54:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-white-house-always-been-1600-pennsylvania-avenue/688651/41 "2014-05-20T11:30:36Z")
> [@Mr\_Downtown](#): > > The best-known counterexample is Manhattan, where addresses on the avenues bear no obvious relationship to the cross streets. Based on the European method, which is generally sequential with odds on one side starting at 1, and evens on the other side starting at 2. Presumably across most of the USA you don’t get any street numbers below 100, right? Whereas in the UK I would say that the large majority of street numbers are below 100 - certainly numbers above 1000 are extremely rare and only found on roads that keep the same name for a very long distance. ---
**Author:** ![Caffeine.addict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f475e1/32.png) [@Caffeine.addict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caffeine.addict)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-white-house-always-been-1600-pennsylvania-avenue/688651/42 "2014-05-20T12:54:10Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > Based on the European method, which is generally sequential with odds on one side starting at 1, and evens on the other side starting at 2. > > Presumably across most of the USA you don’t get any street numbers below 100, right? Whereas in the UK I would say that the large majority of street numbers are below 100 - certainly numbers above 1000 are extremely rare and only found on roads that keep the same name for a very long distance. I’m not sure about the rest of the country but we have them in DC. That block would be referred to as the Unit block of P Street NW for example. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-white-house-always-been-1600-pennsylvania-avenue/688651/43 "2014-05-20T14:32:17Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > Based on the European method, which is generally sequential with odds on one side starting at 1, and evens on the other side starting at 2. > > Presumably across most of the USA you don’t get any street numbers below 100, right? Whereas in the UK I would say that the large majority of street numbers are below 100 - certainly numbers above 1000 are extremely rare and only found on roads that keep the same name for a very long distance. Of course we have street numbers below 100. Why would you think otherwise? They have to start somewhere. Even and odd on opposite sides is typical as well. Downtown Santa Barbara, for example, is split by State Street. The streets that cross it have the same name but are either East or West. So one side will start with 1 East Anapamu and continue up and the other with 1 West Anapamu. The North and South running streets end at the Pacific Ocean and start from there in the single digits. ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-white-house-always-been-1600-pennsylvania-avenue/688651/44 "2014-05-20T14:57:15Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > Of course we have street numbers below 100. Why would you think otherwise? They have to start somewhere. Even and odd on opposite sides is typical as well. Not where I have lived. The short dead end street where I lived started with 118 and 123 and got down at the end to 185. This was how things were numbered. Where I live now is a short street which starts with 3000. It is very common to start numbering with 100 and increment by 100 every block. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-white-house-always-been-1600-pennsylvania-avenue/688651/45 "2014-05-20T16:07:44Z")
> [@gazpacho](#): > > Not where I have lived. The short dead end street where I lived started with 118 and 123 and got down at the end to 185. This was how things were numbered. Where I live now is a short street which starts with 3000. It is very common to start numbering with 100 and increment by 100 every block. Where do you live? Are you sure there wasn’t an earlier block that got eliminated sometime in the past? I would be surprised if this is common, even in cities with a grid system. Buildings numbered 1-99 seem universal in the U.S. at least. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-white-house-always-been-1600-pennsylvania-avenue/688651/46 "2014-05-20T16:15:37Z")
My current house number is below 10. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-white-house-always-been-1600-pennsylvania-avenue/688651/47 "2014-05-20T16:28:02Z")
My small town doesn’t have house numbers (not street numbers) below 100. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-white-house-always-been-1600-pennsylvania-avenue/688651/48 "2014-05-20T16:29:05Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > Well, according to the link it does have hardwood floors, though they don’t say say what type of flooring the Situation Room has. 🙂 But there’s no fighting in the War Room! ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-white-house-always-been-1600-pennsylvania-avenue/688651/49 "2014-05-20T17:10:08Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Where do you live? Are you sure there wasn’t an earlier block that got eliminated sometime in the past? > > I would be surprised if this is common, even in cities with a grid system. Buildings numbered 1-99 seem universal in the U.S. at least. Looking at my home town on Zillow. I will have to say you are correct. The streets to the north of my street have numbers from 1-99. But where my street would extend there is instead a park. I thought those houses were the 200 block. ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-white-house-always-been-1600-pennsylvania-avenue/688651/50 "2014-05-20T17:44:07Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > " … What else is on Pennsylvania Avenue? …" Pepco - Potomac Electric Power Co. George Washington University - technically on I street but it spills over onto Penn Ave Les Halles - French restaurant where Anthony Bourdain once worked (now closed) Renwick Gallery - American Art Museum ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-white-house-always-been-1600-pennsylvania-avenue/688651/51 "2014-05-20T17:51:11Z")
So has anyone determined when the number 1600 might have been assigned to the location? ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-white-house-always-been-1600-pennsylvania-avenue/688651/52 "2014-05-20T18:25:24Z")
> [@Kimballkid](#): > > My small town doesn’t have house numbers (not street numbers) below 100. Wichita has no house numbers below 100. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-white-house-always-been-1600-pennsylvania-avenue/688651/53 "2014-05-20T18:28:53Z")
The Wikipedia article on Pennsylvania Avenue says that it was one of the first streets laid out in the Federal District and pre-dates the construction of the White House. There is mention of it by name in 1791. > **[Pennsylvania Avenue](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennsylvania_Avenue_%28Washington,_D.C.%29)** > > Pennsylvania Avenue is a diagonal street in Washington, D.C., and Prince George's County, Maryland, that connects the White House and the United States Capitol and then crosses Washington, D.C. before entering Maryland. In Maryland, it becomes MD Route 4 (MD 4) and then MD Route 717 in Upper Marlboro, and finally Stephanie Roper Highway. The section between the White House and Congress is sometimes referred to as "America's Main Street"; it is the location of official parades and processions, Th... ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-white-house-always-been-1600-pennsylvania-avenue/688651/54 "2014-05-20T19:09:09Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > Of course we have street numbers below 100. Why would you think otherwise? They have to start somewhere. Even and odd on opposite sides is typical as well. Well I thought that the convention was that they went up by 100 on each block, based on cross streets, so 1600 is at the corner of 16th Street, say (as in the White House example). So, if the first street is 1st Street, then I was assuming the numbers would start there, at 100. But thinking about it some more, I suppose there could easily be houses before 1st Street, if the avenue starts a little way on the other side of it. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-white-house-always-been-1600-pennsylvania-avenue/688651/55 "2014-05-20T19:20:05Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > Well I thought that the convention was that they went up by 100 on each block, based on cross streets, so 1600 is at the corner of 16th Street, say (as in the White House example). > > So, if the first street is 1st Street, then I was assuming the numbers would start there, at 100. > > But thinking about it some more, I suppose there could easily be houses before 1st Street, if the avenue starts a little way on the other side of it. Also, some cities have a Main Street before 1st Street. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-white-house-always-been-1600-pennsylvania-avenue/688651/56 "2014-05-20T19:31:18Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > Well I thought that the convention was that they went up by 100 on each block, based on cross streets, so 1600 is at the corner of 16th Street, say (as in the White House example). > > So, if the first street is 1st Street, then I was assuming the numbers would start there, at 100. > > But thinking about it some more, I suppose there could easily be houses before 1st Street, if the avenue starts a little way on the other side of it. There’s also ‘vanity’ addresses. Like in downtown Columbus, you have 1, 2 and 3 Nationwide Plaza. Oakland has 1 Kaiser Plaza. (For Nationwide Insurance and Kaiser Permanente) I’m sure there’s a lot more of those, those two just came to mind. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-white-house-always-been-1600-pennsylvania-avenue/688651/57 "2014-05-20T19:36:29Z")
Another famous one is “30 Rock” aka 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-white-house-always-been-1600-pennsylvania-avenue/688651/58 "2014-05-20T21:20:23Z")
NYC does have numerous one- and two-digit addresses. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Downtown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mr\_Downtown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Downtown)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-white-house-always-been-1600-pennsylvania-avenue/688651/59 "2014-05-21T04:07:22Z")
The vast majority of American cities, and virtually all of them outside New England, use a cartesian addressing system in which there’s a baseline from which all addresses are counted based on distance. So Chicago will have, at the corner of State and Madison, 1 N. State across the street from 2 N. State, and 1 W. Madison across the street from 2 W. Madison. There’s a lot of local variation, of course, so some cities may be missing their low addresses. The blocks near the river may be missing for some reason, for instance. Suburbs of big cities (or those with countywide addressing systems) may begin their addresses somewhere in the thousands, while other towns may have let developers ignore the town’s overall scheme and sell picturesque houses addressed as “15 Honeysuckle Lane.” In _Washington Post_–speak, the block with numbers below 100 is called “the unit block,” but other newspapers in other cities may say the suspect lived on “the first block” of Spruce St. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2014, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-white-house-always-been-1600-pennsylvania-avenue/688651/60 "2014-05-21T07:13:03Z")
L.A. has no addresses below 100, except for about three exceptions. Olvera Street, Chester Place – which is really just part of Mount Saint Mary’s DTLA campus, and Venice. I don’t know how Venice escaped assimilation when it was annexed in the early 1920s, but they somehow managed it. There are 1 and 2 figure house numbers starting at the beach and ending at Pacific Avenue, one block inland. East of there the blandness of five digit addresses in nearly all east-and-west streets, typical of the Westside, takes over. I grew up in “lane”–it truly is one, but the addresses are all in the 9000s. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-white-house-always-been-1600-pennsylvania-avenue/688651.md?page=2)