# NYC Street Addresses **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 22, 2018, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-street-addresses/809333 "2018-02-22T12:22:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2018, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-street-addresses/809333/1 "2018-02-22T12:22:12Z")
On an episode of “Taxi”, a rich client asked to go to his residence at 6 Central Park West (or some number). What kind of address is that? Although I unfamiliar with NYC, still…how can someone live at Central Park? Is that a complete street address? ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2018, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-street-addresses/809333/2 "2018-02-22T12:28:45Z")
https://maps.google.com/maps?ll=40.768972,-73.9812785&z=17&output=embed&dg=ntvb&q=6%2BCentral%2BPark%2BWest,%2BNew%2BYork,%2BNY%2B10023,%2BUSA&cid=183113345389295780298075415141031217051 It’s a street address. Did it not occur to you that there might be a street called Central Park West? ---
**Author:** ![ctnguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@ctnguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ctnguy)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2018, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-street-addresses/809333/3 "2018-02-22T12:56:12Z")
Which gives rise to another question. It seems that, on the West Side north of 59th Street, the avenues lose their numbers and have names instead. (8th Ave becomes the aforementioned Central Park West, 9th Ave becomes Columbus Ave, etc.) Is there any history or reason behind that? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2018, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-street-addresses/809333/4 "2018-02-22T14:07:29Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > [Google Maps](https://www.google.com/maps/place/6+Central+Park+West,+New+York,+NY+10023,+USA/@40.768972,-73.9812785,17z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x89c258f66df7cf37:0x1a3b989a4cc2079b) > > It’s a street address. Did it not occur to you that there might be a street called Central Park West? It happens elsewhere too. There is a Bronx Park South in the Bronx. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2018, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-street-addresses/809333/5 "2018-02-22T15:49:13Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > It’s a street address. Did it not occur to you that there might be a street called Central Park West? There’s also a Central Park South. ---
**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:** [February 22, 2018, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-street-addresses/809333/6 "2018-02-22T16:06:41Z")
> [@ctnguy](#): > > Which gives rise to another question. It seems that, on the West Side north of 59th Street, the avenues lose their numbers and have names instead. (8th Ave becomes the aforementioned Central Park West, 9th Ave becomes Columbus Ave, etc.) Is there any history or reason behind that? [Mean Streets: The Stories Behind NYC Street Names](https://www.nycgo.com/articles/nyc-street-name-meanings) > [@](#): > > **Avenue of the Americas** > > Although rarely used by New Yorkers, “Avenue of the Americas” has been the official name of Sixth Avenue since 1945, when City Council renamed it at the urging of Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia. The idea was to bring some gravitas to what was then a run-down avenue by honoring the Organization of American States, an international organization with headquarters in Washington, DC, whose members include the United States, Canada and Mexico. > > **Madison, Park and Lexington Avenues** > > There’s not too much mystery behind the East Side’s only named avenues. Madison Avenue takes its name from Madison Square, its southernmost terminus, which is named after President James Madison. > > Lexington Avenue (New Yorkers often shorten it to “Lex”) is named for the Revolutionary War’s Battle of Lexington, Massachusetts. Trivia: Lexington was not part of the original 1811 grid plan but was instead built between Third and Fourth Avenues from East 14th to East 30th Streets at the behest of lawyer and developer Samuel Ruggles, who hoped to increase the value of the land he owned in the area. > > Originally called Fourth Avenue, Park Avenue had an inauspicious beginning: it was originally the route of the New York and Harlem Railroad. The tracks between 34th and 40th Streets were eventually covered, in the 1850s, with grating and grass. The section along this stretch was named Park Avenue. The rest eventually took on the name, and today the road has a beautiful stretch of landscaping occupying its generously sized medians. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2018, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-street-addresses/809333/7 "2018-02-22T17:20:08Z")
> [@ctnguy](#): > > Which gives rise to another question. It seems that, on the West Side north of 59th Street, the avenues lose their numbers and have names instead. (8th Ave becomes the aforementioned Central Park West, 9th Ave becomes Columbus Ave, etc.) Is there any history or reason behind that? It was part of efforts of real estate developers in the 1880s and 1890s to promote the Upper West Side as a separate, high class neighborhood distinct from the low-rent West Side south of Central Park. Eighth Avenue was changed to Central Park West in 1883, and Ninth and Tenth to Columbus and Amsterdam respectively in 1890. [How the West Side was Won.](http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/13/realestate/13scap.html?scp=10&sq=%22west%20end%20avenue%22%201880&st=cse) ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2018, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-street-addresses/809333/8 "2018-02-22T18:50:12Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > [Google Maps](https://www.google.com/maps/place/6+Central+Park+West,+New+York,+NY+10023,+USA/@40.768972,-73.9812785,17z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x89c258f66df7cf37:0x1a3b989a4cc2079b) > > It’s a street address. Did it not occur to you that there might be a street called Central Park West? No, obviously it actually did not occur to me there’d literally be a street that shares the same name as the park. Maybe I need to get out more. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2018, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-street-addresses/809333/9 "2018-02-22T19:21:35Z")
They even made a [terrible TV show](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Park_West_(TV_series)) about it. ---
**Author:** ![homeskillet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/7ba0ec/32.png) [@homeskillet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/homeskillet)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2018, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-street-addresses/809333/10 "2018-02-23T07:27:39Z")
There’s also a stretch of 9th Ave in Brooklyn known as Prospect Park West… ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2018, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-street-addresses/809333/11 "2018-02-23T21:26:29Z")
nm ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2018, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-street-addresses/809333/12 "2018-02-23T21:33:58Z")
A bigger question is at the corner of 1st and 1st! How can the same street intersect on itself?!! It must be the nexus of the universe! ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2018, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-street-addresses/809333/13 "2018-02-23T21:42:32Z")
And Houston Street is “0th” Street. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2018, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-street-addresses/809333/14 "2018-02-23T22:59:48Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > It happens elsewhere too. There is a Bronx Park South in the Bronx. And in Brooklyn, Prospect Park West. ---
**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:** [February 23, 2018, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-street-addresses/809333/15 "2018-02-23T23:11:12Z")
I’d be surprised if every large city didn’t have at least one street named for an adjacent park. Rochester, e.g., has Genesee Park Blvd. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2018, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-street-addresses/809333/16 "2018-02-24T00:12:36Z")
Griffith Park in Los Angeles. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2018, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-street-addresses/809333/17 "2018-02-24T01:24:21Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > I’d be surprised if every large city didn’t have at least one street named for an adjacent park. Rochester, e.g., has Genesee Park Blvd. In Chicago, there is a street called Lincoln Park West which is, you guessed it, along the western edge of the park called Lincoln Park. (there is no Lincoln Park East, but one could logically apply that name to Lake Shore Drive if they didn’t might being iconoclastic) ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2018, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-street-addresses/809333/18 "2018-02-24T01:52:43Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > A bigger question is at the corner of 1st and 1st! How can the same street intersect on itself?!! It must be the nexus of the universe! Well, Hollywood has Sunset Strip, NYC has Mobius Strip. ---
**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:** [February 24, 2018, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-street-addresses/809333/19 "2018-02-24T05:11:00Z")
In places where streets were numbered during the era of curving subdivision streets, you pretty commonly encounter something like the corner of 37th and 38th, or sometimes 38th St. and 38th Pl. And in rare instances with Y intersections, a street sign showing the corner of 38th St. and 38th St. may be found. ---
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2018, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-street-addresses/809333/20 "2018-02-24T11:47:43Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > NYC has Mobius Strip. Cupertino, CA has Infinite Loop. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-street-addresses/809333.md?page=2)