I just moved back to Manhattan after a 10 year “break” and once and for all want to learn my streets and subways. I honestly can’t find my way out of a paper bag, but worse, it’s like my brain is wired backwards–I almost always guess wrong, and take that into account and reverse my guess somehow I still end up wrong. When I walk out of a subway I look around clueless like a tourist. Does anyone have any tips, tricks, mnemonics for remembering all the street directions, crossings, etc.? I know even streets typically go east and vice versa, and even avenues typically go up, but that’s the extent of my knowledge. And of course Broadway is always fucking up the street orders. Help a lost soul.
That’s your first mistake. In Manhattan (above 14th Street), all streets are east-west and all Avenues are north-south. Even odd numbered ones.
Also, addresses on the streets are by a fairly consistent plan: 5th Avenue divides things in half between East and West (e.g., East 42nd and West 42nd). Building numbers generally go 100 numbers between avenues – 210 W. 32nd Street is west of 7th Avenue (100 + 100 = 2 avenue blocks; 5th + 2 = 7).
Avenues are a little confusing. Broadway messes things up, but ignoring that, it’s First, Second, Third, Lexington, Park, Madison, Fifth, Avenue of the Americas (6th Avenue to most Manhattanites), Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh. The trick is that Park Avenue is where 4th Avenue should have been. The 100 street addresses per block rule counts between Fifth and Park; 75 East 22nd Street is thus between Madison and Park. Street numbers on the Avenues are not consistent, though. All you reall need to remember is the order “Lexington, Park, Madison” between Third and Fifth.
Lower Manhattan (below 14th Street) is not built to plan, so can be complicated.
The subways, for the most part are running North-south in Manhattan. Uptown is north, south is downtown. Try to keep in mind, which way the train was going as you move upstairs to street level. That way you know which way is which.
Since it’s been ten years, you have to make the adjustment that the WTC is not visible as a ‘that way is downtown’ marker. But you’ll learn the look of thos buildings that you shouldn’t be able to see.
You’re mistaken, Chuck. I don’t know if this stems from your misinterpereting what KidC was saying or not. In Manhattan, even-numbered streets typically carry east-bound traffic, while odd-numbered streets carry west-bound traffic. As for avenues: North-bound traffic is carried by 1st, 3rd, Madison, 6th, 8th and 10th Aves. Sound-bound by 2nd, Lexington, 5th, 7th, 9th, 11th.
Here’s a trick I use when getting out of the subway.
Keep in mind which direction the subway was going when you got off. Since most lines in Manhattan are underneath avenues, that’ll be either north or south in most cases. Before you leave the platform, point your finger in the direction the train is going. Then, while going up the stairs, keep your finger pointed in that direction as you go around the various twists and turns. You can usually do this while keeping your finger in your pocket so you don’t look like a moron.
Then when you get to the top, you’ll know which way is north or south and you can proceed accordingly.
Also, don’t go to western Queens, or you’ll find yourself standing on the intersection of 30th Ave and 30th Street near 30th Drive and 30th Road.
I delivered mail in Springfield Gardens one summer, which is when I finally got the differences between all the almost avenues.
When I was a messenger in Manhattan, I had a little cheat sheet of building numbers and cross streets for the avenues. (As said, the streets are easy.) As for direction, take a look at building numbers. If you’re on an avenue, numbers go up as you go North. If you can see the sign the next street over, that helps also.
I do know somebody who carries a tiny compass in their pocket. Sounds stupid, and like it’ll make you stand out like a sore thumb, but you can consult it on the move which gets rid of a lot of the ‘dumb tourist’ appearance.
Also, above 14th street, the street numbers always go up to the north. So, if you are standing in Times Square, completely discombolutated as to direction, if you see that you are standing on an avenue on the block between 31st & 32nd, walking towards the higher number is North. When you are on a street, walking towards the higher numbered avenue is West (if you are in the lettered Avenues, walking towards the letter that’s later in the alphabet, A to B fer instance, is East.
Although this won’t help you find north when you come out of the subway, having an Accurate map that’s to scale helped me.
Also note that most subway exit signs tell you what corner (e.g., NE, SE) they lead to. So if you pop out on the NE corner, you immediately know to keep to that sidewalk in order to keep walking north, make a right to go east, etc.
Sorry if that’s fairly obvious, but I’ve found a lot of people never really make the connection from “which exit” to “where they exit.”
There’s no way to make sense of anything below 14th Street without a map, especially in the West Village, where parallel streets become perpendicular and every other angle. Even with a map, it can be tricky.
Above 14th Street: Every time Broadway crosses an avenue, there’s either a park or a major “square” and a subway station. So if you find yourself in one of those places, the street that’s angled from the grid is Broadway.
Find yourself a phone book. In the section before the listings, there’s a chart for finding addresses on the avenues, including Broadway.
Looks like you got through to the city – see what they’re doing to help here.
I often “cheat” by using Google Maps Street View. If I know which stop I’m getting off at, I sneak a 360-degree look at the intersection and make note of landmarks.
When I don’t have that luxury, I just use friedo’s trick of keeping track of the train’s direction. I’ve been here a year and I rarely get turned around anymore.
Wow. I’ve lived on and off in Manhattan for the past 7 years and I never realized that. I guess because I don’t drive it’s never registered with me.
Huh, you learn something new every day.
This is the greatest thing I’ve ever seen.
That beats the hell out of my “look up at the buildings to get your bearings” method.
You’d have to think about the orientation of the corner when you pop up since the stairs could be on the street or on the avenue.
I find it easier to point myself at the opposite corner when I surface - it’s then obvious which is the avenue and which is the street.
For example, the exit is labled “53 st and Lexington Ave., N.E. corner” I’ll surface, find the corner (it may be in front of me, or I may have to turn around) and look across at the S.W. corner. It’s then obvious that to my left is Lexington southbound and to my right is 53 st westbound.
Key word is ‘typically’. Streets in the 60s don’t follow this rule.
I love that compass idea.
I have nothing helpful to add. I just wanted to say that my father in law is legally blind (not a technicality, he is extremely visually impaired). He takes a train to Newark then transfers to another train to go to Penn Station. Then he takes several subways to get to work. Never gets lost.
Doesn’t that make you feel better?