Commisioner's Plan of 1811(New York, New York);1811-15; Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century Architecture in America
The commissioner’s plan of 1811 was an attempt to plan ahead and organize the existing Manhattan map grid. The original Manhattan reached from the lower tip of the island to what is now 23 street. From time to time the city sold portions of the land in order to raise fund for the city to pay for municipal buildings and services. This also allowed the city to keep the taxes low. In 1789 nine buyers bought almost 200 acres of land in Manhattan, this was the prime time to buy land in the city. Although these land owners were signed in to 21-year leases. Once the land was purchased it was up to the land owner to establish the layout of the streets and blocks up until 1807. In 1807 the city had legislators from Albany pass a bill for the city to be able to propose the layout of the city grid for the streets and the blocks. The reasoning to have the city decide where and how to have the grid for the city is so the island of Manhattan would have some sort of order and to help the health of ...