Street Grid for the City of Indianapolis

[silverback1065]

Does anyone know why Indianapolis's numbered streets starts at 7th and the goes to 296th?  Why doesn't it start at 1st? 

[rickmeck]

I think that the first several blocks are named after U.S. States. This is a common practice in major cities.

[NWI_Irish96]

Yeah, Chicago's numbers don't start until 8th, so it's not at all uncommon.

In Indy, 7th street corresponds to the 700 block north, so by omitting 1st-6th, the street numbers can match up with the address numbers. 

Also, Indy's numbers only go up to 96th street.  The numbers do go up to 296, but everything above 96 is Hamilton County and not Indy.

[tdindy88]

To emphasize a little more on the street grid, the original Mile Square (immediate downtown) was plated in the 1820s, by one of the people who helped lay out Washington, D.C. I would guess this may be why the streets are named for states, a carryover from Washington's plan. The plan itself is historical in nature, so altering any of the actual street names (except for two apparently, Capitol and Senate) is frowned upon. They tried renaming Georgia Street last year and that didn't go well. That's why 1st through 8th Streets were never numbered. In any case, 7th Street lasts for about a block and as far as I know there is no 8th Street, so I've always viewed it as beginning at 9th.

[theline]

Yeah, Chicago's numbers don't start until 8th, so it's not at all uncommon.

In Indy, 7th street corresponds to the 700 block north, so by omitting 1st-6th, the street numbers can match up with the address numbers. 

Also, Indy's numbers only go up to 96th street.  The numbers do go up to 296, but everything above 96 is Hamilton County and not Indy.

Yeah, that's the proper way to do the numbering, for the reason cited. I grew up in Muncie, where they foolishly started numbering streets on the south side with 1st St., about 6 blocks south of Main. The addresses on the north-south streets don't match up with the intersecting street numbers. The upside is that Munsonians learn their addition tables, at least the sixes, at an early age. 

[tdindy88]

Ah...good ole Muncie. If I remember there is a bit of a divide about 12th Street, whether it is called Memorial Drive or 12th, but since it's really 1800 South I guess that doesn't matter. Another city with a really messed up system is Bloomington. First of all, addresses for north-south roads (the numbered streets are east-west) are based on Kirkwood Avenue. Kirkwood itself would equate to 5th Street, so that already messes up the numbering, as 6th Street would be viewed as 100 North and 4th Street would be 100 South. 3rd Street itself is at the 300 SOUTH block. But it's just the naming of the streets that seems messed up by itself, starting from 1st Street (heading north along Walnut Street) it goes 1st, University, 2nd, Smith, 3rd, 4th, Kirkwood (5th,) 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, Cottage Grove Ave, 11th and then in a regular numeric order up to 20th Street. I'd love to hear the story of why it is like that.

[theline]

I'm so proud to be a Hoosier.

[silverback1065]

Those all make a lot of sense, I still think it's weird that there isn't an 8th street. 

[kphoger]

I grew up in Muncie, where they foolishly started numbering streets on the south side with 1st St., about 6 blocks south of Main. The addresses on the north-south streets don't match up with the intersecting street numbers. The upside is that Munsonians learn their addition tables, at least the sixes, at an early age. 

Frustrating, yes; unique, no.  I briefly lived in Herrin, Illinois, whose Park Avenue is the dividing line between east and west addresses.  If it weren't named Park Ave, it would be 15th Street.  There are, in fact, no numbered streets east of 3rd Street.  I recall having had a discussion about this on a thread about "missing" streets.

[silverback1065]

A lot of cities seem to skip 1st street if they use a numbering method

[theline]

A lot of cities seem to skip 1st street if they use a numbering method

That's probably because many cities start street address with 100, rather than 1. Therefore at 2nd St. you find the 200 block of the cross street.

[dfwtbear]

A lot of cities seem to skip 1st street if they use a numbering method

That's probably because many cities start street address with 100, rather than 1. Therefore at 2nd St. you find the 200 block of the cross street.

Indianapolis starts numbering at 1, not 100 so you can have a 1 north (insert name here) ST
The North/South dividing street is Washington ST (Rockville RD west of Tibbs ST) and the East/West dividing street is Meridian ST

[theline]

^ I'm aware that Indy numbers street addresses that way. The conversation had strayed to other cities, many of which start with 100. Sorry for straying. 

[silverback1065]

Are there any cities with a zero street? Or even fractional street names?

[Alps]

Are there any cities with a zero street? Or even fractional street names?

Yes. https://maps.google.com/maps?q=0+street&hl=en&sll=37.6,-95.665&sspn=34.785432,74.707031&t=m&z=4 will start you off.

[tdindy88]

Bringing this topic back to the original source, how about street names with an ampersand in them, there is a 40 & 8 Avenue in Downtown Indianapolis. If the states names weren't used, this one-block road would fall in between 5th and 6th Streets. There IS a story behind this one I'm told but I don't remember exactly what is was at the moment.

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Indianapolis,+IN&hl=en&ll=39.776344,-86.153653&spn=0.0033,0.005284&sll=38.672176,-87.517895&sspn=0.004708,0.014656&oq=Ind&t=h&hnear=Indianapolis,+Marion,+Indiana&z=18&layer=c&cbll=39.776346,-86.154678&panoid=akDfFbLHc2RC_wFeoFZpcw&cbp=12,243.27,,0,1.32

[catch22]

Bringing this topic back to the original source, how about street names with an ampersand in them, there is a 40 & 8 Avenue in Downtown Indianapolis. If the states names weren't used, this one-block road would fall in between 5th and 6th Streets. There IS a story behind this one I'm told but I don't remember exactly what is was at the moment.

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Indianapolis,+IN&hl=en&ll=39.776344,-86.153653&spn=0.0033,0.005284&sll=38.672176,-87.517895&sspn=0.004708,0.014656&oq=Ind&t=h&hnear=Indianapolis,+Marion,+Indiana&z=18&layer=c&cbll=39.776346,-86.154678&panoid=akDfFbLHc2RC_wFeoFZpcw&cbp=12,243.27,,0,1.32

Perhaps named after this group?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forty_and_Eight_veterans_organization

[tdindy88]

Doing a little research on the street recently, that is the reason.

[theline]

Are there any cities with a zero street? Or even fractional street names?

Yes. https://maps.google.com/maps?q=0+street&hl=en&sll=37.6,-95.665&sspn=34.785432,74.707031&t=m&z=4 will start you off.

Cumberland, WI is the motherload, with 0 St. and several fractional streets immediately visible. I wonder though about the supposed 0 St. in Savanna, OK. That one looks like it could be a typo (really should be the letter O St.). All of the streets around it are letters rather than numbers.

[Big John]

Are there any cities with a zero street? Or even fractional street names?

Yes. https://maps.google.com/maps?q=0+street&hl=en&sll=37.6,-95.665&sspn=34.785432,74.707031&t=m&z=4 will start you off.

Cumberland, WI is the motherload, with 0 St. and several fractional streets immediately visible. I wonder though about the supposed 0 St. in Savanna, OK. That one looks like it could be a typo (really should be the letter O St.). All of the streets around it are letters rather than numbers.

Then there is the case if the international border between BC and WA where there are 2 roads side by side with the international border between them.  The road on the Canadian side is 0 Avenue.  http://goo.gl/maps/JvleA

[Brandon]

Are there any cities with a zero street? Or even fractional street names?

Chicago doesn't have fractional street names, but each half block is named Nth Court (North-South) or Nth Place (East-West) after the respective Nth Avenue or Nth Street i.e. 95th Place is one half block south of 95th Street; 80th Place is one half block west of 80th Avenue, south of Madison and west of State, respectively.

[Milepost61]

Are there any cities with a zero street? Or even fractional street names?

Rochester, MN has a bunch of fractional streets. Many southeast Minnesota towns religiously follow a numbering grid for all four quadrants, but where (for whatever reason) a street fell between the grid lines it becomes a fraction, 11 1/2 St SE, for example.

[Takumi]

I think we've had ths discussion before...
Virginia Beach has a few half streets (24 1/2 being the only one I can think of right now), and Hopewell, VA has a 3 1/2 Ave.

[SEWIGuy]

Madison, WI has only 1st through 7th streets.  They are not located downtown, but the first seven blocks east of the Yahara River on the east side of the isthmus.  No idea on how they got numbered that way.

[Doctor Whom]

Are there any cities with a zero street? Or even fractional street names?

DC has Half Street SE and Half Street SW.  Baltimore has a few half streets in among the 20's, e.g., 25 1/2.