Numb-ers
(by Hunter)
Sydney is an interesting mix of the Olde and the Moderne - which is at times very rich (like the mix and juxtaposition of architecture) and at times amusing (like the extra "e" added to the word "old" & "modern") and sometimes a bit confounding. This post is about one of the confounding bits: their "system" of street numbering.
You may roll your eyes at me and think "what's the big deal?", but after visiting dozens of architecture firms every day for the last month, one really begins to appreciate the ability to determine an approximate location in advance of hitting the pavement.
In the typical rational American city (not that they ALL are... ) each block is numbered from a common starting point, and progresses in common increments from block to block. Thus the 300 block on one street is adjacent to the 300 block on another parallel street. This allows one to look at a map, and figure out on which block a given address is located. This is a good thing.
Here in Olde Worlde Sydney, street numbers are as individual as the streets themselves. Numbers start where the street starts, but it seems to vary as to which end is the starting end. Even and Odd numbers progress on their own accord – one can be standing in front of “67” on one side of the street, but need to walk 4 more blocks to find “68” on the other side of the street. I have seen places where the even and odd numbers located across from each other vary by a few hundred numbers.
Also, some buildings will have multiple numbers. It isn’t uncommon for a building to be numbered “11-31 York St.” Apparently this building must have replaced a number of smaller buildings?
Sometimes the numbering will ascend as you move in a direction, only to start descending again at some seemingly random point. When you have a long street, this can mean a significant distance between possible locations of “6 Liverpool St”.
When we first started bumping into these admittedly minor but all-to-common frustrations, I grumbled about them but Candace took the point of view that they were “poetic”. As time goes on, I think she’s joining my grumbly point of view. Now THAT I find to be poetic.
Sydney is an interesting mix of the Olde and the Moderne - which is at times very rich (like the mix and juxtaposition of architecture) and at times amusing (like the extra "e" added to the word "old" & "modern") and sometimes a bit confounding. This post is about one of the confounding bits: their "system" of street numbering.
You may roll your eyes at me and think "what's the big deal?", but after visiting dozens of architecture firms every day for the last month, one really begins to appreciate the ability to determine an approximate location in advance of hitting the pavement.
In the typical rational American city (not that they ALL are... ) each block is numbered from a common starting point, and progresses in common increments from block to block. Thus the 300 block on one street is adjacent to the 300 block on another parallel street. This allows one to look at a map, and figure out on which block a given address is located. This is a good thing.
Here in Olde Worlde Sydney, street numbers are as individual as the streets themselves. Numbers start where the street starts, but it seems to vary as to which end is the starting end. Even and Odd numbers progress on their own accord – one can be standing in front of “67” on one side of the street, but need to walk 4 more blocks to find “68” on the other side of the street. I have seen places where the even and odd numbers located across from each other vary by a few hundred numbers.
Also, some buildings will have multiple numbers. It isn’t uncommon for a building to be numbered “11-31 York St.” Apparently this building must have replaced a number of smaller buildings?
Sometimes the numbering will ascend as you move in a direction, only to start descending again at some seemingly random point. When you have a long street, this can mean a significant distance between possible locations of “6 Liverpool St”.
When we first started bumping into these admittedly minor but all-to-common frustrations, I grumbled about them but Candace took the point of view that they were “poetic”. As time goes on, I think she’s joining my grumbly point of view. Now THAT I find to be poetic.
posted by Hunter Williams at 1:31 PM
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