THE BARTLETT SYSTEM .. - :: r z : OF zzzlzzj ijz: : STREET NOMENCLATURE V\ .’t , ^)3cTir\e. 1 tV An Improved Method of Designating the Streets and House Numbers of Cities PREFACE The essential principles embodied in this system of street nomen- clature were first suggested by the author in 1909. As is well known, most of our large cities are afflicted with such a complexity of street names and numbers that a large aggregate of time is needlessly used by police officers, postal and traction employes, drivers, etc., in locating ad- dresses for themselves or others. To devise a plan simple and uniform in its application and easily understood has been the aim of the author, and the use of the system herein outlined, or such modification as may be made necessary 'by local conditions, will solve the difficulties of our pres- ent lack of system in street naming. • Street signs may even be omitted, as every house number will practically answer the purpose. It is hoped that the ideas herein advanced may be of use to those into whose hands it may fall. Criticism or suggestions will be thankfully received by the author. It will also be appreciated if, after you have finished with the article you will send it to some one to whom it might l:e of interest. H. E. BARTLETT. 1447 E. 66th Place. Chicago, Sept. 27, 1913. i □ J va-7 STREET NOMENCLATURE H. E. Bartlett, Mem. Am. Soc. C. E. So far as the writer is aware, the subject of street names and house numbers has received but little attention, though it affects the daily life of a large part of the residents of our cities by reason of the fact that it so frequently becomes necessary to secure directions from some guide or person before going to an unfamiliar part of the city, while all have experienced the uneasy feeling due to the fear of being carried beyond one’s destination because of lack of street signs or inability to understand the jargon used bv most street car conductors in announcing the names of streets. From the earliest times it has been the custom to give to streets the names of distinguished persons or prominent objects, most of the cities in the United States having streets bearing the names of Presidents of our country, while many local celebrities are thus perpetuated The origin of Lake, River, Canal, Church, Capitol, Main, Railroad, etc. streets of so many cities needs no explanation, and the Place de l'Opera of Paris is a notable illustration of the same idea. In small places the inconveniences arising from the use of names for streets is not of particular moment, but in large cities the multiplicity pf names becomes burdensome, particularly to those whose duties require aii intimate knowledge of street names and house numbers, such as policemen, postal and traction employes, drivers, etc. To remove some of these objections, resort has been had to various devices, particularly V d*the use of numbers or the subdivision of the city into districts, with dis- tinctive terms for the streets, as in Milwaukee, Wis., where the thorough- V fares in a certain section are called STREETS, while another part has the # term AVENUES applied. In Salt Lake City, Utah, and Washington, D. C., still other methods of subdividing the city are in use, each having certain small advantages. In St. Louis. Mo., where nearly all the streets 4 The Bartlett System of have names,, the house numbering being on the so-called "decimal' sys- tem,” it is a common practice to locate a street by designating it as, say "3600 South,” "4200 West,” etc., meaning that it is 36 blocks south ox the base line for east and west streets, or 42 blocks west of the Mississippi River, etc. In the direct use of numbers for streets we have many ex- amples, such as New York, N. Y. ; Chicago, 111.; Kansas City, Mo.; Den- ver, Colo., and numerous smaller places, but in each case only a part of the streets are so marked, the use of the numbers not being carried to its logical conclusion. As the primary use of either names or numbers for streets is to so designate them that they may be readily found, it is apparent that the plan which does this best must be of such nature that, once an address be given, there must arise in the mind an exact idea of the location of the street with reference to any other street. This is clearly impossible when names are used, as a name can convey to one unfamiliar with the locality absolutely no idea as to where the street may be found. This is so universally recognized that every large city has its published map or guide to enable even its own residents to find their way from one part to another. Readers familiar with New York City have no doubt seen the printed directions to locate house numbers ; Chicago requires a book of 200 pages for the same purpose ; while many are famib’ar with the bewildering lists of Boston, Philadelphia, New Orleans, and other large cities. Briefly, the principal objections to the use of names for streets and the advantages of numbers for the same purpose may be stated as fol- lows : Since NAMES cannot be so used as to bear a definite relation, one to another, it is impossible for them to convey to one unfamiliar with the part of the city in question an exact idea of street location, thus vio- lating the most essential principle of a successful system. On the other hand, since NUMBERS can be made to bear this definite relation, it be- comes easily possible to so employ them as to fix the location of any street with reference to any other street. Being principally proper nouns, and often poorly written, street names frequently become nearly or quite undecipherable, as every postal clerk can testify, with consequent great waste of time and irritation to all concerned. This is particularly true of foreign correspondents, who must Street Nomenclature 5 blindly follow the written address, with no idea as to its meaning or origin. Suppose the reader was asked to write an address in Chinese, he would need be furnished with a copy and then do his best to imitate it, trusting to luck that he had included all the little peculiarities of the sym- bols, which mean nothing to him, but do convey a great deal to one at- tempting to deliver his communication to the address so written. Yet the above is but an exaggerated example of the difficulty common in the use of hand written NAMES. New Orleans, for instance, has a particularly large number of names in which the pronunciation of them conveys almost no idea of their spelling, as in the word Tchoupitoulas, a some- what well-known street of that city. The converse of the above is true, as frequently the spelling conveys no idea of the pronunciation, and this commonly results in streets having two or more pronunciations of their names by. the residents of the city. Thus, Bellefontaine Avenue, St. Louis, has three; Goethe Street, Chicago, nearly as many as it has letters, while a stranger in Colorado Springs, Colo,, is immediately known when he attempts to pronounce Tejon, one of the principal streets of that city. The Indian names sometimes used for streets, as in Denever, Colo., or Leavenworth, Kas., may have a fanciful significance, but are of doubtful utility. Jaw-breaking appella- tions may be satisfactory for Pullman cars and steamships, but have no place in a practical street naming scheme for every day people. The owner of an office building who gave these or any other names to the floors of the building would be considered an imbecile, yet it is an exact parallel with the use of NAMES for streets. As no objections on the score of spelling or pronunciation can be raised to the use of numbers, it seems the part of common sense to thus employ them. While the above are largely matters of convenience, they nevertheless save a vast aggregate amount of time, thus materially facilitating business by the elimination of unnecessary work. Expansion of a city by the addition of suburban towns usually adds to the confusion of street names, as often the annexed territory has names the same as in the annexing city. Frequently from this or other reasons, a street may have several names throughout its length, and the same may be used to designate a number of different streets, as in Chicago they have ^a Drexel Avenue, a Drexel Boulevard, a Drexel Court, and a Drexel Square, thus, it would seem, sufficiently honoring the famous Philadel- phian. In the above manner Chicago has accumulated nearly 700 duplica- POP/ I /OP/ 6 The Bartlett System of Street Nomenclature W3 70/ US U7 * US W i 7 / STREET I PLACE ws '07 '■OS '■03 W >09 '07 'OS \03_ '0/ STREET STREET V 2 H 7 M (JO $!!*> §p> 1 / //V£ -)— —STREET 2/_|N 23. 2 Z_ & 2 _ 2 l \| f\\| ^rv 5 w 5 N$> numbering the Streets q^C/t/es f 0 i\ STREET - HE. BARTLETT - M. AM. SOC.CE CHICAGO - DEC. /9./&H — FIG. 1 8 The Bartlett System of tions in her street names, to say nothing of the practical repetition of nearly every name by its division into a North and South or an East and West portion, with the accompanying use of the same house numbers^ in the two parts. This division into portions, requiring the use of the above prefixes in order to designate the exact address, is particularly ob- jectionable, and in the case of Chicago has led to so many errors in the addresses on mail matter, due to the omission or wrong use of the prefix, that the Post Office Department has a standing order as to which guess must first be used in attempting to deliver the matter to an address where the prefix is omitted. Thus, if a letter is received addressed simply to 66th Place, it must first be taken to East 66th Place, and should this prove wrong, then it is taken to West 66th Place. As numbers are free from all the above objections, give shorter ad- dresses, with far more freedom from possible errors in writing them, the author has devised a system 'based upon their use which is 'applicable to nearly all cities. Its employment will do away with the objectionable features so common to names, and will save a vast amount of time and accompanying mental worry. By reference to the following text, with its full diagram (Fig. 1), the plan is easily understood. In this system of street nomenclature, two BASE LINES at as near right angles as possible are chosen. These should be taken as the center lines of prominent streets running approxi- mately through the center of the business district, so that the smaller house numbers will occur in the portion receiving and forwarding the greatest amount of mail, thus saving a large amount of time. All principal East and West thoroughfares shall be called “STREETS,” and the term “PLACE” used to designate minor parallel streets located between the principal ones. All principal North and South thoroughfares shall be called “AVE- NUES” or “CORSOS,” the term “COURT” designating minor ones par- allel therewith. Diagonal thoroughfares may be denominated “WAYS,” with a desig- nating number or name, or both. If the former, any small number will do, while if a name be used, it may be one indicating the general direc- tion the street runs from the business district of the city. If there be - several diagonal streets running in the same general direction, a number and a name may be combined, as Third Southwest Way, indicating that Street Nomenclature 9 the street is the third running in the general direction of southwest from the business section. As diagonal streets are usually few in number, *there will be but little difficulty with them.. Beginning with the East and West Base Line and calling it 1st t STREET, all streets north of and parallel therewith shall receive the even numbers, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, etc., while those south of and parallel with the Base lane shall in turn receive the odd numbers, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, etc. Any intervening minor streets or PLACES shall receive the same number as the STREET immediately preceding it. Likewise, beginning with the North and South Base Line and calling it 1st AVENUE, all thoroughfares east of and parallel therewith shall be denominated “AVENUES” or “CORSOS,” and receive in turn the odd numbers, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, etc., while those west of and parallel there- with shall in turn receive the even numbers, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, etc., in- tervening minor thoroughfares being called “COURTS’' and receiving the same number as the “AVENUE” immediately preceding it. The numbering is best done on the so-called “decimal system,” that is, on the basis of one hundred numbers to the block, a block in this sense being defined as the distance from one STREET to another, disregarding any intervening PLACES or COURTS. Thus, the first house number in any block will be 100 times the number of the cross street, as for ex- ample, 2400 occurring on any STREET immediately west of 24th AVE- NUE or CORSO, and 2300 occurring on any AVENUE or CORSO immediately south of 23rd STREET. As a matter of detail, it' is recom- mended that the even numbers be placed on the north and west sides of the thoroughfares, thus conforming strictly to the spirit of the plan. The use of 1600 or 2000 house numbers to the mile is advisable, as by this means it becomes a simple mental calculation to determine the linear distance from one house number to another, measured along the street or streets on which they occur. Because of the loose or interchangeable use of the words street and avenue, the substitution of the Italian, CORSO, for the latter is recommended. This word is euphonious when * used with any number and cannot be abbreviated into St., thus confusing . it wdth the common abbreviation for STREET, as can the usual Italian word, Strada. In putting into practical execution a change from names to num- bers for streets, city officials will be confronted with many objections 10 The Bartlett System and not a little obstinate opposition, the principal ones being the cost of the change, the resulting temporary confusion, and the sentimental rea- ^ sons. Objecting persons of the last class will usually be old residents who have long been used to the names, and hence have the sentimental regard for them that they might have for an old friend. Another type of i this class is the “moss-back,” who is found in every community and objects to any change simply because it is a change. This variety has urged his objections to all changes in affairs, inventions, etc., which have been in the nature of progress for the human race. He can give no real reasons for his attitude, and should therefore be ignored. Upon carefully study- ing the proposed plan, many of the opponents of the first class above men- tioned will see the benefits of the new plan and will cease their objec- tions. As for the resulting temporary confusion, it may be stated that Chicago recently changed a large part of its house numbers with very slight inconvenience, even in the congested business district, and what is possible in the one instance is easily done in similar cases. The average expense to each householder will be well under a dollar, in many cases being no more than a little of his own time and the trouble of doing the work. The price of a good cigar will usually cover the expense. The system as above outlined is very simple and uniform in its applica- tion. The frequent errors arising from the use of the prefixes “East,” “West,” “North” and “South” are eliminated, with a vast aggregate saving of time, affecting all who write addresses, as stenographers, bill clerks, newspapers, etc., or who must read them in the handling of mail matter. As a system of rectangular co-ordinates locates a point* so- will the system of street nomenclature outlined above quickly fix in the mind the position of any street and its house numbers with reference to any other street. In short, it is believed to furnish a most excellent and simple plan for the numbering of streets and houses in cities. Anway Particular Printer 6911 Stony Island Ave., Chicago