Lots for sale on 83rd and 84th Streets at Avenues A and B? That’s not a misprint—York Avenue was Avenue A until the 1920s (and some Avenue A signage still exists, like this school address).

As for Avenue B, based on the faint map on the 1854 ad, it’s the last avenue before the East River.

Manhattan Square? This existed once too at today’s Central Park West in upper 70s and 80s.

In 1852, when this auction was scheduled to be held, it seems to have been part of the sparsely populated village of Harsenville.

What a difference 20 years makes. In the 1870s, it was secured for the site for the American Museum of Natural History, which occupies the four-block square today.

Anthony J. Bleecker, a member of the family Bleecker Street was named after, must have been the preeminent auctioneer at the time. I wonder what he sold these lots for?

[Vintage ads: Museum of the City of New York Collections Portal]

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Tags: Avenue A Yorkville, Avenue B Upper East Side, demapped streets of New York City, Harsenville, Lots for Sale in NYC 19th century, Manhattan Square Upper West Side, Vintage NYC auction ads