The Distances Between Streets & Avenues – Things You Probably Didn’t Know

If you are traveling at the same pace, regardless of the avenue, it is faster to walk between 6th and 7th Streets than walking from 13th to 14th Streets. Why? Because the block between 6th and 7th is only 181 feet, 9 inches while the block between 13th and 14th is 206 feet, 6 inches.

Anyone walking around Manhattan is sure to notice that street distances between blocks and avenues vary widely. But few know that the block lengths can vary by several feet.

When the grid plan for Manhattan’s streets were laid out, you’d think that the streets would be equidistant. They are not.

Maybe this is the sort of thing that almost no one would care about, but living up to this web site’s name, I found this chart very interesting. It is from the New York Bureau of Buildings in the 1892 edition of The World Almanac.

As you see, the chart lists the distances between the avenues, the width of the avenues and streets and the length of blocks north of Houston Street.

There are a few interesting things to note. One is how far Avenues A, B, C and D extended northward in 1892. Avenue A was later renamed Sutton Place north from 53rd Street and York Avenue north from 59th Street. Avenue B was renamed East End Avenue from 79th to 90th Street. Many portions of Avenue A, B, C and D were never completed (the landfill required to extend them was never done), or wiped out with map changes and construction in the 20th century (e.g. The Franklin D. Roosevelt Drive). Regardless, the almanac still lists the proposed dimensions for the phantom avenues via the Bureau of Buildings.

The other thing to note is that the main cross streets of 14th, 23rd, 34th etc. are all the same: 100 feet wide as compared to the other streets which are all 60 feet wide.

I have used the modern names of avenues in parentheses. Below are some highlights of the chart.

Avenues in Manhattan are 100 feet wide with some notable exceptions:

Lexington Avenue – 75 feet

Boulevard (Broadway) above 59th Street – 150 feet

Madison Avenue South of 42nd Street – 75 feet

Madison Avenue North of 42nd Street – 80 feet

Madison Avenue From 120th to 124th Streets – 100 feet

Sixth Avenue (Lenox/Malcolm X Boulevard) North of 110th Street – 150 feet

Seventh Avenue (Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Boulevard) North of 110th Street – 150 feet

Eleventh Avenue (West End Avenue) North of 110th Street – 150 feet

The length of blocks North of Houston Street vary depending upon the street. Examples:

The distances between 3rd and 5th Streets are 192 feet and 1 inch

The distances between 6th and 7th Streets are 181 feet and 9 inches

The distances between 11th and 16th Streets are 206 feet and 6 inches

The distances between 16th and 21st Streets are 184 feet and 0 inches

The distances between 21st and 42nd Streets are 197 feet and 6 inches

The distances between 42nd and 71st Streets are 200 feet and 10 inches

The distances between 71st and 86th Streets are 204 feet and 4 inches

The distances between 86th and 96th Streets are 201 feet and 5 inches

The distances between 97th and 125th Streets are 201 feet and 10 inches

The distances between streets north of 125th Street are 199 feet and 10 inches

The distances between the avenues vary quite a bit and also depend upon the section of Manhattan they are located in.

Distances Between the Avenues from 34th to 42nd Streets

Avenues D and C – 646 feet

Avenues C and B – 646 feet

Avenues B and A – 646 feet

Avenues A and First – 613 feet

Avenues First and Second – 650 feet

Avenues Second and Third – 610 feet

Avenues Third and Lexington – 420 feet

Avenues Lexington and Fourth (Park Avenue) – 405 feet

Avenues Fourth and Madison – 405 feet

Avenues Madison and Fifth – 420 feet

Avenues Fifth and Sixth – 920 feet

All the avenues between Sixth and Twelfth – 800 feet

Distances Between the Avenues from 42nd to 110th Streets – All the streets are the same with the exception of:

Avenues Fourth and Madison – 405 feet

Distances Between the Avenues north of 110th Street – the distances for the east side avenues remain the same but some of the west side avenues change. The changes include:

Avenues Fifth and Sixth – 895 feet

Avenues Sixth and Seventh – 750 feet

Avenues Seventh and Eighth – 775 feet

Avenues Tenth and Eleventh- 775 feet

Avenues Eleventh and Twelfth – 775 feet