House numbering -- minor detail

[victor steinbok]

A couple of minor points--I agree with lack of connection with the
Declaration of Independence. I was not implying any such connection when I
wrote that piece. I did choose to use "proclamation" to avoid tying the
development either to a specific document or a specific date.

On Long Wharf, there is an issue as to whether it would be considered a
"street". But it would still be interesting if the units (I suppose, they'd
be "suites" today) within the structure were numbered. The "Long Wharf" is
not particularly long, so finding a particular merchant, undoubtedly
displaying the mark of his wares on the storefront, would not be difficult
without the numbering. Slips and docks, on the other hand, might have been
numbered in their own right. But that certainly would not translate to
"street numbers".

Please don't interpret my remark as pouring cold water on this
development--I simply want to ascertain what actually transpired before
getting excited about the result.

VS-)

On Sat, Jun 25, 2011 at 11:49 AM, Joel Berson <berson at att.net> wrote:

>
> From Victor, more than a little while ago:
>
> "Note that by December 1777, Queen Street had already had house numbers
> exceeding 200.
>
> "There may be earlier references--I did not check other New York
> newspapers. I found no similar ads with house numbers in Philadelphia
> or Boston newspapers, but I did not look extensively. It does appear,
> however, that New York may well have had house numbers on downtown
> streets (including Wall Street!) at the time of the proclamation of
> Independence."
>
> The Declaration of Independence has little relevance, I think.  In 1777 New
> York was still under British control, and the war was not settled until the
> 1780s.
>
> Joel
>
> --- On Sat, 6/25/11, Joel Berson <berson at ATT.NET> wrote:
>
> > From: Joel Berson <berson at ATT.NET>
> > Subject: [ADS-L] House numbering
> > To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> > Date: Saturday, June 25, 2011, 10:37 AM
> > Justin Winsor wrote "There is reason
> > to believe that the stores and shops upon Long Wharf were
> > designated by numbers before the system became general in
> > the town. In some old advertisements letters were used
> > instead of numbers.  (The Memorial History of Boston,
> > 2:502.)
> >
> > Winsor's footnote for this is Drake, History of Boston, p.
> > 537, note.
> >
> > I have not yet had the opportunity to follow this up.
> > Long Wharf was built circa 1710, so such numbering/lettering
> > could have arisen long before the Revolutionary period,
> > which is, IIRC, when researchers on this list have first
> > found it.
> >
> > Joel
>

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