The Greatest Grid

Explore Manhattan’s foundational act of city planning in this blockbuster exhibition.

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The Greatest Grid: The Master Plan of Manhattan, 1811-2011 commemorates the 200th anniversary of the Commissioners’ Plan of 1811, the design that established Manhattan’s street grid. The plan, once called “the single most important document in New York City’s development,” is widely considered to be visionary and far-reaching. Described by the commission as a blend “beauty, order and convenience,” the grid was adopted in 1811 to facilitate the sale and development of land north of 14th Street to Washington Heights. Featuring an original map of New York's planned streets and avenues prepared by the Commission in 1811, other rare maps, photographs, and prints of the city's streets, and original manuscripts and publications that document the city’s physical growth, the exhibition examines the grid’s initial design, implementation, and evolution as a defining feature of the city.

The Greatest Grid is a co-presentation of the Museum of the City of New York, the New York Public Library, and The Architectural League of New York and is sponsored by the Office of the Manhattan Borough President.