The Greatest Grid: The Master Plan of Manhattan, 1811-2011 celebrates the 200th anniversary of the Commissioners’ Plan of 1811, the foundational document that established Manhattan’s famous street grid. Featuring an original hand-drawn map of New York’s planned streets and avenues prepared by the Commission in 1811, as well as other rare historic maps, photographs and prints of the evolution 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. The Greatest Grid traces the enduring influence of the 1811 plan as the grid has become a defining feature of the city, shaping its institutions and public life.
Is it weird that as an art student I have no interest in going to museums to see famous works of art in any form but I am beyond excited to go and see an exhibit about maps? I can’t spend more than a minute looking at a piece of art in a museum, but I could literally spend hours looking at maps. The thought of seeing the piece that inspired the entire layout of the beautiful city (errr… borough) of Manhattan is thrilling. I can’t wait to look into each section of it in detail and see where each piece was put together. I just really, really love maps. Maybe I should consider a career in cartography? Maaaaps wait, they don’t love you like I love you.
