The Checkerboard Pattern

Back in colonial times, cities developed the pattern that would define America's urban areas.  Districts and pathways were clearly defined with an obvious center.  Defense and access to waterways helped design America's cities as when the nation's capital was founded on the Potomac. Designs were simple, rectangular, and that stereotype carried into the West where homesteads were sold as "checkerboards," straight angles regardless of the terrain.

Philadelphia in the 1700s was an orderly "gridiron" of streets, but some European visitors to early America saw it as sacrificing the beauty while preserving right angles at all costs.  It prevented many cities from having a distinctive visual image. All early designs were in this checkerboard pattern.  It did have its benefits though - it was easy to survey and convenient to sell.

In these checkerboard cities, the railroad brought people to the city center.  Manufacturing and commerce were focused near the railroad depot which became a measure of the cities' commerce and vitality.  The meeting point of the railroad lines was a natural city center, while the "other side of the tracks" was a natural dividing line within the city.

Within the city itself, there was no initial transportation.  Paris, France was actually the first to have a "voiture omibus" or "vehicle for all", from which we derive the American "bus".  The bus served all people for a fixed rate on a fixed route within the city limits.  Since the unpaved streets were a muddy mess during rainy weather, and paved streets were cobblestone, riding the bus was a very bumpy and slow ride. 

Next came the "streetcar," a purely American idea that ran on rails and came to the cities about the time of the Civil War.  The streetcar provided those who didn't have a private carriage or lived outside the city, to travel work in the city.  Streetcars ran to the city's center - to department stores, museums, and theaters.  The rails determined where the new areas of city would develop.

Next time...Suburb transportation
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Today in Pioneer History: "On August 8, 1844, Brigham Young is chosen to lead the Mormon Church after the founder, Joseph Smith and his brother were murdered by an angry mob in an Illinois prison.