Cross streets in your city or town (state, people, Chicago)

[CelticViking]

When telling someone where you live how do you reference the cross streets if someone is some what familiar with the city or town? Do you use major intersections or do you use neighborhood cross streets?

I think some cities do it differently...curious how you use them in your city or town...

[WestbankNOLA]

Neighborhood cross streets.. or sometimes you have to get geographic. (i.e. "it's 4 blocks lakebound from Tchoupitoulas on the uptown side of Napoleon.")

[Chicago60614]

We're on a huge grid, with major streets every 4 blocks, thru streets every 2 blocks, and then minor residential streets between each thru street.

Each "block" in the numbering system consists of 2 actual streets, and every 8 blocks is one mile.

So an example of the numbering and level of street is:

800major street
850minor street
900minor street
950minor street
1000thru street
1050minor street
1100minor street
1150minor street
1200major street

You just traveled 1/2 mile.

So each mile you drive in the city is 16 streets, 8 blocks, and a change of 800 in the street numbering pattern.

Most people here will just use an intersection on the main streets that are 4 blocks apart, and then follow up by giving specific instructions from that main intersection (since all those streets criss cross the entire city - and are widely known).

Or many people very familiar with the city will just give the N/S and E/W numbering system, and this will let you know any particular spot in the entire city very easily.

Say 4200 north and 1600 west. You can easily pinpoint that exact spot. 16 blocks west of State Street, and 42 blocks north of Madison Street.

It's virtually impossible to get lost here once you learn the basic setup. Every time I tell a cabbie my street, some will kinda stare at me confused (because it's a small little known street). I just say "43 hundred north" and they know exactly what I mean and where I live, even though they have no idea what the street is named.

[Alacran]

Yeah what he said.

3121 West 5000 North is my old pad in Chicago.

Find it.

[CelticViking]

so if you do use a major intersection to label where you live...how many blocks from that intersection may you be to say you live there? walking distance? how far away from an intersection can you live to still use that intersection as a mark for your residence? sorry if im being confusing...lol

[ladarron]

I use the major intersection. (Kiest Blvd and Marsalis Ave)

[CelticViking]

and darron how far from that intersection do you actually live? and when would you use the next closest intersection?

[backdrifter]

Just the nearest intersection here. So, you'd say Gladstone and 34th, and if they weren't sure where Gladstone was you could say "Between Powell and Holgate" to clarify, and then it'd be obvious it was in Southeast at that point. Everyone who is at all familiar with Portland knows where you're talking about. The city is a grid, with North-South avenues being numbered, and there are five "quadrants" so it's pretty easy. Plus Portland is a pretty small town anyway, relatively speaking. Really easy to get around and give directions.

[ladarron]

Originally Posted by CelticViking

and darron how far from that intersection do you actually live? and when would you use the next closest intersection?

I live right behind Marsalis and the next intersection I use is Kiest and Beckley.