The evening times., 1900-03-03
A CONFUSION OF STREETS
Many Reception Guests Hopelessly
Lost in the Suburbs.
The Disappointed Hostess Enters
Complaint With the District COM
Problem in Numbering Houses.
The Building Inspector PerpIexed.

1t is not uncommon for strangers to get
lost in Washington, but old residents
think that any wayfaring man or woman
should easily find the way. This is all very
well in the city OF Washington proper
where the alphabetical and numbered
streets run with the points of the COM
pass. Pass the precincts of Florida Ave-
nue., however, and confusion follows. The
streets follow the cowpaths out there in
the various subdivisions in a manner to
discount Boston or even Damascus. That
even Washingtonians get lost in the
county, especially after dark, is made
plain by circumstance recently reported
to the District Commissioners.
From the complaint it appears that
Miss Cynthia E. Cleveland, residing at
293S Fifteenth Street northwest, gave a
reception few evenings ago between the
hours of and Z. The guests were TO num-
Der $50 or more. and preparations had
been made on an extensive scale.
The hour came and time dragged slowly,
but few of those expected came, and these
told of the difficulty in finding the number.
At the end of the chapter only j small
percentage OF the guests invited reached
the Cleveland home Letters began TO
arrive the following day and excuses were
profuse. all saying the same thing, that
they had been lost in the mazes OF Bacon
Street, Columbia Avenue, and kenesa"
Street.
At the end Of the day Miss Cleveland
was confronted with a pile of letters OF
imposing proportions. The fact developed
that nearly all her guests had responded
10 the invitation and. after disappointing
Efforts. had utterly failed TO find the house.
The situation OF which Miss Cleveland
complained in her letter to the Commits
sioners has perplexed John b. Brady, the
Building Inspector, aud his assistants.
Fifteenth Street is practically lost in the
windings of the cOwpaths beyond Florida
Avenue. II is on the map, but so changed
from its appearance Of regularity in the
city that Washingtonians on the occasion
referred to did not recognize it,
The natural way TO try and reach the
Cleveland residence is to drive out Four
teenth Street, which is cut through beyond
Florida Avenue and Cross over at the 2900
block This was evidently the route ira
versed by the majority of those who never
reached there ON the evening OF the recep-
tion. Bacon Street divides the 2S00 from
the $500 block on Fourteenth Street. but it
has a blind end, having never been cut
through to Fifteenth Street. To reach the
place therefore, one must drive back to
Binney Street or Our TO Columbia Avenue
and reach Fifteenth Street by that means.
But in so doing confusion will arise again,
as the blocks. owing TO multiplicity Of
cross streets do not correspond
The whole trouble originated in the in
dependent development Of the several sub
divisions in the county. Streets were laid
out to suit the whims Of property
or to parallel a country turnpike. No az
tention was paid apparently to conforming
the streets with the city plan. AS re-
suit. there is maze OF blocks beyond the
city boundary. which simply defies all ef
forts at numbering on the system in vogue
in the city. and which has been extended
by law TO the streets Of the entire Dis
trict.
Building Inspector Brady and his assist
ants have worked on the problem continu-
ously since the law went into effect and
they have found it impossible TO number
houses in the various subdivisions so as
TO avoid the confusion of which Miss Cleve-
land complains Her case is only one OF
hundreds that have been reported though
the others were Of less aggravated char
acter.
Experts in the Building Inspectors Of
fee say that there are only two rational
solutions OF this street numbering prob
to adopt an Independent sys-
TEN for the county or take up and carry
through the street extension plan.