The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1910-04-01
THOSE STREET NUMBERS
The Why of Your Number and 9th.
ers, 1t Might Have Been Some
Worse

Worse
People are asking each other why
their Eouses are numbered as they
are, and why they were not number
ed something else. One man manag-
ing big business house is so ignor-
ant on the matte tthat he didn't think
he ought to pay for the numbering
after 1t was done. He said he didn't
order it, and the men who put the
aluminium figure on the door could
go to he--l for their money" He
doesn't take the local papers publish
ed in the town where he does busi-
ness and doesn't know the official pa
per has explained the provision by
which the people could get their
houses numbered for a mere trifle
Farrell and Kiefer took the con-
tract to number the houses and to
save expense and simplify matters,
people were given the privilege Of
paying them direct, instead of having
it assessed against them. Most peo-
pie handed them the money gladly,
but some didn't understand it and
seemed unwilling to learn, and the
olil 10 So llIJlC pei JliuI IL
was hardly worth while to waste
any time with them. Mr.. Farrell
says that when they had finished the
work they had paid out more money
for figures than they had collected,
and their work went in for nothing.
How They Arranged the Numbers
The central point from which every
thing is numbered is the crossing of
Main and Bridge streets. The num-
bers cover 100 to the block in any
direction, the odd numbers on one
side and the even numbers on the
other Lots do not signify, ii is the
block, remember, and every five feet
has a number, 1, 3, 5, 7, up to 80
one one side and 2, 4, 6, s up to 100
on the opposite side of the street.
If your door is within five feet
of the corner it will take the first
numeral above the cipher; if it is
ten feet from the corner it will be
3 or 2 according to which side of
the street you are on, odd or even;
! if Is feet from the corner the figure
will be two numerals higher or
4; if in the middle of the block it
will be about the fifty mark and if at
the end line or block it will be 100
or close to that according to your
position as to odd or even and the
exact number of feet from the cor
ner. These distances were all meas
ured with tape line or paced, to
get them correct, and as other houses
are built in, they take the intervening
numbers which their exact location
indicates.
Which Way Do You Face
The streets extend east and west or
nearly so andithe avenues north and
south. If Your house faces a street
it is numbered with the street, if it
faces the ave hue it is numbered with
the avenue, SO don't scold the alumi-
mum figures and the men who put
them up, if Heinke on the corner fac
ing west is number 107, and Bleinke
just next to him facing north is 209,
notice where the front door is, and
that will give you the key to the
point of beginning. One counts from
Main street, the other from Bridge.
Hang the Numbers
But somebody asks how it is that
there is an East Main street when
it isn't east at all but extends the
other way. For instance, there Is
the Hub at the corner of Main and
Bridge, and the address is number
2 West Bridge and the mill next
door is 27 south, West Main, street
that doesn't extend west at all.
Main street is so separated by the
railroad tracks that it is equal to
two streets, and the west half of 1t
designated West Main is conven-
ience to those who do not know or
cannot remember that the odd num-
bers are on the west side. If you
keep that in mind the west" need
not be used. The even numbers will
indicate the east side of the street,
and may be less confusing to the new
conner than to have him looking for
the east end of Main. The Hub is
numbered with Bridge street because
the front is more on Bridge than
Main. The dimensions of the city
lots cut no figure in this matter. 1t
is the way the building faces that
determines what street it is on.
An Exception Made
In the Kimball addition on Shilling
avenue there is one block 1880 feet
long, and it Is numbered as nearly
like the rest of the avenue as its size
will permit.
While you are out taking your
spring walks and drives it will be a
good time to famliarize yourself with
the system of numbering, and when
the street names are put up, you can
take your second lesson and be learn
ing where you live and where some
of the land marks are, SO you can
direct stranger to given place
without taking the trouble to go .'l
the way with him to show him the
house.
The way to keep informed is to
learn these things as they present
themselves, and as the town grows
it will keep you learning to keep up
with the additions.