Im Reading "The Devils Playground" by James Traub and bascially it outlines the building and history of Manhattan. The ironic tidbit I wanted to share was how the decisions were made in regards to buidling the new city. Thomas Jefferson had gazebos, curved roads and public meeting spots intended for parades, but Benjamin Franklin won out with his "unsentimental materialism." They laid out a basic grid system with straight sided, right angled buildings that were cheap to build and easy to live in. Laying out the grid was fairly strict and removed the naming of the streets and blvd's with people's names whose land was surrounding and used numbers.

I just thought it was cool that the beginning of the city was basically the cheapest option available and yet it is now today a hub of art and culture.

The book also touches on the first public transport, the elevated railroad. 3 months ago Dwell featured 2 men trying to save the remains of the deserted rail and a year after their first actions to save the historic railway there are proposed plans for turing it into green space. An elevated park.