1811
PLANNING
A plan for a bigger Manhattan
The Commissioners’ Plan laid out the street grid across much of Manhattan. It planned for growth before that growth had reached most of the island.
Read the source03 / 11
+ A CLOSER LOOK
The world,
with a little
more context.
How places came to be.
And what lies beyond them.
01 / NEW YORK40.71° N · 74.01° W
THE FIRST FILM01 — NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
HISTORY / GEOGRAPHY
Before the skyline,
there was a route.
New York’s story begins at the water. A sheltered harbor met the Hudson. A canal carried the connection inland. Trade, migration and planning turned those routes into a city.
Our first film follows that story, from Lenape homelands and the colonial port to the street grid, the Erie Canal and the container terminals across the harbor.
Explore the story 10:39 film · In review
A CITY, IN ORDER1620s — 1962
Follow the years.
See the connections.
A street plan came before a canal.
A bridge came before a larger city.
Choose a date to see where it fits.
People lived and traded here long before the dates shown. The timeline begins with the colonial chapter of this film.
ABOUT VASTREO
From a street corner
to another world.
We make documentaries about history, geography and space.
Sometimes the starting point is a river or a road. Sometimes it is a planet. We use maps, records and images to explain what happened, where it happened, and why it matters.
The date on an image matters, too. A map drawn in 1821 can show a plan adopted in 1811. An 1899 film can show a bridge that opened in 1883. We keep those dates separate.
See the New York sourcesThere is always
more to the map.