Ghost addresses of 19th century Williamsburg found on tenement walls

"Walk through any New York City neighborhood that still has tenements anchoring street corners, and you’ll probably see them: the names of the tenement’s cross streets carved into a terra cotta band on the building’s exterior. Not every tenement had them back around the turn of the 20th century, when builders lined the urbanscape with thousands of these squat flats buildings across the city. Time and the elements have worn away many others. But it’s always a treat to spot these subtle relics of a pre-GPS era when not all city streets—especially tenement blocks, populated by poor and working-class families—had official street signs. Seeing the street names etched into a corner building helped newcomers navigate confusing street grids. On blocks darkened by elevated trains, they also made it easier for riders to track where they were. The street names typically aligned with the second or third floor, roughly at eye level with the train. ..."

Ephemeral New York