[OT beyond any repair] House numbers (was RE: ISO 3166 (country c odes) Maintenance Agency Web pages move))

[James E. Agenbroad]

On Fri, 1 Mar 2002, Patrick Andries wrote:

> 
> 
> Marco Cimarosti wrote:
> 
> >John Cowan wrote:
> >
> >>[...]  House numbers in North America (and in France
> >>also, it seems) have a few bits of meaning: the least-significant
> >>(numeric) bit tells you which side of the street the house is on,
> >>[...]
> >>
> >
> >It is the same in Italy. I was quite surprised to know that also in other
> >countries even and odd numbers are on the opposite sides of the road.
> >
> >I am curious whether another "rule" valid in Italy also applies in other
> >countries: here the numbering always starts on the end of the road which is
> >nearer to the center. When visiting Italian cities, I know whether I am
> >walking towards the suburbs or towards the center by the looking whether
> >house numbers increase or decrease.
> >
> This is the same in Belgium.
> 
> Patrick Andries
> 
> 
                                                Friday, March 1, 2002
I'd say this is generaly true in the U.S. too.  It is probably a product
of urban expansion from the center outward.
     Regards,
          Jim Agenbroad ( jage@LOC.gov )
     "It is not true that people stop pursuing their dreams because they
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