Don Kirkman wrote:

On Sat, 15 Oct 2011 09:26:25 +0100, Terry Pinnell
wrote:

Apologies if this is a tad off topic for this group, but I'm unsure where
better to start asking!

During a trip to Southern California earlier I drove a short way on the
PCH between Santa Monica towards Malibu was puzzled by the house numbers.
Some online research yesterday has only confused me further. Here's an
illustration I've prepared of a random stretch of properties on the beach
side of the road, going north:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/4019461/HouseNumbers-1.jpg

I gather the numbers are in groups, often based on the distance from some
base, or on the number of blocks. So I can just about see how that
accounts for such large numbers. But can anyone please explain why the
gaps between adjacent houses are not simply 2, instead of 4, 6, 8 or 10 -
not to mention 34? I can't detect any logical pattern at all!

One thing that leaps out is that new hundreds begin from zero, without
relationship to the last number in the previous hundred. Aside from
that, it's possible that the lots were first platted smaller than the
current lots (i.e., lots were combined into larger portions to
accommodate the larger houses folks who could afford Malibu wanted to
erect, and so the assigned number came from block of numbers that had
been provisionally allocated to the original smaller lots. For
instance, if one lot owner bought out some of his neighbors the number
might be the one assigned to his particular lot. Don't know what the
real answer is.

Does the "zero starts a new hundred" phenomenon occur consistently in
the other sections? Were there stretches where the numbering *was*
consistent and orderly?

Thanks both. That makes sense. In fact now that I think about it more
seriously it's sort of obvious that for a road some 130 miles long there
would have to be great provision for flexibility.

My assumption about 1 mile 'groups' proved wrong, as the 19000 to 20000 is
about 1.3 miles.

I haven't examined much more of the PCH's 131 miles, but the semi-random
pattern looks similar to the section I illustrated.

BTW, this has me wondering how properties in any country end up uniquely
numbered when many of them on the same road/street are built years apart?

In my road, a small housing 'estate' of maybe half a dozen building
types, all the numbers except one follow the simple pattern, 1 2, 3 etc.
I'm guessing they were all planned at the same time and building followed
the plan strictly. Or perhaps it started at one end and subsequent
development had to take place progressively on the next physical plot.
Otherwise you'd end up with numbers bearing no relation to position ion
the street.

The exception is our house, 29A. It was built later than the 3 similar
designs at numbers 25, 27 and 29. Probably on land that was either
originally part of a larger house's garden (yard), or that was initially
considered unsuitable.

On a different topic entirely, I was astonished at the listed prices and
estimated values of these very small properties, squashed between a busy
highway (and its accompanying tangle of telephone and electricity cables)
and a few square feet of beach. Typically $2M - $8M, with the occasional
1-bed, 1-bath at around $1.5M!

--
Terry, East Grinstead, UK