How does the Denver grid system work?

It's a bit complicated because there are actually multiple grids. Most of the city follows the north–south / east–west grid along Broadway, but the Downtown grid is on an angle facing the Platte River.

View Larger Map

The Main, Broadway-Oriented (NS/EW) Grid:

1. The grid begins at the intersection of Broadway and Ellsworth Avenue.
   • Avenues on the west side of Broadway are prefixed with “West”; when they cross to the east side of Broadway, they are prefixed with “East”, but older street signs will often leave off the prefix on the east side.
   • Streets on the south side of Ellsworth Avenue are prefixed with “South“; when they cross to the north side of Ellsworth, they are prefixed with “North“, but older street signs will often leave off the prefix on the north side.
   • Avenues are numbered north of Ellsworth, beginning with 1st Avenue and ending somewhere around 176th Avenue
2. Avenues run east–west.
   • Examples include: 6th Avenue, Alameda Avenue, Evans Avenue, Mexico Avenue
3. Streets run north–south.
   • Examples include: Lincoln Street, York Street, Logan Street, Quebec Street
4. Places are “half-blocks” that run east–west between avenues. Examples include:
   • Examples include: Archer Place, Irvington Place, Clyde Place, 8th Place (between 8th Avenue and 9th Avenue)
5. Courts are “half-blocks” that run north-south, between streets. These are much more common in the suburbs than in Denver proper.
   • Examples include: Laredo Court, Telluride Court, Biscay Court, Oak Hill Court
6. Boulevards and Roads are arterial roads, with boulevards typically running north–south and roads running east–west. Examples include:
   • Examples include: Speer Boulevard, Colorado Boulevard, Arapahoe Road, Morrison Road
7. Drives are twisting roads, generally (but not always) running east–west, running into an Avenue. Examples include:
   • Examples include: Panama Drive, Maplewood Drive, Bethany Drive, Tamarac Drive (but this one is north–south)
8. Ways are north–south “half-blocks” that run into a street. They usually connect a street to another street, not an avenue. Examples include:
   • Examples include: Syracuse Way, Dayton Way, Lisbon Way, Golden Way

The Downtown, River-Oriented Grid:

I will write this up soon, but it's less interesting to me than the Broadway grid.