I don't think it entered parlance through that usage. It was actually a common feature of the landscape beginning in the 1780s [2] even if we don't count Phila

I don't think it entered parlance through that usage. It was actually a common feature of the landscape beginning in the 1780s [2] even if we don't count Philadelphia in the 1680s [3] which later became the national capital city. The Commissioners' Plan which griddified Manhattan was not until 1811 -- but tens of thousands of square miles were already being rapidly surveyed into townships, sections, and ranges, which lend themselves to further square subdividing, after an act of congress back in 1785.[1] As a fun side note, 19th Century Philadelphia invented the process of adding street numbers to its existing grid using 100-to-a-block addressing, and was also the first American city to add the hundred-block to street signs. [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Ranges https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Ranges [2] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-09-16/the-jefferson-grid-shows-the-american-west-through-one-square-mile-per-frame https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-09-16/the-jeffe... [3] https://dougalleninstitute.org/archives/10148/ https://dougalleninstitute.org/archives/10148/ [4] https://www.ncesc.com/geographic-pedia/what-is-the-philadelphia-street-numbering-system/ https://www.ncesc.com/geographic-pedia/what-is-the-philadelp...