Editing Silver City, New Mexico (section)

===Flooding===
The town had originally been designed with the streets running north to south. It was also built without adequate planning for storm water runoff. Businesses sprang up, and people learned to deal with the inconveniences of the summer rain. Silver City was built with high sidewalks in the downtown area to accommodate high flood waters. However, uncontrolled grazing and deforestation over time in the surrounding area contributed to higher levels of runoff. During the night of July 21, 1895, a heavy wall of water rushed through the downtown business district, leaving a trail of destruction. A ditch {{convert|55|ft|m}} lower than the original street level was created in what was once known as Main Street.<ref>"Destruction of Main Street", ''[[Silver City Daily Press]]'', July 9, 1975, p. 7</ref> Businesses on Main Street began using their back doors on Bullard Street as main entrances and eventually, were permanently used as the new front entrances. To this day, the incorrect odd/even addressing conventions on the east side of Bullard Street are a reminder that the buildings were addressed on Main Street originally, not Bullard Street. Main Street now ends near the back of the Silver City Police Station, where the Big Ditch Park begins.