What about abbreviating words in the address?

First let me say, when addressing envelopes 

"everything" should be spelled out!   

Even though the postal service prefers abbreviations for the states, 

it does accept the states' names written out. 

Names have been discussed in previous posts.

Today we'll mainly look at the street portion of the address.

 

In the address

Avenue, Street, Drive, Boulevard, Road, Lane, and Parkway 

should all be written out.

A question often comes up when Apartment, Unit, or Suite are in the address.  Here are just a few helpful ways around making that address too lengthy:

You can follow the street address 

with the number sign # and the apartment number.  

Example:  1864 Congaree Boulevard #10

If the apartment is designated by a letter, 

then incorporate it into the street number instead of tagging it on the end.

Example:   1864B Congaree Boulevard

If you prefer to include Apartment, Unit, or Suite in the address, 

it should go on the line above the street address.

Example:  

Apartment B

1864 Congaree Boulevard

The question of writing out "words" also arises when the address includes a direction, such as

1864 Congaree Boulevard NW

 While technically NW should be written out, 

I think you should consider the way the address looks once it is written out.  

Consider:

1864 Congaree Boulevard Northwest #10

It can get a little long especially on a small envelope!

Another question deals with street names that are numerals. 

Consider:

2975 Third Avenue and 2975 35th Avenue

I think the best rule to go by is the same one used with numerals.  

Numbers 1-10 should be written out 

and 

11 and higher may be written as numerals.  

2975 35th Avenue or 2975 Thirty-fifth Avenue, 

Consider:

2975 Thirty-fifth Avenue Northwest #210.  

CALLIGRAPHY IS ART! 

As in all art, 

you should consider the total design 

and 

how it looks on the page or envelope. 

It's not just writing!!