# Interesting/Clever Street and Subdivision Names! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 21, 2010, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-clever-street-and-subdivision-names/525831 "2010-01-21T13:30:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Toledo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/34f0e0/32.png) [@Toledo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toledo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2017, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-clever-street-and-subdivision-names/525831/121 "2017-08-13T03:53:58Z")
Lawrence, Kansas, where the E-W streets have numbers and the N-S streets are named after states, in the order in which they became states (In other words, Delaware 1st, etc. Ohio is between Kentucky and Louisana, etc. It only seems to go out to Colorado, although there is a centennial nearby). My wife got here Masters in History there and told me about it. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2017, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-clever-street-and-subdivision-names/525831/122 "2017-08-13T10:04:34Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > [One of my favorite street crossings.](http://www.tukatz.com/images/getaways/2015_pnw_canada/Moose-and-Squirrel.jpg) > > Here in Tucson, two major streets intersect called Glenn and Campbell. I always thought that was an interesting coincidence, even though the late Glen Campbell spelled his first name with only one “n”. I grew up two blocks away from the intersection of “Glen” and “Miller,”'in Tarrytown, NY. Both streets, and their names, predate the bandleader. ---
**Author:** ![andrewm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c57346/32.png) [@andrewm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andrewm)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2017, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-clever-street-and-subdivision-names/525831/123 "2017-08-13T14:49:10Z")
> [@Typo\_Knig](#): > > Since the One Ring, um, I mean zombie, has awakened - there’s a Mordor Drive in Lorton, VA. It’s a road that leads to the incinerator at the county’s waste disposal facility, but there’s a business park on the road. The property owner wanted to rename it from the name at the time, Landfill Road, because that name had negative connotations for the business park. The original idea of calling the road Good Intentions Road didn’t work out so the developer settled on Mordor since Frodo needed to toss the ring in the inferno. 😃 There’s a Mordor Ln near BWI, and Aragorn Ct, Baggins Rd, Gollum Rd, and Strider Ct all in the same neighborhood. https://maps.google.com/maps?ll=39.1433469,-76.7121839&z=17&output=embed&dg=ntvb ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2017, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-clever-street-and-subdivision-names/525831/124 "2017-08-13T15:00:51Z")
> [@andrewm](#): > > There’s a Mordor Ln near BWI, and Aragorn Ct, Baggins Rd, Gollum Rd, and Strider Ct all in the same neighborhood. > > [Google Maps](https://www.google.com/maps/@39.1433469,-76.7121839,17z) Are the streets such that you can walk to Mordor? ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Knig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@Typo\_Knig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Knig)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2017, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-clever-street-and-subdivision-names/525831/125 "2017-08-13T16:37:15Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Are the streets such that you can walk to Mordor? At least part of the Mordor Drive in Lorton has sidewalks, so yes. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2017, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-clever-street-and-subdivision-names/525831/126 "2017-08-13T17:46:46Z")
> [@Tread](#): > > Hickory > Dickory and > Dock The [Mouse](https://www.google.com/maps/@29.9692871,-90.2047892,3a,37.8y,345.19h,86.54t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sZqgegToS9FLSKvNNwOYvtQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656) ran up the clock. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2017, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-clever-street-and-subdivision-names/525831/127 "2017-08-13T19:47:30Z")
Here in Topeka, Kansas, in the older, central part of town there is a set of streets named for US presidents. It starts with Washington and ends with a street that should have been named for Andrew Johnson. But whoever had charge of the naming called that street Clay instead. And the street that should have been Pierce is Western. The street for John Quincy Adams is simply Quincy, since there couldn’t be two Adams. Further on there is a Roosevelt, for Teddy, but it’s not in the series. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2017, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-clever-street-and-subdivision-names/525831/128 "2017-08-13T21:35:39Z")
The five streets where I live are named after the kids of the original guy that subdivide it, and their last name. ---
**Author:** ![Ignatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3be4f8/32.png) [@Ignatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignatz)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2017, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-clever-street-and-subdivision-names/525831/129 "2017-08-13T23:36:59Z")
In Boston’s Back Bay the n-s grid streets running west from the Boston Public Gardens are alphabetical, thru “H”" ARLINGTON BERKELY CLARENDON DARTMOUTH EXETER FAIRFIELD GLOUCESTER HEREFORD MASSACHUSETTS AVE on the way to Fenway Park ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2017, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-clever-street-and-subdivision-names/525831/130 "2017-08-13T23:39:38Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > **The five streets where I live** are named after the kids of the original guy that subdivide it, and their last name. That must be one _huge_ house. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2017, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-clever-street-and-subdivision-names/525831/131 "2017-08-14T04:16:13Z")
> [@Mtgman](#): > > Somebody is being blasphemous. [Yahweh](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yahweh) is the ancient Hebrew name of God. It’s considered sacred and is never written out fully to keep people from using it in vain. Modesto, Ca., has a Hashem Dr. A residential side-street mostly. > [@dhkendall](#): > > There is an Easy St. here in my city … Likewise in Mountain View, Ca. It’s a small residential side-street. Some years ago, I came across a residential subdivision in the still-being-built stage in Coalinga, Ca., containing one street named Halliburton Av. – I wondered if there was something behind that. More recently, I haven’t been able to find it again. Either the name got changed or I’m mis-remembering which subdivision it’s in. > [@WarmNPrickly](#): > > The most interesting street name I can think of is no doubt unintentional. The street is Flicker. This doesn’t seem particularly interesting, except that in street sign font, if you only get a quick glance the L and the I can combine into one word. It’s just enough to cause a massive doubletake every time I see it. A nearby community to where I live has a whole subdivision full of streets with bird names, this being one of them. Exactly the same remark applies here. > [@salinqmind](#): > > Ironic, since the homes of all the wild critters living there have been bulldozed so these palaces could be erected. That’s utterly typical. Bulldoze an area to develop it, and then name the streets, parks, schools, housing developments, shopping centers, etc., after the things that got bulldozed. Los Osos, Ca. bulldozed a grove of eucalyptus trees, famous for the massive flocks of monarch butterflies that nested there, to build a school. They named it Monarch Grove Elementary School, of course. So that makes it all okay! (Actually, it was just a relatively small portion of a much larger grove that they dozed, so there’s plenty left.) > [@Nava](#): > > > [@Colibri](#): > > > > There’s a street in a rather bad neighborhood here in Panama that is known as “Salsipuedes,” that is, “Get out if you can.” > > There’s another one by the same name in Pamplona; Google turned up others in Oviedo, Córdoba (Spain, not Argentina), Madrid, Buenos Aires… it sure seems like a popular name. Likwise, a thoroughfare in Santa Barbara, Ca. named Salsipuedes St. Story goes, in the early days of Santa Barbara the area tended to get flooded in the winter and the street became impassable. > [@That\_Don\_Guy](#): > > At one time or another, both [streets named Marine World Parkway in Redwood City and Vallejo] were near the locations of amusement parks named Marine World; it was originally near where the Oracle headquarters is now, but when it was expanded to include non-marine life, it was considered too small, so it moved to Vallejo, where, eventually, they added thrill rides, and was eventually bought by Six Flags, which renamed it Six Flags Discovery Kingdom. That’s not actually quite the story. The park had always been named “Marine World / Africa USA”. They always had dolphin and orca shows, sea lions, elephants, tigers, parrots, and such. They raised their tiger to be a big pussycat. Eventually they lost their lease at the Redwood City property and had to move. Apparently the property owner decided that condo developments or industrial campuses or something would make them more money there. (I know all this because I had a bit of an inside track there, back in the day.) ETA: Now, you can’t just jack up all those tanks, plumbing infrastructure, concrete stadiums, etc., and truck them on up to Vallejo. So the park sat there, abandoned, for some years before anything more was done with the property. Meanwhile, the new park was build _ab initio_ in Vallejo. The new-ish Six Flags park with all the wild roller coasters is actually approximately across the street from the Vallejo Marine World site. I don’t really know much about the transfer to Six Flags and the timelines of that – that all came later. ---
**Author:** ![Santos\_L\_Halper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/santos_l_halper/32/1_2.png) [@Santos\_L\_Halper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santos_L_Halper)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2017, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-clever-street-and-subdivision-names/525831/132 "2017-08-14T05:09:41Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Some years ago, I came across a residential subdivision in the still-being-built stage in Coalinga, Ca., containing one street named Halliburton Av. – I wondered if there was something behind that. More recently, I haven’t been able to find it again. Either the name got changed or I’m mis-remembering which subdivision it’s in. It’s [Haliburton Way](https://www.google.com/maps/place/Haliburton+Way,+Coalinga,+CA+93210/@36.1308254,-120.3663588,18z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x8093435d0e8bf531:0xcadb8e845d28ab78!8m2!3d36.1314753!4d-120.3647066). And it’s connected to streets with related names, such as Cheney Lane. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2017, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-clever-street-and-subdivision-names/525831/133 "2017-08-14T12:22:08Z")
> [@Ignatz](#): > > In Boston’s Back Bay the n-s grid streets running west from the Boston Public Gardens are alphabetical, thru “H”" > ARLINGTON > BERKELY > CLARENDON > DARTMOUTH > EXETER > FAIRFIELD > GLOUCESTER > HEREFORD > > MASSACHUSETTS AVE > > on the way to Fenway Park My home town has a section similarly laid out in alphabetical order, although for some reason they don’t have an “f” – they have two "g"s in a row. And I live near Boston, so the Back Bay alphabetical thing is useful in figuring out how far down a street is from the common (A better landmark than Fenway Park – Arlington is right against the Public Garden). It’s notable that these streets were laid out in the newly-filled-in Back Bay, so , unlike earlier streets (especially those in the old North End) they could be straight, wide, and meet at right angles. With a blank slate like that to start with, it’s not surprising that they made the names fit an order as well. ---
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2017, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-clever-street-and-subdivision-names/525831/134 "2017-08-14T13:30:53Z")
In Cambridge, MA, USA, there is a crescent-shaped street called Bow Street. Crossing it is a short, straight street called Arrow Street. The names aren’t unusual by themselves, but it’s always tickled me a bit to see them on a map. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2017, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-clever-street-and-subdivision-names/525831/135 "2017-08-14T14:49:12Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > My home town has a section similarly laid out in alphabetical order, although for some reason they don’t have an “f” – they have two "g"s in a row. Having an alphabet series of streets is actually quite common. Portland OR has one[sup]1[/sup], for example. My understanding is that they usually started out being named with single letters ( A Street, B Street, etc.) and then later were assigned longer names. [sup]1[/sup] Flanders, Kearney, Lovejoy, and Quimby Streets, the origin of character names on the Simpsons, are part of this sequence. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2017, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-clever-street-and-subdivision-names/525831/136 "2017-08-14T15:16:38Z")
Arlington County in Virginia started out as a bunch of isolated neighborhoods with their own street names, which became quite confusing when these neighborhoods started growing together. Having streets with the same name in different parts of the county or intersect each other got so bad that (AFAIK) the postal service stepped in and helped establish a standard naming system. Alphabetic, starting with single syllables at the river going out to four syllables at the county line. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2017, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-clever-street-and-subdivision-names/525831/137 "2017-08-14T15:25:43Z")
Edit window timed out. There’s only one four syllable name (Arizona) and it’s not quite connected to any other street in the county. [One needs to go a few hundred feet into Falls Church to get to it.](https://www.google.com/maps/@38.8938137,-77.1719123,62m/data=!3m1!1e3) ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2017, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-clever-street-and-subdivision-names/525831/138 "2017-08-15T18:45:26Z")
You may not be able to walk to Mordor but you _can_ [drive there](https://www.google.com/maps/place/Mordor+Dr,+Lorton,+VA+22079/@38.6907526,-77.2384512,16.16z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x89b6548a98d6d16b:0x9067eaf237341e8!8m2!3d38.6827467!4d-77.2405478). It was, in fact, named because of its intersection with Furnace Road :D. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Knig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@Typo\_Knig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Knig)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2017, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-clever-street-and-subdivision-names/525831/139 "2017-08-17T01:23:52Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > You may not be able to walk to Mordor but you _can_ [drive there](https://www.google.com/maps/place/Mordor+Dr,+Lorton,+VA+22079/@38.6907526,-77.2384512,16.16z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x89b6548a98d6d16b:0x9067eaf237341e8!8m2!3d38.6827467!4d-77.2405478). It was, in fact, named because of its intersection with Furnace Road :D. We are sympatico! See posts 111 & 125, my dear. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2017, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-clever-street-and-subdivision-names/525831/140 "2017-08-17T11:54:05Z")
Bow street intersects Arrow street in Cambridge, MA, not far from Harvard. [https://www.google.com/maps/place/Bow+St+%26+Arrow+St,+Cambridge,+MA+02138/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x89e3775cacd925fb:0x9a1a7a2a76dcd802?sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj7xYvjmt7VAhXG4SYKHetVCDkQ8gEIJTAA](https://www.google.com/maps/place/Bow+St+%26+Arrow+St,+Cambridge,+MA+02138/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x89e3775cacd925fb:0x9a1a7a2a76dcd802?sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj7xYvjmt7VAhXG4SYKHetVCDkQ8gEIJTAA) At the intersection is the Bow and Arrow Pub: [http://www.clubplanet.com/Venues/77270/Cambridge/Bow-and-Arrow-Pub](http://www.clubplanet.com/Venues/77270/Cambridge/Bow-and-Arrow-Pub) [![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/44/181135899_f3530acc36_z.jpg "Bow and Arrow Pub by Harvard") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/cinciw2/181135899) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-clever-street-and-subdivision-names/525831.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-clever-street-and-subdivision-names/525831.md?page=8)