# What's the largest US city without an MLK street? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 5, 2003, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-us-city-without-an-mlk-street/217230 "2003-12-05T20:29:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Emilio\_Lizardo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Emilio\_Lizardo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emilio_Lizardo)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2003, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-us-city-without-an-mlk-street/217230/1 "2003-12-05T20:29:41Z")
It occurred to me the other day that every major US city that I have lived in has a street named in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King. Does anyone know of a fair-sized city that does NOT have one? And how big is the city? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2003, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-us-city-without-an-mlk-street/217230/2 "2003-12-05T23:17:32Z")
I submit Orlando, Florida- metropolitan population a little over 1.5 million, and no MLK street. A better question- why is MLK where the crack dealers are in every town that has one? ---
**Author:** ![deadeyesdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dec6dc/32.png) [@deadeyesdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deadeyesdad)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2003, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-us-city-without-an-mlk-street/217230/4 "2003-12-06T00:51:41Z")
Here in Bakersfield CA MLK was Cottonwood but they only remaned half of it MLK. Cesar Chavez is not a street here yet. There is an elementary school in the NE part of town with the name CC and a HS in Delano(20 mi or so north of BFL) which paid the farmer that they bought the land from $100,000 b/c naming the school on his land CC caused his family mental anguish. Old wounds heal slowly. The biggest fight we had about street names here was when they renamed Pierce Ave., Buck Owens Blvd. The Pierce family thew a fit. The Pierce family?? ---
**Author:** ![quinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@quinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quinn)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2003, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-us-city-without-an-mlk-street/217230/5 "2003-12-06T01:51:50Z")
I thought there was not one in LA, but I mapquested it and behold, Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. ---
**Author:** ![TeaElle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8491ac/32.png) [@TeaElle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TeaElle)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2003, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-us-city-without-an-mlk-street/217230/6 "2003-12-06T02:03:38Z")
No MLK Avenue or Blvd. that I know of in Pittsburgh. Someone please flog me with a wet noodle if I’m wrong on that. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2003, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-us-city-without-an-mlk-street/217230/7 "2003-12-06T02:39:29Z")
Phila, PA. Fifth largest city = No MLK bv. (Philly might be numero 6 now or be on a pace to fall behind Phoenix soon) ---
**Author:** ![DreadCthulhu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/db5fbb/32.png) [@DreadCthulhu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DreadCthulhu)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2003, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-us-city-without-an-mlk-street/217230/8 "2003-12-06T03:09:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by dutchboy208 \* > \*\*A better question- why is MLK where the crack dealers are in every town that has one? \*\* That’s easy to answer - most of the time the MLK Street runs though black neighborhoods. 😉 Ducks&Runs … ---
**Author:** ![UncleBill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/d26b3c/32.png) [@UncleBill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBill)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2003, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-us-city-without-an-mlk-street/217230/9 "2003-12-06T03:31:02Z")
In Savannah, GA there was a street called West Broad Street, that had a well established identity as a Civil Rights and Black Progress street, and locally was synomymous with Equal Opportunity for blacks. There was much resistance from the black community when it was proposed for the “mandatory” MLK name. Sadly, it is now MLK and no longer West Broad. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2003, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-us-city-without-an-mlk-street/217230/10 "2003-12-06T03:41:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by quinn \* > \*\*I thought there was not one in LA, but I mapquested it and behold, Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. \*\* L.A. was one of the first cities to have an MLK Blvd. I think it was changed in 1981 or so. It used to be Santa Barbara Ave. ---
**Author:** ![missbunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/76d3ee/32.png) [@missbunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missbunny)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2003, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-us-city-without-an-mlk-street/217230/11 "2003-12-06T20:56:38Z")
I can’t think of an MLK Street in Boston but maybe there is one. ---
**Author:** ![manhattan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manhattan/32/7_2.png) [@manhattan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manhattan)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2003, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-us-city-without-an-mlk-street/217230/12 "2003-12-06T21:08:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by dutchboy208 \* > \*\*I submit Orlando, Florida- metropolitan population a little over 1.5 million, and no MLK street. > > A better question- why is MLK where the crack dealers are in every town that has one? \*\* Racist joke answers aside, I don’t think you’ve established that this is true. ---
**Author:** ![Agape](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@Agape](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agape)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2003, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-us-city-without-an-mlk-street/217230/13 "2003-12-06T21:17:53Z")
MLK Drive in San Francisco is located entirely within a park. So no crack dealers there. ---
**Author:** ![edwino](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@edwino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwino)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2003, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-us-city-without-an-mlk-street/217230/14 "2003-12-06T21:28:49Z")
MLK in Austin is also 20th street in Austin and forms the southern boundary of the University of Texas, which is in a quite nice neighborhood downtown. Cesar Chavez St is 1st Street, and runs in the middle of downtown. MLK in Houston runs through the middle of the Third Ward, which is one of the rougher neighborhoods. This neighborhood actually has gotten significantly better in recent years – it has close proximity to Downtown, U of Houston, and the Medical Center, and there are some nice apartment complexes and refurbished houses cropping up there. If I were to place bets, it would be high on my list for regentrification. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2003, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-us-city-without-an-mlk-street/217230/15 "2003-12-06T21:59:08Z")
None in Boston. Albuquerque has an MLK Blvd and an Avenida Cesar Chavez a block apart. In _The Autobiography of Malcolm X_, X mentioned that he always knew where to find the black neighborhood in a city new to him. Just look for the Lincoln School or the Roosevelt School. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2003, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-us-city-without-an-mlk-street/217230/16 "2003-12-06T22:54:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by manhattan \* > \*\*Racist joke answers aside, I don’t think you’ve established that this is true. \*\* It wasn’t meant to be a racist comment, merely an observation. If you ask a cab driver in a strange city where the rocks are, he’ll invariably say MLK. Don’t ask how I know. ---
**Author:** ![ScoobyTX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@ScoobyTX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ScoobyTX)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2003, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-us-city-without-an-mlk-street/217230/17 "2003-12-06T23:12:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by edwino \* > \*\*MLK in Austin is also 20th street in Austin and forms the southern boundary of the University of Texas. \*\* MLK is actually 19th Street, and forms part of the Southern boundary of the campus, between Red River and Wichita. The rest of the Southern boundary is 21st Street (on the West side) and 15th Street (on the East side, south of the Erwin Center). ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2003, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-us-city-without-an-mlk-street/217230/18 "2003-12-07T04:12:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by dutchboy208 \* > \*\* > A better question- why is MLK where the crack dealers are in every town that has one? \*\* MLK in Berkeley, California is a main street that runs through good neighborhoods. If there are any crack dealers in Berkeley, they’d be on Sacramento Street. ---
**Author:** ![xash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c6cbf5/32.png) [@xash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xash)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2003, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-us-city-without-an-mlk-street/217230/19 "2003-12-07T10:43:40Z")
**dutchboy208** , your observation is unwarranted in this thread. **DreadCthulhu** , your post is inappropriate for GQ. Stick to the OP. - **xash** General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![zuma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9c0ed/32.png) [@zuma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zuma)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2003, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-us-city-without-an-mlk-street/217230/20 "2003-12-07T12:17:37Z")
I’m pretty sure there is no MLK in San Jose, CA. In fact, there is a street running through a primarily hispanic neighborhood which is named King street, named after another King. I remember fairly recently hearing a story about a move afoot to rename it MLK, but the hispanic groups are dead-set against that. ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2003, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-us-city-without-an-mlk-street/217230/21 "2003-12-07T13:55:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by dutchboy208 \* > \*\*A better question- why is MLK where the crack dealers are in every town that has one? \*\* It probably is a racist question but let me attempt to answer it. When streets are renamed, no matter what they were named before, there is always resistence and foot dragging involved by those on that street. When politicos rename a street they look for streets that there is little, if any, pride involved with the street name. Remember, people who are upset about a street name change may not vote for you next election. Thus you have streets with crack dealers and the like getting the new names. In addition, when the names like Martin Luther King and Cesar Chavez are the names involved, politicians have the extra out of claiming that these honored men were advocates of the downtrodden and would appreciate the locale. Strange, one does not see many Ronald Reagan Ave. in the tougher neighborhoods. TV [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-us-city-without-an-mlk-street/217230.md?page=2)