# 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:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2003, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-us-city-without-an-mlk-street/217230/22 "2003-12-07T15:55:12Z")
To add a little to **TV Time** ’s remarks, there is a good reason that businesses are opposed having their street renamed. When it happens they have to pay a fair amount of money to get new business cards, stationary, etc. It’s a major pain in the ass, especially for a small business like you would be likely to see in a downtown area. Here in Santa Barbara, we don’t have an MLK street possibly because the Black community is relatively small here. We do have a CC street. Half of a downtown street was renamed. It’s in one of the crappiest parts of town. Haj ---
**Author:** ![the\_O-man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9f8e36/32.png) [@the\_O-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_O-man)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2003, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-us-city-without-an-mlk-street/217230/23 "2003-12-07T19:58:11Z")
Call me crazy, but I can’t find any street named for Martin Luther King, Jr. in New York City. If that’s correct, then I think you have your winner. ---
**Author:** ![SirRay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@SirRay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SirRay)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2003, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-us-city-without-an-mlk-street/217230/24 "2003-12-07T20:19:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by the O-man \* > \*\*Call me crazy, but I can’t find any street named for Martin Luther King, Jr. in New York City. If that’s correct, then I think you have your winner. \*\* Every Boro of NYC has a MLK street - Manhattan’s is 125th St. ---
**Author:** ![SirRay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@SirRay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SirRay)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2003, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-us-city-without-an-mlk-street/217230/25 "2003-12-07T20:23:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SirRay \* > \*\*Every Boro of NYC has a MLK street - Manhattan’s is 125th St. \*\* OK, I was a little overzealous So far I can only find Manhattan and Brooklyn with MLK streets (or places). I thought there was definitely one in the Bronx and Staten Island, although these might only be triangles (a favoured thing among NY politicians is to name street corners after someone) ---
**Author:** ![occ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8c91f0/32.png) [@occ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/occ)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2003, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-us-city-without-an-mlk-street/217230/26 "2003-12-07T20:26:31Z")
NYC’s streets often have “honorary names” along with their official names (which are typically numbers). On many of the large, neighborhood-defining streets, different sections of the street may be dedicated to different people. Most people in NYC, though, wouldn’t refer to 125th as “Martin Luther King street” – they’d just say 125th. ---
**Author:** ![occ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8c91f0/32.png) [@occ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/occ)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2003, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-us-city-without-an-mlk-street/217230/27 "2003-12-07T20:27:35Z")
(To clarify, I don’t know if the above-mentioned cities have MLK streets which still retain the original names, but I gathered that due to the fights about renaming, it was generally a more complete replacement than simply adding on an honorary name.) ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Slant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c57346/32.png) [@Mr.Slant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Slant)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2003, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-us-city-without-an-mlk-street/217230/28 "2003-12-07T20:38:51Z")
According to MS Expedia Streets & Trips 2000: 1. Los Angeles has an MLK Blvd about 4 blocks SW of the intersection of I-10 and I-110. Either the main campus or a branch campus of U SoCal is located nearby. 2. NYC has at least one MLK, located in the SE corner of the I-95 and I-87 intersection in the Bronx. ---
**Author:** ![lel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8797f3/32.png) [@lel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lel)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2003, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-us-city-without-an-mlk-street/217230/29 "2003-12-07T20:43:18Z")
Here’s the [10 largest US cities by 2002 population estimates](http://eire.census.gov/popest/data/cities/tables/SUB-EST2002-01.php): 1. NYC 2. LA 3. Chicago 4. Houston 5. Philadelphia 6. Phoenix 7. San Diego 8. Dallas 9. San Antonio 10. Detroit Inputting “Martin Luther King” as a street address in each of the above cities in [Switchboard Maps](http://mapsonus.switchboard.com) and [Rand McNally maps](http://www.randmcnally.com), here are my results, anyway (some of these links probably don’t work, given mapping programs – just enter “martin luther king” as the street and the city & state of the city): 1. [NYC](http://mapsonus.switchboard.com/bin/maps-maponly/usr=~3fd38ab7.ea0ae.4707.9/c=5/isredir=1/) 2. [LA](http://www.randmcnally.com/rmc/directions/dirGetMap.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@0948082753.1070829202@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccceadckdjmkjljcgencfhjdfiidfjh.0&cmty=0) 3. Not found 4. [Houston](http://mapsonus.switchboard.com/bin/maps-maponly/usr=~3fd38ab7.ea0ae.4707.9/c=24/isredir=1/) 5. Not found 6. [Phoenix](http://mapsonus.switchboard.com/bin/maps-maponly/usr=~3fd38ab7.ea0ae.4707.9/c=13/isredir=1/) 7. Not found 8. [Dallas](http://www.randmcnally.com/rmc/directions/dirGetMap.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@0948082753.1070829202@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccceadckdjmkjljcgencfhjdfiidfjh.0&cmty=0) 9. [San Antonio](http://mapsonus.switchboard.com/bin/maps-maponly/usr=~3fd38ab7.ea0ae.4707.9/c=18/isredir=1/) 10. [Detroit](http://www.randmcnally.com/rmc/directions/dirGetMap.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@0948082753.1070829202@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccceadckdjmkjljcgencfhjdfiidfjh.0&cmty=0) Anyone know of an MLK street in Chicago, Philadelphia, or San Diego? ---
**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 7, 2003, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-us-city-without-an-mlk-street/217230/30 "2003-12-07T20:53:02Z")
You’ve got NYC and Houston conflated there. But good show. The MLK Blvd. in Manhattan is also called 125th St. – it’s common practice here for “renamed” streets also to carry their former designations if that designation is one of the numbered streets or avenues. Thus, “Joey Ramone Place” is still 2nd and the Bowery, or wherever they put it. There’s also an MLK Place in Brooklyn. ---
**Author:** ![Mike\_H](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@Mike\_H](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mike_H)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2003, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-us-city-without-an-mlk-street/217230/31 "2003-12-07T22:25:39Z")
Chicago most defintely has a MLK Drive (It’s called Dr Martin Luther King Jr Dr) . It’s a major thoroughfare on the S Side of Chicago that runs parallel with the Dan Ryan Expressway. Don’t know why either of those map sites you linked to don’t seem to be able to find it. ---
**Author:** ![Rhum\_Runner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rhum\_Runner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhum_Runner)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2003, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-us-city-without-an-mlk-street/217230/32 "2003-12-08T02:24:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by hajario \* > \*\*To add a little to **TV Time** ’s remarks, there is a good reason that businesses are opposed having their street renamed. When it happens they have to pay a fair amount of money to get new business cards, stationary, etc. It’s a major pain in the ass, especially for a small business like you would be likely to see in a downtown area. > \*\* Just to back that up, my mother owns a small business and they get their bags printed in China (with the addres son them) in order to get the good deal you have to buy thousands of bags at a time, so that she only orders bags every two or three years…if the street were renamed she would be out several grand in packing materials alone if the new name came at a bad time. ---
**Author:** ![ctr22](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7bcc69/32.png) [@ctr22](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ctr22)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2003, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-us-city-without-an-mlk-street/217230/33 "2003-12-08T02:44:45Z")
This may not count, but San Diego has a Martin Luther King Jr. Freeway: State Route 94 [http://www.pacificnet.net/~faigin/CA-HWYS/089-096.html#094](http://www.pacificnet.net/~faigin/CA-HWYS/089-096.html#094) ---
**Author:** ![lel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8797f3/32.png) [@lel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lel)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2003, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-us-city-without-an-mlk-street/217230/34 "2003-12-08T05:21:30Z")
That Houston map has been giving me fits, let’s try this again: [http://mapsonus.switchboard.com/bin/maps-maponly/usr=~3fd38ab7.ea0ae.4707.9/c=48/isredir=1/](http://mapsonus.switchboard.com/bin/maps-maponly/usr=~3fd38ab7.ea0ae.4707.9/c=48/isredir=1/) So we have evidence for streets named after MLK Jr in [Chicago](http://www.ci.chi.il.us/PlanAndDevelop/Programs/RetailChicago/33.html) and San Diego – is there one in Philadelphia? ---
**Author:** ![SirRay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@SirRay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SirRay)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2003, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-us-city-without-an-mlk-street/217230/35 "2003-12-08T19:01:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by manhattan \* > \*\*it’s common practice here for “renamed” streets also to carry their former designations if that designation is one of the numbered streets or avenues. Thus, “Joey Ramone Place” is still 2nd and the Bowery, or wherever they put it… \*\* True, and that’s why I hate when newspapers say “Renamed” instead of “Named”. In fact, almost all street namings nowadays in NYC are honorary, so you still live on say (say) Winsome Terrace instead of Joesph Edward Mataratz Place. NYC engineers don’t even have to change the offical street map to reflect this, and nobody has to change their mail address (this apparently doesn’t apply to parkways, which NYC went through a rather irritating bout of renaming in the late 90s - witness Joe Dimaggio Highway (really West Side Highway), Jackie Robinson Parkway (The good ol’ Interboro), and Korean War Veterns Parkway (Richmond Parkway). Speaking of Staten Island, Martin Luther King gets a rather important Expressway named after him there, which runs South from the Bayonne Bridge to south of the Staten Island Expressway. With the Bronx entry, that gives us 4 boros with MLK - we need the Queens entry now… ---
**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 10, 2003, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-us-city-without-an-mlk-street/217230/36 "2003-12-10T00:56:50Z")
Geez, I think we’ll need a Queens resident for that – every little former Long Island hamlet in that borough has its own Zip designation, making it a bear to look up on Mapquest. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-largest-us-city-without-an-mlk-street/217230.md?page=1)