# Which major American city has the best street names? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 5, 2012, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-major-american-city-has-the-best-street-names/639902 "2012-11-05T00:20:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-major-american-city-has-the-best-street-names/639902/61 "2012-11-13T14:10:15Z")
[Fort Wayne, Indiana](http://maps.google.com/?ll=41.11166,-85.121888&spn=0.004939,0.007703&t=m&z=17). ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-major-american-city-has-the-best-street-names/639902/62 "2012-11-13T14:21:08Z")
While it isn’t exactly a major city, Fredricksberg in Texas deserves a mention. Coming into town, the streets are named Adams, Llano, Lincoln, Washington, Elk, Lee, Columbus, Olive, Mesquite, Eagle while on the way back to Austin, it’s Crockett, Orange, Milam, Edison, Bowie, Acorn, Cherry, Kay ---
**Author:** ![wevets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9a140/32.png) [@wevets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wevets)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-major-american-city-has-the-best-street-names/639902/63 "2012-11-13T14:52:54Z")
> [@hrhomer](#): > > You can’t beat San Francisco’s Latin American Dictators of Castro and Noriega… I know you were joking, but just in case anyone was curious, San Francisco’s Castro Street is named after [Jose Castro](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Castro), who was a local leader in the 1830s and 1840s. > [@http://www.sfgenealogy.com/sf/history/hgstr.htm](#): > > In 1839, Governor Alvarado directed a survey to be made of the place, and Jose Castro, the prefect of the district, employed for that purpose Jean J. Vioget, who in November of that year surveyed and platted out the village of Yerba Buena, included between the present Broadway, Montgomery, Powell and California streets. And Noriega Street was named after [Jose de la Guerra y Noriega](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_de_la_Guerra_y_Noriega), an early settler of California and Spanish soldier of the early 1800s. ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-major-american-city-has-the-best-street-names/639902/64 "2012-11-13T15:29:46Z")
Mr Downtown already touched on it, but I’ll throw another nod to Tulsa. The streets are in Alphabetical order starting from down town; [but that’s not all](http://www.tulsapreservationcommission.org/history/urban/)! Main Street became the east/west dividing line. Streets west of Main Street were named for western cities and streets east of Main Street were named for cities east of the Mississippi River. The perpendicular numbered streets are a mile apart and end in 1; i.e. 21st, 31st, etc. It’s extremely easy to mentally figure out how far you are from just about anywhere. ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-major-american-city-has-the-best-street-names/639902/65 "2012-11-13T15:33:42Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > I drove around Honolulu a few months ago. The street names sounded exotic but boy, talk about vowel overload. I stopped looking at street names after a while because they all blurred together. One street had something like a 12 letter name and 10 of them were vowels (I don’t know the exact number but it was impressively unpronounceable). That reminds me of the comedian who said that one thing he hated about being in Hawaii, is that you start to pronounce everything like its a Hawaiian word. [guy on phone] “I’m standing across the street from the oooHaoool building” [guy on other end of call] “Do you mean the U-Haul building?” ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-major-american-city-has-the-best-street-names/639902/66 "2012-11-13T18:04:39Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Well, outside of Vegas, there’s a street named **Spindrift Foam** Avenue. We rented a house there for a week once. > > That name stuck in my mind. That’s not even close to the weirdest in that area. I just looked at [Google Maps](https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=Spindrift+Foam+Avenue,+Las+Vegas,+NV,+United+States&hl=en&ll=36.04706,-115.229598&spn=0.005127,0.009066&sll=39.994461,-83.165511&sspn=0.004858,0.009066&oq=spindrift+foa&t=h&hnear=Spindrift+Foam+Ave,+Las+Vegas,+Clark,+Nevada+89139,+United+States&z=17), and in just a few blocks there’s Narrow Isthmus Avenue, Quiet Glow Avenue, Mighty Flotilla Avenue, Rustic Galleon Street, and a whole neighbourhood that’s gone all geological: [Anticline](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anticline) Avenue, Humus Avenue, [Peneplain](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peneplain) Avenue and Pangea Avenue. As an aside, that neighbourhood has to have the biggest house size to lot size ratio I’ve ever seen in my life! ---
**Author:** ![lost4life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@lost4life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lost4life)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-major-american-city-has-the-best-street-names/639902/67 "2012-11-13T18:29:36Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Post 27… Near the corner of Whoosh St? ---
**Author:** ![Twoflower](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/twoflower/32/22_2.png) [@Twoflower](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Twoflower)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-major-american-city-has-the-best-street-names/639902/68 "2012-11-13T20:40:16Z")
I like the fact that Century Blvd in Los Angeles is the street that lies between 99th and 101st Streets. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-major-american-city-has-the-best-street-names/639902/69 "2012-11-13T21:03:19Z")
San Juan, PR Calle Norzagaray Calle Fortaleza (Fortress Street, yes there’s an actual fortress) Calle Beneficencia (Charity Street) Calle Sol (Sun Street) Calle Luna (Moon Street) Calle Bajada Matadero (Lowered Slaughterhouse Street) Paseo de la Princesa (Princess Avenue) Cataño, PR (across the bay) has Calle Sendero (Path Street) Calle Destino (Destination Street) Calle Prolongacion Tren (Train Extension Street) ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-major-american-city-has-the-best-street-names/639902/70 "2012-11-13T21:22:07Z")
Too many places have the non-creative streets named for dead presidents. An untold number of subdivisions named their streets for trees or flowers. Blahhhhhh… Riverside, California, has its major streets named after dead presidents. My son and his wife recently bought a house there, and you notice the minor residential streets all have women’s names. My daughter-in-law said, “Those were the Presidents’ girlfriends’ names.” Have I mentioned I really love my daughter-in-law? With that sense of humor, she’ll go FAR in this family! ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![listedmia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e0b2c6/32.png) [@listedmia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/listedmia)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2012, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-major-american-city-has-the-best-street-names/639902/71 "2012-11-14T00:32:35Z")
In New Orleans, even the non-flowery names are kinda cool… Agriculture St, Industry St, Duels St, Hope St, Law St, Music St, Arts St, Pleasure St, Desire St… ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2012, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-major-american-city-has-the-best-street-names/639902/72 "2012-11-14T00:56:39Z")
Well, Topeka, Kansas may not be a major city, although it is our state capital. We have a series of streets named for US presidents. The names were decided on back in the late 1800’s, and ended with Lincoln. Of course, there were two Adams presidents, so the one street is named Quincy. The street that should have been named Piece is called Western, because TPTB around here didn’t like Pierce. But there is a Clay, between Buchanan and Western. I suppose if they started it now that the second Johnson street would be called something like Baines. And a street for FDR could be Delano. But damn, this state is so Republican I can’t imagine how they would handle an Obama street. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2012, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-major-american-city-has-the-best-street-names/639902/73 "2012-11-14T03:36:11Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > But damn, this state is so Republican I can’t imagine how they would handle an Obama street. Hussein Blvd. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2012, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-major-american-city-has-the-best-street-names/639902/74 "2012-11-14T06:08:11Z")
> [@Iggy](#): > > Madison, Wi has downtown streets named for early American historical figures. Names such as Washington are too ordinary and don’t give away the scheme. It’s the other historic figures whose names are largely overlooked such as Pinckney, Baldwin, Doty, or Bassett that fill out the street grid. Many were delegates to the Constitutional Convention and/or signed the Declaration of Independence. Madison also named a street after inventor Nikola Tesla, but, for many years, it was misspelled as Telsa Terrace. When I was in school in Madison in the late '80s, there was a move to fix the spelling, though residents on the street were complaining about the inconvenience of having their street’s name changed (during my last year of grad school, I lived a couple of blocks away from it). Despite that, it looks like it was fixed at some point after I left Madison in '89, as Google Maps now shows it as Tesla Terrace. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-major-american-city-has-the-best-street-names/639902.md?page=3)