Street Names

[Weird Harold]

While out paying bills today, I noticed the name of the street that feeds into the parking lot of one of our new high schools. It seems a singularly inappropriate name for a street that goes nowhere except the high school parking lot -- Pink Rose Ln.

What odd and/or inappropriate street names are in your area?

 

[gauchecritic]

Maybe not inappropriate but where I live, all the roads have reference to an orchard (cherry), which they chopped down to build the houses.

New Hall Road is named for a 16th century house called "New Hall" which was finally demolished in the 1960's.

There are lots of modern 'Lanes' and 'Avenues' which have no trees in sight.

Gauche

 

[cantdog]

Two Grumpy Old Men Lane

and

Lane Street

and

Llama-Ostrich Road

 

[Guest]

Gosh, I thought I'd have nothing to say here but I've just recalled that I lived on Rabbit Trail in Coventry, CT for a few weeks.

Rabbit on the mind, Perdita

 

[Virtual_Burlesque]

...reference to an orchard (cherry), which they chopped down to build the houses...

Did young George Washington fess up and admit to cutting those down, as well?

 

[oggbashan]

The City of London has only renamed one street. Most have the names they had hundreds if not a thousand years ago.

The exception? Grope Cunt Lane.

Og

PS. There are no 'Roads' in the City of London. No thoroughfare is called 'something' road. There are streets, lanes etc.

 

[Guest]

P... you lived in coventry.. thats less than an hour from here.

most the names of the roads here are native american names..
pequotsepos
pequonic
osomagatchie..
its hard to pronounce them.. but they sound pretty.

 

[Wicked-N-Erotic]

We have a road called Buzzards Glory Road and another called Possums Hallow



Wicked

 

[Guest]

I looked up SF streets to see if there were any odd names and came across some interesting history. These are my faves. FYI, all the streets seem to be named for military, political or industry/mercantile type men (including the Spanish names). The only other woman’s name (Octavia St.) was used cos her brother was in charge of the mapping at the time. – Perdita (not a good street name)

Arguello Street is named for Don Luis Antonio Arguello who was the second governor of California under Mexican rule in 1825, later governor of California. He was the father of Concepción Argüello, the heroine of the episode involving Rezánov, the Russian who came into San Francisco Bay in search of supplies for the Russian settlements and fell in love with her. (Bret Harte's poem, Concepcion, was written about Arguello’s daughter.)

Bret Harte Terrace is named for the American poet, who was also the Secretary of the US Mint in San Francisco in 1865.

Cameron Way is named for Miss Donaldina Cameron, who was called "The Angel of Chinatown". She ran the Chinese Presbyterian Mission and rescued several thousand Chinese girls from the brothels of San Francisco.

Laguna Street was named for Washerwoman's Lagoon, a pond.

 

[Colleen Thomas]

Pfioridy Lane.

You won't find it on any map. Well, not unless you have maps from the late 1800's. How do I know of this strange road? Which now consists of about 21 feet of us 9w? When the phone company first put poles in up here, one of them hit on Pfioridy Ln. At LDMC, that's line maintenace records, that pole is still listed on Pfioridy Ln, even though the lane is long gone. About once or twice a year their will be a trouble or an install from that pole and some poor unsuspecting linesman will get it.

How do I know about this? My first day working alone I got a trouble on that pole.

-Colly

 

[Guest]

Pfioridy Lane

Colly, you must use this as a character's name, a brother keeper? At least use Pfioridy.

P.

 

[gauchecritic]

Did young George Washington fess up and admit to cutting those down, as well?

NO, no he didn't, but Mr Chekhov down the road wrote a play about them.

Gauche

 

[Guest]

... Mr Chekhov down the road wrote a play about them.

Ah ha ha, Gauche. That was too easy. P.

 

[Liar]

The City of London has only renamed one street. Most have the names they had hundreds if not a thousand years ago.

The exception? Grope Cunt Lane.

Og

Do you know which one that is today? Gotta go pay my respect someday.

Anyway, this is translated from Swedish, but it sounds just as dumb, considering it is one of the longer streets in the town. A friand of mine once lived on Midget Road.

 

[cloudy]

I live on Big Spring Brow Road, which turns into (about 1/2 mile down) Horton Nixon Chapel Road.

What the hell is a "big spring brow"?

 

[Guest]

A brow is a) the summit of a hill or pass; b) the edge of a cliff.

Oxford Dict./Thesarurus, Amer. Ed.

Perdita

 

[cloudy]

A brow is a) the summit of a hill or pass; b) the edge of a cliff.

Oxford Dict./Thesarurus, Amer. Ed.

Perdita

Thank you, Perdita!!!

Now I have to wonder what they were on when they named the road.

 

[Alex De Kok]

I offer you Glasshouse Street, Bottlehouse Street, Amen Corner (near the Cathedral, natch), Breakneck Stairs, Dog Leap Stairs, Side, Dog Bank, Pudding Chare and The Ropery. All near the river (Tyne, that is).

Alex

 

[Boota]

I used to date a girl who lived on Gay Drive, but after a few too many jokes about living on "Fag Street" the residents had it changed.

We have a housing addition here where all the streets are named after cars. Pontiac, Cadillac, Buick, etc. Another housing addition has Candy, Sugar, and Honey Lanes.

I use street names for character names all the time. I named some of the bad guys in my book after intersections around my neighborhood.

 

[gauchecritic]

Amen Corner (near the Cathedral, natch)
Alex

Which brings us to an interesting adjunct. At the risk of slightly derailing the thread, anyone live on or near a street made famous in the music industry? Blackberry Way? Strawberry Fields? Route 66? Salisbury Hill? A long and winding road?

Gauche

 

[Guest]

Music related streets? There's always 42nd St. in NYC.

P.

 

[Guest]

New recollection. For many years I lived off Joy Road in Detroit. There was a Clitz street, named after a general's sister, but it was later changed to Hancock Ave.

Perdita

 

[Boxlicker101]

I looked up SF streets to see if there were any odd names and came across some interesting history. These are my faves. FYI, all the streets seem to be named for military, political or industry/mercantile type men (including the Spanish names). The only other woman’s name (Octavia St.) was used cos her brother was in charge of the mapping at the time. – Perdita (not a good street name)

Dita, are you kidding? There are dozens of streets in SF that have womens' names. Most of them are short streets, alleys almost, but Dolores is a major thoroughfare. From what I have read, the small streets were named after mistresses of prominent men, but that might not be true.

Edited to add: My Zip code directory includes these names: Ada Ct., Adele Ct., Alberta St., Alice B. Toklas Pl., Alma St., Amber Dr., Annie St., Annie Larsen Ln., Augusta St. Some of those may not have been named for women, at least not directly, such Alberta and Augusta but the others were.

 

[Guest]

Box, I should have mentioned I meant 'major' streets, there are plenty of small streets and alleys I don't know. I didn't include Dolores as it comes from Mission Dolores with the Spanish meaning of 'sorrows' vs. a female name. P.

 

[Xelebes]

Can't think of any interesting names. Edmonton has a grid system and so 99.5% of all roads are numbered. I used to live on Jungo Drive - which to me is completely meaningless as to what it could subtly mean. Whyte Avenue? Jasper Avenue? Saskatchewan Drive? Wayne Gretzky Drive? I can't think of any in Edmonton that have any inappropriate names at all in Edmonton or any other towns that I lived in during my life.