Wherever you travel, the names of the local streets can help you find your way, confuse you, demonstrate a remarkable lack of imagination, or very often tell you a bit about the unique history of the community. The names may relate easily to the history in an obvious way, or they may require some sleuthing to uncover the meaning behind them.
Having a logical local policy on street naming (or renaming) can prevent mix-ups and provide some insight for future generations in your community so that the original meaning isn’t lost, especially if the name was intended as a tribute to someone from the community’s past.
The following are a few examples from my experiences as city administrator that show what happens when the historical and geographical converge with public policy.
Cole Street – The main business street in the city I worked for at one time was Cole Street. As far back as anyone could remember (or cared), that was it. The local merchant’s group was known as the “Cole Street Gang.” However, in researching the title on a potential property acquisition, our engineering staff discovered that it was originally platted as Coal Street. They did a little digging (no pun intended) and discovered that some time in the early 20th century the local business community wanted to create a cleaner image for the downtown, and having a name associated with ashes and soot just wouldn’t do it. So, “Coal” became “Cole.” Not earth shattering but interesting. Maybe it was one of the first achievements of the “Cole Street Gang.”
An interesting side note – there was a tiny section of Cole Street, with perhaps two or three houses on it, that had been cut off many years earlier by a state highway project through town. It was accessible only in a roundabout way from another street. People were often lost and confused trying to find this little section of the street, and the Fire Department requested that the name be changed to match the street it was now connected to. It seemed like a logical thing to do in the interest of public safety and convenience. “No, no, no!” the residents complained. “We don’t want that other street name. The houses on that street were cheaply built for workers on the nearby flood control dam.” That had been nearly 50 years before! (A year or two later the city changed it with no further discussion.)
Adams – Like many communities, the early settlers laid out the street grid and chose to honor national historical figures (or trees). My city was no exception. We had Jefferson, Washington, Adams, Garfield, Harding, Monroe, etc. Street. After World War Two, the community built a hospital on a block bounded on the south side by Adams Street. One of the physicians, who had served the community for many years, was Dr. Gordon Adams. He also had volunteered as the city’s Health Officer for much of that time. When he died, the city council considered honoring him by naming something after him. Voila! What could be more appropriate than renaming the street next to the hospital after Dr. Adams instead of President Adams? It seemed like it was meant to be. But, as time passes, will anyone remember?
Hawk and Hunter – A large regional home builder was in the process of developing the first fairly significant residential development in my city in quite some time. The developer had chosen street names to reflect a northwest outdoor adventure theme centered on nearby Mt. Rainier.
It looked like the houses were going to be a nice addition to the community, and the approval process was going along fairly smoothly. We were surprised when the local Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) post suddenly announced that they objected to the approval, because the city had a “policy” of naming any new streets after local service members killed in the line of duty. Apparently, the idea of adopting an official policy along this line had been discussed by the city in the past but had never been officially adopted or followed. However, now that the VFW had made a point of it, the mayor and city council thought it was important to respect the memory of those who had died in service to our country.
As city administrator, I contacted the developer’s project manager and, while he was sympathetic, he was adamant that they weren’t going to change the names that had been carefully chosen at some considerable expense by their marketing consultant. “After all,” he said, “the policy hadn’t been followed for years. Why start now in the middle of their process?”
Since the VFW was equally adamant, I tried to find a solution. I carefully looked over the list of the deceased. Two names struck me, Hawk and Hunter. Both could easily fit into the theme of the development as well as honor the men. I called the developer and the VFW and suggested a compromise – would the developer drop two names from its list and substitute these two names from the VFW list? Fortunately, both agreed. It wasn’t everything each side wanted, but the deadlock was broken and the project moved to completion.
Welfare – Shortly after the city I was serving annexed a large area, we received a petition from a group of property owners living on Welfare Avenue requesting that the city change the name of their street. It was actually a fairly affluent community, and they thought the street name reflected poorly on them. Like me, many of the city staff were relatively new and unfamiliar with local history. Fortunately, there was an active historical society that caught the issue when it appeared in the local newspaper and promptly informed us that the street was named for an early family of settlers named “Welfare.” We informed the city council and the petitioners before any action was taken. The petitioners accepted the historic significance of their street name and their request was withdrawn.
Island/Ihland – These were two street names in use in my community that sounded exactly the same phonetically. Needless to say, they were often the cause for confusion. Fortunately, with the advent of enhanced 911 technology, the potential for public safety dispatch confusion was minimized. However, no doubt ordinary voice communication still caused some problems.
Lessons Learned
Lesson Number One – If you adopt a policy, write it down and follow it. Potentially embarrassing disagreements, like the one between the VFW and the developer, might be avoided if a street naming policy has been formally adopted and codified. In the 15 years I had worked in that city, no one had ever mentioned such a policy. It was probably rediscovered by the VFW while someone was reviewing old records; but since it had not been codified, there was no way for the current staff or elected officials to know it existed. The MRSC website has a page that covers street naming policies at http://www.mrsc.org/subjects/pubworks/NamingPolicies.aspx#Streets.
Lesson Number Two – Work with the community to document the history and rationale behind existing street names. A local historical society, Boy Scout troop, school classes, or a senior center might help with research in figuring out what was behind “not so obvious” street names. The results can be inspiring, informative, and even humorous. As generations pass, businesses come and go, and events are forgotten, the reasons behind the names given can be lost or obscured. Yet, they are still part of the city’s legacy and may be well worth remembering.
