JMedwick wrote:Marmar, I think it was Pershing not Lindell that was known as Berlin Ave. prior to world war I.
Thanks much, JMedwick...that sure makes more sense! I knew it was one of the streets that ran through the West End. I stand corrected!
I wonder how many other streets have had their names changed, and for what reason. We most likely all know that Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive was once called Easton Avenue, changed to honor a great man...there certainly must be more interesting stories.
Which streets run uninterrupted across the entire City?
Grand goes from Hall Street just east-northeast of I-70 where it is actually "East Grand" all the way to Lemay at Bayless and Lemay Ferry, though it really stops at Germania, blocked by River Des Peres.
Kingshighway runs from West Florissant just north of I-70 down to Gravois in South City.
I guess, if considered one continuous thoroughfare, West Florissant/North Florissant/Tucker/Gravois would be the longest streets that connect the entire city and are uninterrupted (to my knowledge...).
As far as east-west streets, Loughborough runs from past River Des Peres (yes, it continues on west of River Des Peres until the City limits) all the way to a bit past South Broadway. Chippewa similarly runs from City limits to a bit past South Broadway. Arsenal goes practically from Maplewood to the riverfront.
Broadway itself runs from North County-North City line where it becomes Bellefontaine Road to the "Odd Fellows Cemetary" in Lemay. That's St. Louis's best uninterrupted north-south route.
I always find it interesting how streets in St. Louis can cut off and reemerge elsewhere. There are so many of them that it would be impossible to list them all, but some bigger culprits are Magnolia and Fyler. Someone help me out with this one.
Also, another question that I've always wondered. West Pine which SLU paved over and which now continues on west of Vandeventer all the way to Forest Park at Lindell is an extension of Pine St. downtown. Is West Park in Dogtown/Ellendale seen as the western extension of Park south of Downtown?
Last week I learned that, Field, Eugene, and Roswell streets just south of Carondelet park were named because Eugene Fields father, Roswell owned a farm that was located in that area. The city eventually bought the family property to create the park.
MattnSTL wrote:From the old arsenal at the foot of the street at the Mississippi River.
The arsenal property remains owned by the federal government and occupied by the Defense Mapping Agency. I think that historic brick house (looks like a large farm house with wrap around porch) is original to the arsenal. It was thoroughly restored a few years ago.
I came across possibly the most uninspired and uninspiring street name in the city today, "Plainview". It's in S. City by Landsdowne and River De Peres.
MattnSTL wrote:I came across possibly the most uninspired and uninspiring street name in the city today, "Plainview". It's in S. City by Landsdowne and River De Peres.
Hey I like Plainview I can see it from the waiting room in my eye doctor's building on chippewa nice tidy bungalows.
I had asked earlier how many larger/famous U.S. cities (whether or not they were named for the cities themselves or not) are represented in St. Louis streets. Here's all I could amass, not including states with cities sharing their names (New York, Oklahoma, e.g.) and Presidents with cities named after them (Washington, Jefferson, Columbus, Columbia).
MayorSlay.com has a poll regarding general support or opposition for the renaming of City streets. There are even questions about putting back all those German City street names that were changed in WWI as well as returning portions of renamed streets back to their original name. One question even asks if you would support or oppose "completing the set" of City streets named after states?
I just took the poll. Don't you think that returning the original French and German names to city streets -- and using new names from other immigrant cultures (Bosnian, Chinese) -- could be a great economic/neighborhood development tool?
I'd be all for getting rid of all the generic street names like the "tree" ones.
Matt wrote:I'd be all for getting rid of all the generic street names like the "tree" ones.
I can see what you mean, but I don't know about getting rid of the streets names after trees. Maybe renaming the Poplar Street Bridge wouldn't be a bad idea though... others off the top of my head are:
Cedar
Chestnut
Hickory (Lafayette Square)
Locust
Magnolia (TGE, Shaw, Hill)
Olive
Pine
Poplar
Spruce
Walnut
After a little looking around, I also found we have the following, but apparently nothing using "Elm"... I am sure there are more.
We should definitely complete the State streets. I really think there are cheesy "world's largest ball of yarn" type opportunities for stylizing each State street's sidewalks with the shape of its particular state and even some notable features of each state.
Like the St. Louis "Walk of Fame" in the U City Loop, each State street could have its shape and possibly some historical information (both about the State and anyone historical who might have lived on the street) imprinted within the sidewalk. We could get really corny and intersperse iconic representations of each state on sidewalks as well--such as autos on Michigan, cheese on Wisconsin, and Jazz on Louisiana (not to mention the Arch on Missouri)...
Only the north-south streets are supposedly named after states. The east-west streets are actually named after Indian tribes, like Cherokee or Potomac. However, since some states get their names from Indians, this north-south verses east-west pattern is certainly hard to realize. Just remember that the state-street inspiration came from the streets around Lafayette Park, where the north-south streets at this first City park's edges are Mississippi and Missouri. But of course, these two were named originally for our region's rivers, which happen to also be states, thereby beginning the confusion, when the state-names theme was carried throughout more of South St. Louis.
Around TGP, there are many state streets that run East West. Connecticut, Utah and Wyoming spring to mind immediately (since I live on Conn.)
I love how this poll is so biased. You get two choices, "I think changes are great!" or "I hate all change!" Sort of leads you down one path, doesn't it?
I'm all for changing street names. We really should reclaim our heritage more. I'm sorry, but most of our street names are boring. I like the numbered streets (I always have), in fact, living in St. Petersberg FL for a while was awesome. All the streets were numbered. You had the Avenues (E/W) and the Streets (N/S). It was great, "Take 54th Ave. South, to 4th street south, and go north to 12th Ave North and turn east past 1st street to Bay Avenue." What fun that was.
But why does Laclede stop? Laclede and Chouteau should be through streets all the way. I also like the idea of readopting the German and French street names. And what about some Irish names for the North side?
And does anybody else find it funny that the PSB real initials are BFD?
