Biggest number of letters in a street name?

[KCRoadFan]

With the Daytona 500 coming up in a little over a month, I was just thinking about how the street on which the track for that race is situated - namely, International Speedway Boulevard - has one of the longest street names that I know of, coming in at 30 letters.

Throughout the country, what are some of the other top contenders for that prize? The other name that came to mind for me was Peachtree Industrial Boulevard in the Atlanta suburbs; that name has 28 letters. Are there any you know of that have more than 30? (Just to be clear, for the purposes of this post, the street name includes the suffix, but excludes any directional indicators; also, spelled-out versions of numbered streets don't count, so please don't post those.)

[freebrickproductions]

Depending on if you want to spell-out the title of Doctor or not, Dr. Joseph E. Lowery Boulevard here in Huntsville, AL, ranges from 26 to 29 characters.

Stephen J. White Memorial Boulevard in Talladega, AL, is even longer though, at 31 characters.

[Big John]

Atlanta - Andrew Young International Boulevard - 33 characters.

[oscar]

Just "Martin Luther King" is 16 characters. Adding the "Doctor" prefix, "Junior" suffix, and "Highway" or "Boulevard" as applicable, can easily push the total over 30 characters. Since MLK street names are so common, it would surprise me if no jurisdiction with an MLK street name used more than 30 characters.

Washington D.C. has Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. SW. Depending on whether you spell out "Jr.", "Ave.", or "SW" (the D.C. street signs don't, though the signs include the period after "Jr."), or count "SW" (for the southwest quadrant where the avenue is located), you end up with at least 22 characters, and a maximum of 37.

[Ted$8roadFan]

I can't think of specifics right now, but in New England states anything ending in "boro" would likely meet the criteria. Many began with their English spellings (e.g. Hillsborough, Attleborough, Marlborough) but have been colloquially shortened in many cases. The same would likely apply to street names.

[Rothman]

Very similar topic:

https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=14546.0

[ran4sh]

The Buc-ee's in Florence SC is located on...

Drs. Bruce and Lee Foundation Boulevard

(39 characters)

As for streets named after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., they really just need to be posted as "M King" or "M L King", everyone knows what is meant by those. In Georgia there is a Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. High School, and in the media (such as when reporting high school sports scores) it's always just called "ML King" (em-el-king)

[ran4sh]

Atlanta - Andrew Young International Boulevard - 33 characters.

It's also remarkable that this isn't the only long street name in Atlanta. There are also names like "Centennial Olympic Park Drive", "John Lewis Freedom Parkway", "Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard", etc

[mgk920]

The longest name here in the Appleton, WI area is 'Butte des Morts Beach Road' 23 characters (French for 'Hill of the Dead', for the Indian burial mounds that are fairly common in the area) served by the Neenah, WI Post Office (54956).  This thread shows the wisdom of local ordinances that limit the length of street names.

Mike

[formulanone]

The Buc-ee's in Florence SC is located on...

Drs. Bruce and Lee Foundation Boulevard

Such a missed opportunity to call it Bruce Lee Blvd.

[Molandfreak]

Just "Martin Luther King" is 16 characters. Adding the "Doctor" prefix, "Junior" suffix, and "Highway" or "Boulevard" as applicable, can easily push the total over 30 characters. Since MLK street names are so common, it would surprise me if no jurisdiction with an MLK street name used more than 30 characters.

Washington D.C. has Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. SW. Depending on whether you spell out "Jr.", "Ave.", or "SW" (the D.C. street signs don't, though the signs include the period after "Jr."), or count "SW" (for the southwest quadrant where the avenue is located), you end up with at least 22 characters, and a maximum of 37.

You could also spell out Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King Junior Boulevard in Saint Paul, MN for 45 letters.

[US 89]

Atlanta - Andrew Young International Boulevard - 33 characters.

It's also remarkable that this isn't the only long street name in Atlanta. There are also names like "Centennial Olympic Park Drive", "John Lewis Freedom Parkway", "Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard", etc

That's because Atlanta will fully rename its streets, usually after civil rights icons, and when they do they'll almost always use their full names. There's also "Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway", "Joseph E. Lowery Boulevard", "Atlanta Student Movement Boulevard", and probably more...

[Flint1979]

Several years ago 2nd Street in Saginaw was changed to Roosevelt Austin. The street signs look oversized because of all the letters. You won't find Roosevelt Austin on Google Maps though it's still marked as 2nd.

[mgk920]

Just "Martin Luther King" is 16 characters. Adding the "Doctor" prefix, "Junior" suffix, and "Highway" or "Boulevard" as applicable, can easily push the total over 30 characters. Since MLK street names are so common, it would surprise me if no jurisdiction with an MLK street name used more than 30 characters.

Washington D.C. has Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. SW. Depending on whether you spell out "Jr.", "Ave.", or "SW" (the D.C. street signs don't, though the signs include the period after "Jr."), or count "SW" (for the southwest quadrant where the avenue is located), you end up with at least 22 characters, and a maximum of 37.

You could also spell out Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King Junior Boulevard in Saint Paul, MN for 45 letters.

The USPS also gets huffy if it is not completely spelled out.

Mike

[mrsman]

I reference this post from 2011 to describe the different street signs in the city of Los Angeles

https://militantangeleno.blogspot.com/2011/03/signs-of-times.html

The trapezoid signs are now the most common.  Most streets fit on such a sign, but San Fernando Mission Blvd is so long, it needs two lines of text:

https://www.google.com/maps/@34.2723357,-118.4977585,3a,20.2y,194.72h,90.85t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sFXHF8KIasYPt2v7IC5gA7Q!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu

Such was also done with the blue blade signs that made their appearance beginning in the 1970s and 1980s:

https://www.google.com/maps/@34.2736145,-118.5432293,3a,24.7y,152.09h,80.41t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sly5oFiD6_4bKLKgZdqttug!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3Dly5oFiD6_4bKLKgZdqttug%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D189.90752%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu

I could not find any "shotgun" signs during my GSV look see, but I do remember that the shotgun signs came in only one size.  A street like San Fernando Mission would mean that the letters would be really scrunched together to fit on the sign.  I would not be surprised if readibility issues encouraged LADOT to wholesale replace all of the signs for this street with the newer variety.  (The standard practice would be to only replace an old sign with a new style of sign if it fell off or otherwise became broken.  There are still a lot of shotgun signs in L.A., especially in the Valley, but not for San Fernando Mission.

https://www.google.com/maps/@34.2719639,-118.4847664,3a,15y,71.68h,90.93t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1syLqUQhymM-M12nT4nb-QRw!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3DyLqUQhymM-M12nT4nb-QRw%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D331.90634%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu


But here is an archived photo:

https://calisphere.org/item/d231cf878fef3e1f4c96a73a412cbd79/

EDITED TO ADD:

The shotgun was the same size regardless of the size of the street.  As seen from the examples, the font was narrowed to fit very long street names or elongated to fit in very short street names.

https://lastreetnames.com/street/0001st-street/

(I remember that a few rare numbered streets were fully named.  But those are hard to find.)

A good video about the signs: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUiOcCwtiek

[formulanone]

Just "Martin Luther King" is 16 characters. Adding the "Doctor" prefix, "Junior" suffix, and "Highway" or "Boulevard" as applicable, can easily push the total over 30 characters. Since MLK street names are so common, it would surprise me if no jurisdiction with an MLK street name used more than 30 characters.

Washington D.C. has Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. SW. Depending on whether you spell out "Jr.", "Ave.", or "SW" (the D.C. street signs don't, though the signs include the period after "Jr."), or count "SW" (for the southwest quadrant where the avenue is located), you end up with at least 22 characters, and a maximum of 37.

You could also spell out Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King Junior Boulevard in Saint Paul, MN for 45 letters.

The USPS also gets huffy if it is not completely spelled out.

Mike

Only if you forget the zip code. ZIP+4 and the building/house number is enough.

[mgk920]

Just "Martin Luther King" is 16 characters. Adding the "Doctor" prefix, "Junior" suffix, and "Highway" or "Boulevard" as applicable, can easily push the total over 30 characters. Since MLK street names are so common, it would surprise me if no jurisdiction with an MLK street name used more than 30 characters.

Washington D.C. has Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. SW. Depending on whether you spell out "Jr.", "Ave.", or "SW" (the D.C. street signs don't, though the signs include the period after "Jr."), or count "SW" (for the southwest quadrant where the avenue is located), you end up with at least 22 characters, and a maximum of 37.

You could also spell out Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King Junior Boulevard in Saint Paul, MN for 45 letters.

The USPS also gets huffy if it is not completely spelled out.

Mike

Only if you forget the zip code. ZIP+4 and the building/house number is enough.

And now the little code at the bottom of the envelop can be 11 characters, the nine-digit code plus two more.  54911xxxxyy with the last two additional digits being the last two digits of the address number or , in my case, my apartment number.

Mike

[formulanone]

Just "Martin Luther King" is 16 characters. Adding the "Doctor" prefix, "Junior" suffix, and "Highway" or "Boulevard" as applicable, can easily push the total over 30 characters. Since MLK street names are so common, it would surprise me if no jurisdiction with an MLK street name used more than 30 characters.

Washington D.C. has Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. SW. Depending on whether you spell out "Jr.", "Ave.", or "SW" (the D.C. street signs don't, though the signs include the period after "Jr."), or count "SW" (for the southwest quadrant where the avenue is located), you end up with at least 22 characters, and a maximum of 37.

You could also spell out Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King Junior Boulevard in Saint Paul, MN for 45 letters.

The USPS also gets huffy if it is not completely spelled out.

Mike

Only if you forget the zip code. ZIP+4 and the building/house number is enough.

And now the little code at the bottom of the envelop can be 11 characters, the nine-digit code plus two more.  54911xxxxyy with the last two additional digits being the last two digits of the address number or , in my case, my apartment number.

Mike

I'm not the type to re-format major systems, but it always seemed to me one could just put a Name and a 10-12 digit code: Last 2-3 digits of a building + unit/suite/apartment, and then the ZIP+4 code on a piece of mail, which would simplify a lot of potential process issues and reduce readability problems. Frankly, I don't understand rural routes so that might be a problem.

I guess a lot of it is bar-coded now so it's not entirely necessary from a front-end standpoint.

[mrsman]

Another long street in L.A.

General Thaddeus Kosciuszko Way:

https://www.google.com/maps/@34.0545192,-118.2514998,3a,17.7y,173.96h,91.63t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1splSRwC2Me0l_p1XqVB--mA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?entry=ttu

[Rothman]

Another long street in L.A.

General Thaddeus Kosciuszko Way:

https://www.google.com/maps/@34.0545192,-118.2514998,3a,17.7y,173.96h,91.63t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1splSRwC2Me0l_p1XqVB--mA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?entry=ttu

Wonder if they butcher the pronunciation like they do in NY.

Kos-CHOOS-ko, not kos-see-YOOS-ko.

[kphoger]

Another long street in L.A.

General Thaddeus Kosciuszko Way:

https://www.google.com/maps/@34.0545192,-118.2514998,3a,17.7y,173.96h,91.63t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1splSRwC2Me0l_p1XqVB--mA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?entry=ttu

Wonder if they butcher the pronunciation like they do in NY.

Kos-CHOOS-ko, not kos-see-YOOS-ko.

If I remember my Polish pronunciation correctly, then Kościuszko should be pronounced basically like kosh-CHOOSH-ko, not kos-CHOOS-ko.

[Rothman]

Another long street in L.A.

General Thaddeus Kosciuszko Way:

https://www.google.com/maps/@34.0545192,-118.2514998,3a,17.7y,173.96h,91.63t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1splSRwC2Me0l_p1XqVB--mA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?entry=ttu

Wonder if they butcher the pronunciation like they do in NY.

Kos-CHOOS-ko, not kos-see-YOOS-ko.

If I remember my Polish pronunciation correctly, then Kościuszko should be pronounced basically like kosh-CHOOSH-ko, not kos-CHOOS-ko.

Tomato, tomato, potato, potato.

[kphoger]

Hey, you're the one who complained about butchering the pronunciation.  The least you could do is make sure you're pronouncing it right.

[Rothman]

Hey, you're the one who complained about butchering the pronunciation.  The least you could do is make sure you're pronouncing it right.

Just saying your correction was budging things barely a millimeter rather than a mile.

[kphoger]

40% of your consonants were wrong.