(not counting any and all memorials to politicians or sports figures)
My nominee (which I just saw for the first time yesterday afternoon): Greater Hazelton Chamber Of Commerce Beltway, which now adorns the signs on I-81 for Exit 141 in Hazelton, PA. And the signs are in Clearview, which makes a bad idea even worse.
Danielle Van Dam memorial interchange.
Quote from: roadman on July 31, 2013, 07:21:17 PM
(not counting any and all memorials to politicians or sports figures)
Damnit. That knocks most every pretentious highway name in Illinois out of the running.
I usually consider memorial highway designations obnoxious, since they tend to not be used by any actual person and the signs just serve to clutter the roadside with meaningless information. Most of the time the figures so named are so obscure that nearly nobody passing by will know who they are. On freeways it means the state gets to pay for two BGSes that impart exactly zero relevant information to the public.
I also don't care that much for highways named after state troopers. Yes, it's sad when someone dies while serving the public, but they are not otherwise significant figures, and wouldn't have had a road named after them if they had served until age 65 and retired with full honors.
A couple of specific examples from I-35 in Oklahoma, and both of them have to do with politicians, despite the thread. One of them is something along the lines of "Dr. James M. and Representative Mena D. Hibdon Memorial Highway"–sure, okay, stick the state rep up there, whatever, but why are we mentioning her husband too? Was he that good of a doctor? Another one is "Helen Cole Memorial Highway", sure, supposedly it's because she was some sort of state legislator, but it probably has a lot more to do with the fact that her son is the current US Representative.
3-Trails Crossing Memorial Highway in Kansas City, MO is obnoxious in a few ways. One, it's not a "memorial highway", because it doesn't memorialize anything, since the "3-Trails" are I-49, I-435, and I-470, and even if they weren't extant trails, can you really have a memorial to something nonliving? Two, it's not a "highway" at all, but an interchange. Three, what's with the hyphen in "3-Trails"??
The only good thing about memorial highways is that ODOT publishes more historic information about them than non-memorial highways, so that's useful, at least.
God damn. I was going to mention the "3-Trails Crossing Memorial Highway". What the fuck is that?
If I had to guess, I'd say some sort of out-of-touch bloviation emanating from Jeff City.
How is Bud Shuster naming I-99 after himself not the most pretentious?
"Appian Way" for any highway that is not in Italy.
Quote from: roadman on July 31, 2013, 07:21:17 PM
Greater Hazelton Chamber Of Commerce Beltway
When I saw the subject line, this was the first thing that came to my mind. How much you want to bet they had a big ribbon cutting photo op and a luncheon at the Best Western?
What about a gratuitous re-dedication of something well known by another time-tested name–like the Gladys Noon Spellman Baltimore Washington Parkway?
Quote from: kkt on August 01, 2013, 12:33:17 AM
"Appian Way" for any highway that is not in Italy.
Appianway (called Happianway by the locals) in Little Rock is a little piece of shit road that's in about 10 different 1-3 block segments throughout midtown.
I always disliked 'President Clinton Ave.' in downtown Little Rock.
Name it William J Clinton Ave or Bill Clinton Ave.
We KNOW he was president. We dont' drive up President JFK Blvd. or out on President(s) Roosevelt Rd.
A section of US 301 in Maryland south of Waldorf is called the 'Religous Freedom Byway'
When I think of pretentious designations, I think of roads with absurdly overdone names that try to make them seem more important than they are. Two that readily come to mind are "The Parkway" in Fairfax County, Virginia (a residential street with nothing parklike or parkway-like about it), and "Boulevard" in Richmond. In both cases I find the naming pretentious for the additional reason that it implies either that these are the only roads worthy of "parkway" or "boulevard" status or, alternatively, that these are THE "parkway of parkways" or whatever (that is, all other roads called "parkways" are lesser).
Edited to add: Here's a Street View of one of the blade signs for The Parkway: http://goo.gl/maps/OyzCE Notice how "Parkway" isn't in smaller type the way the street name normally is (pan the image to the left, for example, and you can see a blade across the intersection for "S Kings Hwy" with "Hwy" in much smaller print).
Quote from: Steve on August 01, 2013, 12:27:02 AM
How is Bud Shuster naming I-99 after himself not the most pretentious?
Did he seriously name it after himself?
A lot of people around here mistakenly believe that Congressman Harold Rogers (R-KY) renamed the Daniel Boone Parkway as the Hal Rogers Parkway after himself, but that's not true. Former Gov. Paul Patton (D-KY) was responsible for that name change. Rogers was taken totally by surprised when the sign was unveiled at a ceremony to note the removal of the tolls from the Daniel Boone Parkway. Rogers had secured a federal appropriation to pay off the bonds on the toll roads and he drove a bulldozer to knock down a toll booth at that ceremony. Then the state officials surprised him by announcing that the road was renamed for him.
Quote from: Steve on August 01, 2013, 12:27:02 AM
How is Bud Shuster naming I-99 after himself not the most pretentious?
It is, but the OP did specifically exclude politicians.
When I was a little kid, I always wondered who Dan Ryan was. This answered it for me:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Ryan,_Jr. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Ryan,_Jr.)
Quote
Daniel B. Ryan, Jr (1894—1961) was a Chicago insurance broker and served as President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners from 1954 to his death. Ryan was a Democrat.[1] The Dan Ryan Expressway was named in his memory.
Ryan attended De La Salle Institute and Kent College of Law. When his father, Dan Ryan, Sr. died in 1923, Ryan, Jr. was elected to fill out his term on the Cook County Board of Commissioners. With the exception of 1926-1930, he sat on the board until his death and served as the Board President for the final years of his life.
Ryan was a promoter of superhighways for the Chicago area, but financing was difficult before creation of the Interstate Highway System, and in 1955 Ryan engineered an ambitious bond issue program to jump-start construction of expressways in Cook County.[2] Dan Ryan Senior hailed from Dundrum in Co. Tipperary, where his family were known as the Ryan Larrys (In Tipperary there were so many Ryans that they had to assume second names to differentiate the different families)
^^ Ryan is not the only local politician to have an expressway named after him in the Chicago area. There's Robert Kingery, Adlai Stevenson, and William Edens. Kingery actually got two roads named after him - I-80/94 (Calumet Expy to Indiana) and IL-83 in DuPage County. Then there's Mel Amstutz, superintendent of highways in Lake County.
Let's not forget Richard Ogilvie who has a rail station named after him. There's many more names around the area on buildings and parks. Then we have several Downstate as well. Sections of I-39 are named after them as well.
However, as the OP said before, politicians are excluded from this.
Quote from: roadman on July 31, 2013, 07:21:17 PM
(not counting any and all memorials to politicians or sports figures)
Quote from: roadman on July 31, 2013, 07:21:17 PM
(not counting any and all memorials to politicians or sports figures)
My nominee (which I just saw for the first time yesterday afternoon): Greater Hazelton Chamber Of Commerce Beltway, which now adorns the signs on I-81 for Exit 141 in Hazelton, PA. And the signs are in Clearview, which makes a bad idea even worse.
To make matters worse, the GHCOCB is not even remotely considerable as a beltway. It extends fairly straight east/west from I-81 to PA 93, and to my knowledge the "beltway" designation ends there rather than continuing on existing streets like a ring road. Maybe someday it will be [probably unnecessarily, like so many road projects probably meant to spark enthusiasm in Appalachia] expanded to be big enough for its britches?
Avenue of the Americas. Come on, what's wrong with 6th Ave.?
Quote from: kkt on August 01, 2013, 11:07:10 AM
Avenue of the Americas. Come on, what's wrong with 6th Ave.?
It is 6th Avenue. It is called by most New Yorkers as such even though the street signs say otherwise.
Quote from: roadman65 on August 01, 2013, 11:15:51 AM
Quote from: kkt on August 01, 2013, 11:07:10 AM
Avenue of the Americas. Come on, what's wrong with 6th Ave.?
It is 6th Avenue. It is called by most New Yorkers as such even though the street signs say otherwise.
Another in that vein is the street in Brooklyn whose street signs (and subway stop) all say "Bay Ridge Av" but is universally called 69 Street (pronounced "69th," for those unfamiliar with New York's omission of the ordinal designation on street signs).
Quote from: ChoralScholar on August 01, 2013, 04:41:41 AM
I always disliked 'President Clinton Ave.' in downtown Little Rock.
Name it William J Clinton Ave or Bill Clinton Ave.
We KNOW he was president. We dont' drive up President JFK Blvd. or out on President(s) Roosevelt Rd.
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi43.tinypic.com%2F23shd8z.png&hash=977a3263ecef596fbd393185612d5f4ce647474f)
Source: GSV
David Letterman Bypass (http://home.comcast.net/~neilrapp/dlx/) :bigass:
Most of the superfluous names for roads get shortened in everyday speech anyway. Here in Jacksonville we have SR 202 which is now on BGS as "Butler Blvd" Before the I-95 widening in 1998 the exit said "J. Turner Butler Blvd" which became JTB now the signs give no reason for the JT, I am sure new residents get confused by 'JTB'
Now we have "Cecil Commerce Center Parkway" aka SR 23 but why not name it "Cecil Parkway"
Florida has the annoying program of giving existing roads/highways/streets legislative names.. In north Jacksonville US1/23 is called "New Kings Rd" but there are brown signs announcing that the state legislature designated it "Johnny Mae Chappel Boulevard" she was an African American lady who was killed back in the 1960s by racists. So I can understand the reason for the memorial.
On the same note we have bridges named for people that no one uses the official name. The "Main St Bridge" is officially the "John T Alsop Bridge" and the "Dames Point Bridge" is officially the "Napoleon Bonaparte Broward Bridge" no one calls them their official names
Quote from: theline on August 01, 2013, 02:55:09 PM
David Letterman Bypass (http://home.comcast.net/~neilrapp/dlx/) :bigass:
We do have this on I-65 through Indianapolis.
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FaqePOMj.jpg&hash=2d10ab8e2ed34743f642bd5413000546ecc5a4f9)
How about OR-213/82nd Avenue in Portland which is also labeled as "Avenue of the Roses", or Front Street in Portland being "Natio Parkway" (pronounced like NATO). Then again, a fried of mine was trying to get 42nd Ave. in Portland renamed Douglas Adams Boulevard.
It's not the name itself — I get the motivation behind the name — but until the recent construction there, the Ari Halberstam Memorial Ramp from the FDR Drive to the Brooklyn Bridge had no fewer than nine signs informing motorists of its name. For a ramp. Granted, it is a long ramp, but it's still a freaking ramp.
Quote from: roadman on July 31, 2013, 07:21:17 PM
(not counting any and all memorials to politicians or sports figures)
My nominee (which I just saw for the first time yesterday afternoon): Greater Hazelton Chamber Of Commerce Beltway, which now adorns the signs on I-81 for Exit 141 in Hazelton, PA. And the signs are in Clearview, which makes a bad idea even worse.
I always though Lafitte-Larose Highway (LA 3134) was rather pretentious, since it reached neither Lafitte nor Larose, and in fact does not even lead to Larose (though it was planned to do so for many years, by cutting straight through the Barataria basin marshes).
A few years back it was renamed "Leo Kerner/Lafitte Parkway" for the longtime mayor of Jean Lafitte, which roughly coincided with the removal of the proposed extension from DOTD's route maps. Though this would have substantially reduced the driving distance to Grand Isle from the New Orleans area, I can only imagine the environmental mitigation headaches that would have resulted if the route had been constructed as planned.
Quote from: Brandon on August 01, 2013, 09:49:05 AM
Quote from: Steve on August 01, 2013, 12:27:02 AM
How is Bud Shuster naming I-99 after himself not the most pretentious?
It is, but the OP did specifically exclude politicians.
Still, is there any other case where a politician named the road AFTER HIMSELF? That's a level beyond "memorial."
Quote from: Steve on August 01, 2013, 08:18:18 PM
Still, is there any other case where a politician named the road AFTER HIMSELF? That's a level beyond "memorial."
Wikipedia claims PA Governor Bob Casey named it after Shuster. So does the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (1998):
QuoteGreen-and-white road signs proclaim I-99 "the Bud Shuster Highway," so named by former Gov. Bob Casey, a Democrat.
So unless Shuster calls himself 99...
Quote from: Scott5114 on July 31, 2013, 09:09:56 PM
3-Trails Crossing Memorial Highway in Kansas City, MO is obnoxious in a few ways. One, it's not a "memorial highway", because it doesn't memorialize anything, since the "3-Trails" are I-49, I-435, and I-470, and even if they weren't extant trails, can you really have a memorial to something nonliving? Two, it's not a "highway" at all, but an interchange. Three, what's with the hyphen in "3-Trails"??
I thought it was called a "Memorial Highway" to memorialize all the people who died in vehicular collisions on an interchange that used to be so God-awful that someone thought it would be really helpful to put call boxes on every ramp and divide the interchange into several "zones," each designated by a letter of the alphabet.
Quote from: NE2 on August 01, 2013, 08:37:14 PM
So unless Shuster calls himself 99...
I heard he used to dress up like Barbara Feldon on weekends.
For some reason this thread is making me recall the late, unlamented ethanman62187 and I-366.
(Totally off-topic.....speaking of ethanman62187, note the first post and other users' replies.... (http://forums.hoopshype.com/forums/index.php?topic=81023.0))
Quote from: 1995hoo on August 01, 2013, 10:06:26 PM
For some reason this thread is making me recall the late, unlamented ethanman62187 and I-366.
(Totally off-topic.....speaking of ethanman62187, note the first post and other users' replies.... (http://forums.hoopshype.com/forums/index.php?topic=81023.0))
I-366, the Ethanman62187 Memorial 85 mph Highway. <ducks>
Quote from: hbelkins on August 01, 2013, 09:46:37 AM
Quote from: Steve on August 01, 2013, 12:27:02 AM
How is Bud Shuster naming I-99 after himself not the most pretentious?
Did he seriously name it after himself?
A lot of people around here mistakenly believe that Congressman Harold Rogers (R-KY) renamed the Daniel Boone Parkway as the Hal Rogers Parkway after himself, but that's not true. Former Gov. Paul Patton (D-KY) was responsible for that name change. Rogers was taken totally by surprised when the sign was unveiled at a ceremony to note the removal of the tolls from the Daniel Boone Parkway. Rogers had secured a federal appropriation to pay off the bonds on the toll roads and he drove a bulldozer to knock down a toll booth at that ceremony. Then the state officials surprised him by announcing that the road was renamed for him.
As a (supposed) descendant of Daniel Boone, I find the removal of his name offensive and intolerable. He is far more famous than some two bit Kentucky buttfuck politician.
Any "Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr" street. Call it "King Street" and be done with it.
I've noticed that streets named for African American civil rights leaders are often named using the person's full name, and not just their last name. I also think "President Clinton Avenue" in LR should be "Clinton Avenue".
Don't forget the Reverend, you insensitive clod.
Quote from: stridentweasel on August 01, 2013, 09:37:17 PM
Quote from: Scott5114 on July 31, 2013, 09:09:56 PM
3-Trails Crossing Memorial Highway in Kansas City, MO is obnoxious in a few ways. One, it's not a "memorial highway", because it doesn't memorialize anything, since the "3-Trails" are I-49, I-435, and I-470, and even if they weren't extant trails, can you really have a memorial to something nonliving? Two, it's not a "highway" at all, but an interchange. Three, what's with the hyphen in "3-Trails"??
I thought it was called a "Memorial Highway" to memorialize all the people who died in vehicular collisions on an interchange that used to be so God-awful that someone thought it would be really helpful to put call boxes on every ramp and divide the interchange into several "zones," each designated by a letter of the alphabet.
Wrong end of KC. The interchange in question, which I call and will always call the "Grandview Triangle" is south of downtown Kansas City, Missouri, and the "alphabet loop" is the loop around downtown KC (I-35/I-70/I-670/Alt I-70/US 24/US 169/US 71/US 40 and probably some other US routes that I forgot.)
Quote from: NE2 on August 02, 2013, 08:14:57 AM
Don't forget the Reverend, you insensitive clod.
Sorry. I guess that makes me a full member of the Ku Klux Klan, at least in the eyes of some moonbat PC douchebags.
Quote from: ChoralScholar on August 01, 2013, 04:41:41 AM
I always disliked 'President Clinton Ave.' in downtown Little Rock.
Name it William J Clinton Ave or Bill Clinton Ave.
We KNOW he was president. We dont' drive up President JFK Blvd. or out on President(s) Roosevelt Rd.
107 in NLR is locally known as "JFK" and not "Kennedy" or "John Fitzgerald Kennedy Memorial Parkway".
Quote from: Scott5114 on July 31, 2013, 09:09:56 PM
I usually consider memorial highway designations obnoxious, since they tend to not be used by any actual person and the signs just serve to clutter the roadside with meaningless information. Most of the time the figures so named are so obscure that nearly nobody passing by will know who they are. On freeways it means the state gets to pay for two BGSes that impart exactly zero relevant information to the public.
I also don't care that much for highways named after state troopers. Yes, it's sad when someone dies while serving the public, but they are not otherwise significant figures, and wouldn't have had a road named after them if they had served until age 65 and retired with full honors.
A couple of specific examples from I-35 in Oklahoma, and both of them have to do with politicians, despite the thread. One of them is something along the lines of "Dr. James M. and Representative Mena D. Hibdon Memorial Highway"–sure, okay, stick the state rep up there, whatever, but why are we mentioning her husband too? Was he that good of a doctor? Another one is "Helen Cole Memorial Highway", sure, supposedly it's because she was some sort of state legislator, but it probably has a lot more to do with the fact that her son is the current US Representative.
3-Trails Crossing Memorial Highway in Kansas City, MO is obnoxious in a few ways. One, it's not a "memorial highway", because it doesn't memorialize anything, since the "3-Trails" are I-49, I-435, and I-470, and even if they weren't extant trails, can you really have a memorial to something nonliving? Two, it's not a "highway" at all, but an interchange. Three, what's with the hyphen in "3-Trails"??
The only good thing about memorial highways is that ODOT publishes more historic information about them than non-memorial highways, so that's useful, at least.
Oklahoma is really bad at this. The interchange between I-44/OK 66 and Harvard Avenue, a half frontage road slip ramp "diamond" and half modified folded diamond, is named after somebody I've never heard of (and I would wager than 99% of the drivers who drive by the sign have any idea of who he is/was.) Many bridges in the Cowboy State are named after presumably cops and politicians, even lowly concrete girder bridges in poor shape. I'd be mad if somebody named that sort of bridge after me.
Quote from: roadman on July 31, 2013, 07:21:17 PM
(not counting any and all memorials to politicians or sports figures)
While not a highway and certainly not a politician nor sports figure but Philadelphia's East River Drive was renamed Kelly Drive decades ago after actress Grace Kelly who later became Princess of Monaco.
Quote from: bugo on August 02, 2013, 08:02:53 AM
Any "Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr" street. Call it "King Street" and be done with it.
I've noticed that streets named for African American civil rights leaders are often named using the person's full name, and not just their last name. I also think "President Clinton Avenue" in LR should be "Clinton Avenue".
In Newark, NJ when High Street was renamed Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, the guide sign on I-280 EB dentoted it as King Boulevard at first, but then it was changed to the full name. It is funny that you should mention it, as I was wondering about that. Then in some areas in Florida where there is a road named after the wonderful civil rights leader his initials were used on a construction VMS just in the same manner as John F. Keneedy.
I am not a racist by any means, It is just interesting that Dr. King is not just known as a simple last name. It might be that the name "King" is also a monarch in many governments, and many just want people to know that it is a person and not the title as King Blvd. King Street, etc. might suggest that. Look at the Outerbridge Crossing for example as many do not know it was named after Ugenis Outerbridge, the first Port Authority chairman, but as a geographic thing. However, Mr. Outerbridge is a lay person unlike the Reverend who was an important icon in history.
Quote from: theline on August 01, 2013, 02:55:09 PM
David Letterman Bypass (http://home.comcast.net/~neilrapp/dlx/) :bigass:
The Lorena Bobbitt Cutoff.
Also, to point out the toll road near Dallas, TX is President George Bush Turnpike and not Bush Turnpike or George Bush Turnpike.
On the same note, it has to do with how the name is used in culture and by whom. Ronald Reagan does not need a descriptor as we all know that he was President as he is known for being that. If you named a street after Al Sharpton and called it Sharpton Boulevard, it would fly as there as you would know instantly it was named for him as Sharpton is not a name used in any other sense and he is the most famous person known with the name. In a whole we know who Sharpton is so it says a lot in the sir name use. Give it a few years, people will know who Obama is and therefore any road named after him could be Obama Street, Avenue etc. The current use of President Barrack Obama in the streets named after him are done as he was only began to be known the past few years as taking oath. Then think about Justin Bieber how you would name a street after him. How would you do it? It would have to be whole name as not many refer to him in common talk as just Bieber, but Jon Bon Jovi on the other hand you would most likely name the street Bon Jovi Road or whatever as his sir name is commonly known.
It is all how they are known as in culture that suggest that.
Quote from: bugo on August 02, 2013, 08:21:15 AM
Quote from: Scott5114 on July 31, 2013, 09:09:56 PM
I usually consider memorial highway designations obnoxious, since they tend to not be used by any actual person and the signs just serve to clutter the roadside with meaningless information. Most of the time the figures so named are so obscure that nearly nobody passing by will know who they are. On freeways it means the state gets to pay for two BGSes that impart exactly zero relevant information to the public.
I also don't care that much for highways named after state troopers. Yes, it's sad when someone dies while serving the public, but they are not otherwise significant figures, and wouldn't have had a road named after them if they had served until age 65 and retired with full honors.
A couple of specific examples from I-35 in Oklahoma, and both of them have to do with politicians, despite the thread. One of them is something along the lines of "Dr. James M. and Representative Mena D. Hibdon Memorial Highway"–sure, okay, stick the state rep up there, whatever, but why are we mentioning her husband too? Was he that good of a doctor? Another one is "Helen Cole Memorial Highway", sure, supposedly it's because she was some sort of state legislator, but it probably has a lot more to do with the fact that her son is the current US Representative.
3-Trails Crossing Memorial Highway in Kansas City, MO is obnoxious in a few ways. One, it's not a "memorial highway", because it doesn't memorialize anything, since the "3-Trails" are I-49, I-435, and I-470, and even if they weren't extant trails, can you really have a memorial to something nonliving? Two, it's not a "highway" at all, but an interchange. Three, what's with the hyphen in "3-Trails"??
The only good thing about memorial highways is that ODOT publishes more historic information about them than non-memorial highways, so that's useful, at least.
Oklahoma is really bad at this. The interchange between I-44/OK 66 and Harvard Avenue, a half frontage road slip ramp "diamond" and half modified folded diamond, is named after somebody I've never heard of (and I would wager than 99% of the drivers who drive by the sign have any idea of who he is/was.) Many bridges in the Cowboy State are named after presumably cops and politicians, even lowly concrete girder bridges in poor shape. I'd be mad if somebody named that sort of bridge after me.
Georgia is known for this too. Interchanges and bridges being named and signed for people you never heard of.
Quote from: Big John on August 02, 2013, 09:36:56 AM
Quote from: bugo on August 02, 2013, 08:21:15 AM
Quote from: Scott5114 on July 31, 2013, 09:09:56 PM
I usually consider memorial highway designations obnoxious, since they tend to not be used by any actual person and the signs just serve to clutter the roadside with meaningless information. Most of the time the figures so named are so obscure that nearly nobody passing by will know who they are. On freeways it means the state gets to pay for two BGSes that impart exactly zero relevant information to the public.
I also don't care that much for highways named after state troopers. Yes, it's sad when someone dies while serving the public, but they are not otherwise significant figures, and wouldn't have had a road named after them if they had served until age 65 and retired with full honors.
A couple of specific examples from I-35 in Oklahoma, and both of them have to do with politicians, despite the thread. One of them is something along the lines of "Dr. James M. and Representative Mena D. Hibdon Memorial Highway"sure, okay, stick the state rep up there, whatever, but why are we mentioning her husband too? Was he that good of a doctor? Another one is "Helen Cole Memorial Highway", sure, supposedly it's because she was some sort of state legislator, but it probably has a lot more to do with the fact that her son is the current US Representative.
3-Trails Crossing Memorial Highway in Kansas City, MO is obnoxious in a few ways. One, it's not a "memorial highway", because it doesn't memorialize anything, since the "3-Trails" are I-49, I-435, and I-470, and even if they weren't extant trails, can you really have a memorial to something nonliving? Two, it's not a "highway" at all, but an interchange. Three, what's with the hyphen in "3-Trails"??
The only good thing about memorial highways is that ODOT publishes more historic information about them than non-memorial highways, so that's useful, at least.
Oklahoma is really bad at this. The interchange between I-44/OK 66 and Harvard Avenue, a half frontage road slip ramp "diamond" and half modified folded diamond, is named after somebody I've never heard of (and I would wager than 99% of the drivers who drive by the sign have any idea of who he is/was.) Many bridges in the Cowboy State are named after presumably cops and politicians, even lowly concrete girder bridges in poor shape. I'd be mad if somebody named that sort of bridge after me.
Georgia is known for this too. Interchanges and bridges being named and signed for people you never heard of.
Also in VA...same thing.
They built the road, and the interchange. But I can't help but laugh every time I see the exit for Bass Pro Mills Road on Highway 400 just north of Toronto.
Quote from: roadman65 on August 01, 2013, 11:15:51 AM
Quote from: kkt on August 01, 2013, 11:07:10 AM
Avenue of the Americas. Come on, what's wrong with 6th Ave.?
It is 6th Avenue. It is called by most New Yorkers as such even though the street signs say otherwise.
Don't the signs say both now? That's my recollection.
Apparently the Brooklyn-Battery tunnel was recently inadvertently renamed the Hugh Grant Tunnel by a MTA employee:
http://secondavenuesagas.com/2013/08/02/great-moments-in-mta-typos-the-hugh-grant-tunnel/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+SecondAveSagas+%28Second+Ave.+Sagas+%7C+Blogging+the+NYC+Subways%29 (http://secondavenuesagas.com/2013/08/02/great-moments-in-mta-typos-the-hugh-grant-tunnel/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+SecondAveSagas+%28Second+Ave.+Sagas+%7C+Blogging+the+NYC+Subways%29)
Opening Excerpt:
When the state of New York forced the MTA to rename the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel after one-time Governor Hugh Carey, I derided the move. It replaced a useful geographical name with the moniker of someone who served the state over 30 years ago. He had a long and distinguished career, but did we truly have to name a piece of infrastructure after him?
This week the move came back to bite the MTA in a rather hilarious way. As the Advance of Staten Island noticed, while programming in a service alert earlier this week, a hapless MTA employee accidentally termed it the Hugh Grant Tunnel.
Quote from: elsmere241 on August 02, 2013, 11:26:29 AM
Quote from: roadman65 on August 01, 2013, 11:15:51 AM
Quote from: kkt on August 01, 2013, 11:07:10 AM
Avenue of the Americas. Come on, what's wrong with 6th Ave.?
It is 6th Avenue. It is called by most New Yorkers as such even though the street signs say otherwise.
Don't the signs say both now? That's my recollection.
I believe they do just as part of 7th Avenue is signed as Fashion Ave. I cannot remember if solely it was ever signed as Avenue of the Americas though, but that is what I refer to it as. To me 6th Avenue sounds so foreign just as calling the Thruway I-87. I know that from NYC to Exit 24 it is indeed I-87, it seems so out of place to call it that.
Quote from: bugo on August 02, 2013, 08:16:00 AM
Quote from: stridentweasel on August 01, 2013, 09:37:17 PM
I thought it was called a "Memorial Highway" to memorialize all the people who died in vehicular collisions on an interchange that used to be so God-awful that someone thought it would be really helpful to put call boxes on every ramp and divide the interchange into several "zones," each designated by a letter of the alphabet.
Wrong end of KC. The interchange in question, which I call and will always call the "Grandview Triangle" is south of downtown Kansas City, Missouri, and the "alphabet loop" is the loop around downtown KC (I-35/I-70/I-670/Alt I-70/US 24/US 169/US 71/US 40 and probably some other US routes that I forgot.)
I remembered it wrong; the zones were given numbers, not letters. But I was, in fact, talking about the Grandview Triangle.
http://www.okroads.com/063003/enteringtriangle.JPG
Quote from: stridentweasel on August 02, 2013, 10:08:47 PM
Quote from: bugo on August 02, 2013, 08:16:00 AM
Quote from: stridentweasel on August 01, 2013, 09:37:17 PM
I thought it was called a "Memorial Highway" to memorialize all the people who died in vehicular collisions on an interchange that used to be so God-awful that someone thought it would be really helpful to put call boxes on every ramp and divide the interchange into several "zones," each designated by a letter of the alphabet.
Wrong end of KC. The interchange in question, which I call and will always call the "Grandview Triangle" is south of downtown Kansas City, Missouri, and the "alphabet loop" is the loop around downtown KC (I-35/I-70/I-670/Alt I-70/US 24/US 169/US 71/US 40 and probably some other US routes that I forgot.)
I remembered it wrong; the zones were given numbers, not letters. But I was, in fact, talking about the Grandview Triangle.
http://www.okroads.com/063003/enteringtriangle.JPG
The "ENTERING TRIANGLE" signs are long gone, but the zone numbers are still in place.
A stretch of US 59 south of downtown Houston is designated "Senator Lloyd Bentsen Highway," which is pretentious because no one ever calls it that. It is the Southwest Freeway.
Quote from: achilles765 on August 04, 2013, 12:24:47 AM
A stretch of US 59 south of downtown Houston is designated "Senator Lloyd Bentsen Highway," which is pretentious because no one ever calls it that. It is the Southwest Freeway.
Same with the RFK bridge in NYC. Everyone still calls it the Triboro, including traffic reporters. Or the Yankee Division Expressway in the Boston area. Everyone still calls it...and yes most people even want you call it something else than this...Route 128.
Quote from: roadman65 on August 02, 2013, 08:41:22 AM
I am not a racist by any means, It is just interesting that Dr. King is not just known as a simple last name. It might be that the name "King" is also a monarch in many governments, and many just want people to know that it is a person and not the title as King Blvd. King Street, etc. might suggest that.
Yes. This. Kennedy Parkway was renamed JFK Parkway here in Essex County, NJ. (There are several Kennedys.) "MLK" is the most common moniker I see for King, and I'd rather see that on a highway sign than everything spelled out. Frederick Douglass, on the other hand, you can just go with Douglass and it's pretty unambiguous.
Quote from: roadman65 on August 02, 2013, 04:35:47 PM
Quote from: elsmere241 on August 02, 2013, 11:26:29 AM
Quote from: roadman65 on August 01, 2013, 11:15:51 AM
Quote from: kkt on August 01, 2013, 11:07:10 AM
Avenue of the Americas. Come on, what's wrong with 6th Ave.?
It is 6th Avenue. It is called by most New Yorkers as such even though the street signs say otherwise.
Don't the signs say both now? That's my recollection.
I believe they do just as part of 7th Avenue is signed as Fashion Ave. I cannot remember if solely it was ever signed as Avenue of the Americas though, but that is what I refer to it as. To me 6th Avenue sounds so foreign just as calling the Thruway I-87. I know that from NYC to Exit 24 it is indeed I-87, it seems so out of place to call it that.
It was not solely signed as Avenue of the Americas at any time I can remember. It has been a dual designation going back at least three decades. I don't think the coats-of-arms of all the American countries are still there on the lampposts. It seemed slightly more evident when they were.
As a kid, I liked the Pan-Americanism about it. Between the UN and the World's Fair and the rest, it seemed like NY had gone through this big postwar internationalist phase (which was over by my time) and "Avenue of the Americas" felt like part of this.
Cesar E. Chavez (insert whatever facility).
The guy was a union organizer (not exactly a "hero"), a Navy sailor (he called it the worst three years of his life), and was an extremely vocal opponent of immigration rights (ironic!), even finding illegal alien farmworkers and turning them into authorities to be immediately deported. The reason, was that the illegal immigrants took away jobs from his union members.
He only set foot in Oregon one time - yes, just one time - yet there was an extremely outspoken effort to name a street - not just any street, but specific, high profile streets - after the guy. Portland settled on 39th Avenue for him, and an elementary school.
Found this while sorting though my Miami-Dade shots: I know it's more of a local street, but I suppose "Santander-Azcoitia Boulevard (http://https://www.google.com/maps?ll=25.700667,-80.382628&spn=0.01278,0.022337&t=m&z=16&layer=c&cbll=25.700512,-80.38213&panoid=yxd_ehhzCzWgWfSqm8EZFg&cbp=12,81.5,,1,-1.12)" just wasn't long enough?
(https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8884/28376936132_07dc18ff73_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/Kezdtw)Appellation Overload (https://flic.kr/p/Kezdtw) by formulanone (https://www.flickr.com/photos/formulanone/), on Flickr
"Santander" without the first name makes it sound like a corporate sponsor (the financial institution of that name).
Quote from: jp the roadgeek on August 04, 2013, 10:43:48 AM
Quote from: achilles765 on August 04, 2013, 12:24:47 AM
A stretch of US 59 south of downtown Houston is designated "Senator Lloyd Bentsen Highway," which is pretentious because no one ever calls it that. It is the Southwest Freeway.
Same with the RFK bridge in NYC. Everyone still calls it the Triboro, including traffic reporters. Or the Yankee Division Expressway in the Boston area. Everyone still calls it...and yes most people even want you call it something else than this...Route 128.
The Yankee Division Highway designation was actually given to Route 128 between Braintree and Gloucester by the Massachusetts Legislature in the late 1940s, just before they first widened the roadway. Since the Canton to Peabody section was designated as part of I-95 in 1974, nearly all the memorial markers south of Peabody have been removed.
In the early 1980s, as part of an effort to promote tourism, MassDPW was directed by the Legislature to install large BBS signs at intervals along the "128" section of I-95 indicating "128 America's Technology Highway". Within six months, the "Highway" portion on these signs was overlaid with "Region" to appease the members and relatives of the National Guard's Yankee Division. The last of the Technology Region signs was removed, at the direction of FHWA, during the early 1990s sign updates on I-95 between Wellesley and Reading.
This is another local street (in Winston-Salem, NC) but a definite winner.
Not a politician or a sports figure (some kind of minister, so I've heard), but definitely pretentious.
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg153.imageshack.us%2Fimg153%2F8014%2Fkil.png&hash=830b52138a291076a30f04ca426a1ca7c8236f4b)
Silicon Valley Boulevard in the southern part of San Jose. It's under a mile long, 10 miles from downtown, used mostly to access one office park and a bunch of residential neighborhoods, and is even further away from what most people consider the "heart" of Silicon Valley (Sunnyvale/Mountain View/Palo Alto).
Quote from: DTComposer on August 15, 2013, 11:23:58 AM
Silicon Valley Boulevard in the southern part of San Jose. It's under a mile long, 10 miles from downtown, used mostly to access one office park and a bunch of residential neighborhoods, and is even further away from what most people consider the "heart" of Silicon Valley (Sunnyvale/Mountain View/Palo Alto).
'Silicon Valley Boulevard' sounds more like it should be a main thoroughfare or even a freeway designation.
Quote from: DSS5 on August 31, 2013, 05:54:42 PM
Quote from: DTComposer on August 15, 2013, 11:23:58 AM
Silicon Valley Boulevard in the southern part of San Jose. It's under a mile long, 10 miles from downtown, used mostly to access one office park and a bunch of residential neighborhoods, and is even further away from what most people consider the "heart" of Silicon Valley (Sunnyvale/Mountain View/Palo Alto).
'Silicon Valley Boulevard' sounds more like it should be a main thoroughfare or even a freeway designation.
It would be a good nickname for El Camino.
NJ Route 70, John Davison Rockefeller Memorial Highway, Memorial for a man who ran standard oil, which was ruled to be a trust and was broken up, but he was also heavily involved in Philanthropy.
So a road in NJ named for a rich guy from new york who ran Standard Oil
Quote from: SteveG1988 on August 31, 2013, 10:33:21 PM
NJ Route 70, John Davison Rockefeller Memorial Highway, Memorial for a man who ran standard oil, which was ruled to be a trust and was broken up, but he was also heavily involved in Philanthropy.
So a road in NJ named for a rich guy from new york who ran Standard Oil
Cleveland has a "Carnegie Avenue," named after a guy who made his fortune in
Pittsburgh. That's about as incompatible as it gets.
Quote from: DSS5 on August 31, 2013, 10:43:44 PM
Quote from: SteveG1988 on August 31, 2013, 10:33:21 PM
NJ Route 70, John Davison Rockefeller Memorial Highway, Memorial for a man who ran standard oil, which was ruled to be a trust and was broken up, but he was also heavily involved in Philanthropy.
So a road in NJ named for a rich guy from new york who ran Standard Oil
Cleveland has a "Carnegie Avenue," named after a guy who made his fortune in Pittsburgh. That's about as incompatible as it gets.
That's up there with the vince lombardi service plaza, guy not from NJ, barely did anything sports related in NJ, and then went to greatness elsewhere
Quote from: DSS5 on August 31, 2013, 10:43:44 PM
Cleveland has a "Carnegie Avenue," named after a guy who made his fortune in Pittsburgh. That's about as incompatible as it gets.
It's quite possible that some of his philanthropic efforts made their way into Cleveland in some form.
Quote from: roadman on July 31, 2013, 07:21:17 PM
(not counting any and all memorials to politicians or sports figures)
My nominee (which I just saw for the first time yesterday afternoon): Greater Hazelton Chamber Of Commerce Beltway, which now adorns the signs on I-81 for Exit 141 in Hazelton, PA. And the signs are in Clearview, which makes a bad idea even worse.
Just mentioned in another thread (https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=10291.msg244035#msg244035) is possibly the most saccharine designation, Hazelton's "Can Do Expressway." I stopped for a beer in Hazelton once and would have expected the bar to be full of positive civic boosters, but as it turns out, no.
Not sure if it's still there with the recent roundabout constructed at WV 705 & US 119, but the right turn lane coming off WV 705 was the:
Neil E. Bolyard "Tippy" Buck Turning Lane
https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=39.6439,-79.933906&spn=0.016787,0.042272&sll=41.117935,-77.604698&sspn=4.204125,10.821533&oq=Mileground&hnear=Mileground+Rd,+Morgantown,+West+Virginia&t=m&z=15&layer=c&cbll=39.643963,-79.933983&panoid=ou_ffcir4W4U-YjX9Fmxnw&cbp=12,162.21,,0,0 (https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=39.6439,-79.933906&spn=0.016787,0.042272&sll=41.117935,-77.604698&sspn=4.204125,10.821533&oq=Mileground&hnear=Mileground+Rd,+Morgantown,+West+Virginia&t=m&z=15&layer=c&cbll=39.643963,-79.933983&panoid=ou_ffcir4W4U-YjX9Fmxnw&cbp=12,162.21,,0,0)
Quote from: sbeaver44 on September 09, 2013, 07:57:36 PM
Not sure if it's still there with the recent roundabout constructed at WV 705 & US 119, but the right turn lane coming off WV 705 was the:
Neil E. Bolyard "Tippy" Buck Turning Lane
https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=39.6439,-79.933906&spn=0.016787,0.042272&sll=41.117935,-77.604698&sspn=4.204125,10.821533&oq=Mileground&hnear=Mileground+Rd,+Morgantown,+West+Virginia&t=m&z=15&layer=c&cbll=39.643963,-79.933983&panoid=ou_ffcir4W4U-YjX9Fmxnw&cbp=12,162.21,,0,0 (https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=39.6439,-79.933906&spn=0.016787,0.042272&sll=41.117935,-77.604698&sspn=4.204125,10.821533&oq=Mileground&hnear=Mileground+Rd,+Morgantown,+West+Virginia&t=m&z=15&layer=c&cbll=39.643963,-79.933983&panoid=ou_ffcir4W4U-YjX9Fmxnw&cbp=12,162.21,,0,0)
Holy shit. Which lane did he get?
Quote from: sbeaver44 on September 09, 2013, 07:57:36 PM
Neil E. Bolyard "Tippy" Buck
most pretentious personal names...
Quote from: NE2 on September 09, 2013, 09:01:45 PM
Quote from: sbeaver44 on September 09, 2013, 07:57:36 PM
Not sure if it's still there with the recent roundabout constructed at WV 705 & US 119, but the right turn lane coming off WV 705 was the:
Neil E. Bolyard "Tippy" Buck Turning Lane
https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=39.6439,-79.933906&spn=0.016787,0.042272&sll=41.117935,-77.604698&sspn=4.204125,10.821533&oq=Mileground&hnear=Mileground+Rd,+Morgantown,+West+Virginia&t=m&z=15&layer=c&cbll=39.643963,-79.933983&panoid=ou_ffcir4W4U-YjX9Fmxnw&cbp=12,162.21,,0,0 (https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=39.6439,-79.933906&spn=0.016787,0.042272&sll=41.117935,-77.604698&sspn=4.204125,10.821533&oq=Mileground&hnear=Mileground+Rd,+Morgantown,+West+Virginia&t=m&z=15&layer=c&cbll=39.643963,-79.933983&panoid=ou_ffcir4W4U-YjX9Fmxnw&cbp=12,162.21,,0,0)
Holy shit. Which lane did he get?
I always assumed the right lane (both are really long turn lanes) because you had to turn into it rather than the left lane where you just went straight into it, but it could really go either way.
Quote from: sbeaver44 on September 09, 2013, 09:28:23 PM
I always assumed the right lane (both are really long turn lanes) because you had to turn into it rather than the left lane where you just went straight into it, but it could really go either way.
Are you sure about that? It looks from aerials like both lanes go back all the way to the turn at Van Voorhis.
Quote from: Pete from Boston on August 04, 2013, 06:55:51 PM
It was not solely signed as Avenue of the Americas at any time I can remember.
As I recall, the old black-on-yellow "camelback" street signs only showed Avenue of the Americas (much to the dismay of tourists who had the misfortune to ask locals for directions, since New Yorkers have always called it Sixth Avenue). When those signs disappeared their replacements showed both "6 Av" and "Avenue of the Americas."
Quote from: sbeaver44 on September 09, 2013, 07:57:36 PM
Not sure if it's still there with the recent roundabout constructed at WV 705 & US 119, but the right turn lane coming off WV 705 was the:
Neil E. Bolyard "Tippy" Buck Turning Lane
Quote from: NE2 on September 09, 2013, 09:01:45 PM
Holy shit. Which lane did he get?
Damn...at that rate, every man woman and child will get a dedicated piece of road.
Quote from: formulanone on September 11, 2013, 12:03:01 PM
Quote from: sbeaver44 on September 09, 2013, 07:57:36 PM
Not sure if it's still there with the recent roundabout constructed at WV 705 & US 119, but the right turn lane coming off WV 705 was the:
Neil E. Bolyard "Tippy" Buck Turning Lane
Quote from: NE2 on September 09, 2013, 09:01:45 PM
Holy shit. Which lane did he get?
Damn...at that rate, every man woman and child will get a dedicated piece of road.
About 10 years ago I asked the Virginia DOT to post an additional "SPEED LIMIT 65" sign near Shirlington in the I-395 HOV lanes on the basis that the existing 65-mph sign near the Pentagon was posted on a curve, somewhat behind a light pole, and adjacent to an onramp merge lane, such that many drivers seemed not to see it. They posted the sign within a few weeks. My father said I should get to name the sign because I requested it. I jokingly told my then-girlfriend (now wife) that I was going to ask VDOT to name the sign for Ronald Reagan (this because Ms1995hoo feels too many things are named for him).
Quote from: 1995hoo on September 11, 2013, 03:53:41 PMI jokingly told my then-girlfriend (now wife) that I was going to ask VDOT to name the sign for Ronald Reagan (this because Ms1995hoo feels too many things are named for him).
Has she ever been to West Virginia?
If I'm not mistaken, there is a Robert C. Byrd Highway that is part of the Robert C. Byrd Appalachian Highway System.
Quote from: hbelkins on September 11, 2013, 09:27:56 PM
If I'm not mistaken, there is a Robert C. Byrd Highway that is part of the Robert C. Byrd Appalachian Highway System.
holy crap
(//www.aaroads.com/wp-content/uploads/blog_images/midwest/i-090_094_eb_exit_051h_06.jpg)
Quote from: hbelkins on September 11, 2013, 09:27:56 PMIf I'm not mistaken, there is a Robert C. Byrd Highway that is part of the Robert C. Byrd Appalachian Highway System.
You should come to Winston-Salem. Where you can send your kids to high school at R.J. Reynolds High School (also home of the stately Reynolds Auditorium) and then college at the Reynolda Campus of Wake Forest University, both of which are just off of Reynolda Road. While at Wake Forest, they'll spend a lot of time studying in the Reynolds Library. You can visit the art gallery at the Reynolda House, go shopping at Reynolda Village, take a stroll through the Reynolda Gardens, or play golf at Reynolds Park. If you want to leave town you can catch a commuter flight from the Smith-Reynolds airport. Be careful not to get Reynolda Road, Reynolds Boulevard, and Reynolds Park Road confused with each other.
^ Is it Reynolda or Reynolds? :-/
Quote from: sammi on September 11, 2013, 10:59:58 PM
^ Is it Reynolda or Reynolds? :-/
The famous tobacco mogul is R.J. Reynolds, but "Reynolda" is common for a lot of places because a very large portion of what is now northern Winston-Salem used to be his estate, Reynolda Manor.
EDIT: Though I neglected to mention that we also have Hanes Mill Road, Hanes Middle School, Hanes Park, Hanes Mall, Hanesbrand Theatre, and Camp Hanes
Quote from: NE2 on September 11, 2013, 09:38:37 PM
Quote from: hbelkins on September 11, 2013, 09:27:56 PM
If I'm not mistaken, there is a Robert C. Byrd Highway that is part of the Robert C. Byrd Appalachian Highway System.
holy crap
(//www.aaroads.com/wp-content/uploads/blog_images/midwest/i-090_094_eb_exit_051h_06.jpg)
But is there an Eisenhower Interstate System sign in close proximity to that?
Quote from: DSS5 on September 11, 2013, 10:56:57 PM
Quote from: hbelkins on September 11, 2013, 09:27:56 PMIf I'm not mistaken, there is a Robert C. Byrd Highway that is part of the Robert C. Byrd Appalachian Highway System.
You should come to Winston-Salem. Where you can send your kids to high school at R.J. Reynolds High School (also home of the stately Reynolds Auditorium) and then college at the Reynolda Campus of Wake Forest University, both of which are just off of Reynolda Road. While at Wake Forest, they'll spend a lot of time studying in the Reynolds Library. You can visit the art gallery at the Reynolda House, go shopping at Reynolda Village, take a stroll through the Reynolda Gardens, or play golf at Reynolds Park. If you want to leave town you can catch a commuter flight from the Smith-Reynolds airport. Be careful not to get Reynolda Road, Reynolds Boulevard, and Reynolds Park Road confused with each other.
That's only because they couldn't rename the local drag "Camel Smoothway", with Camel Traffic Lights (available in soft-pack or box).
Quote from: bugo on August 02, 2013, 08:02:53 AM
Any "Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr" street. Call it "King Street" and be done with it.
I've noticed that streets named for African American civil rights leaders are often named using the person's full name, and not just their last name. I also think "President Clinton Avenue" in LR should be "Clinton Avenue".
King Street does not scream MLK to me (MLK Street would be fine, though. I mean we have JFK blvd, and I think everyone knows what MLK stands for). Neither does Clinton for Bill (No abbreviation would work for me, but just "Bill Clinton" is ok. Bush is the hardest. You need at least the first, last, and middle initial to tell which Bush we're talking about.
Quote from: bzakharin on September 18, 2013, 09:15:27 AM
Quote from: bugo on August 02, 2013, 08:02:53 AM
Any "Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr" street. Call it "King Street" and be done with it.
I've noticed that streets named for African American civil rights leaders are often named using the person's full name, and not just their last name. I also think "President Clinton Avenue" in LR should be "Clinton Avenue".
King Street does not scream MLK to me (MLK Street would be fine, though. I mean we have JFK blvd, and I think everyone knows what MLK stands for). Neither does Clinton for Bill (No abbreviation would work for me, but just "Bill Clinton" is ok. Bush is the hardest. You need at least the first, last, and middle initial to tell which Bush we're talking about.
Charleston, SC has had a King Street for a lot longer than MLK was either famous or dead. I'd argue only the following are unambiguous in terms of 99% of street names:
Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Lincoln, Eisenhower, Kennedy
Ambiguous, but presidential nonetheless: Adams, Roosevelt
Too recent to have a large sample size: Nixon, Reagan
Quote from: Steve on September 18, 2013, 09:56:38 PM
Charleston, SC has had a King Street for a lot longer than MLK was either famous or dead.
King Street in Seattle (and the eponymous train station) predates MLK. Martin Luther King Way east of downtown (I believe formerly known as Empire Way) is I think usually signed with all of his names (with the Jr but without the Dr), I think the BGSs on I-5 abbreviate it to M L King Way.
ETA: http://goo.gl/maps/2ts92 (http://goo.gl/maps/2ts92) -- typical MLK Way signage
Quote from: Steve on September 18, 2013, 09:56:38 PMCharleston, SC has had a King Street for a lot longer than MLK was either famous or dead.
Same with Boone, NC calling it's main road King Street.
Quote from: Kacie Jane on September 18, 2013, 10:12:23 PM
Quote from: Steve on September 18, 2013, 09:56:38 PM
Charleston, SC has had a King Street for a lot longer than MLK was either famous or dead.
King Street in Seattle (and the eponymous train station) predates MLK. Martin Luther King Way east of downtown (I believe formerly known as Empire Way) is I think usually signed with all of his names (with the Jr but without the Dr), I think the BGSs on I-5 abbreviate it to M L King Way.
ETA: http://goo.gl/maps/2ts92 (http://goo.gl/maps/2ts92) -- typical MLK Way signage
Presumably, King Street was named for King County. Of course, King County long predates MLK, though it has been offically "renamed" for Dr. King. In a convoluted way, King Street can be thought as named for MLK.
So says Wikipedia:QuoteThe county was named after William Rufus King who was Vice-President when the Washington Territory was created. In 1986 a motion was introduced by Ron Sims (a black Democrat from Seattle), and Bruce Laing (a white Republican from suburban Renton) to change the namesake to Martin Luther King, Jr. No public votes or hearings were taken on the change.
On February 24, 1986, the King County Council passed Council Motion 6461 five votes to four setting forth the historical basis for the renaming of King County in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Because only the state can charter counties, this change was not made official until April 19, 2005, when Washington Governor Christine Gregoire signed Senate Bill 5332 into law.
This I know, and have posted about on these boards before. While I don't know the specific history, I think we can safely assume that King Street was named for King County/William Rufus King. But I'd have trouble making the leap that since King County was "renamed", that automatically means King Street was too.
I tried to find the history of King Street in Boone. I was only able to dig up that it was known as Boone Trail in the 1920s but was definitely referred to as King Street by 1949.
Quote from: Kacie Jane on September 19, 2013, 08:50:59 PM
This I know, and have posted about on these boards before.
Oh, that's where I heard about it! Thanks, Kacie.
QuoteI'd have trouble making the leap that since King County was "renamed", that automatically means King Street was too.
That's what I meant when I said my reasoning was "convoluted." :spin:
The King's Highway?
Harding Highway (US40 in NJ and supposedly NJ48)
Very corrupt president, let's just leave it at that, no flame wars 90 years after the fact or compring him to later administrations.
You could joke that it is named after Tonya Harding
Quote from: hbelkins on September 11, 2013, 11:08:05 PM
But is there an Eisenhower Interstate System sign in close proximity to that?
Not to my knowledge.
I 65 in central Alabama is the Hank Williams Lost Highway( named for one of his songs, The Lost Highway").
Tennessee's Sen. Albert Gore Sr. Highway System. (Yes, I know this is the father of the Gore most of us are familiar with. Still sounds pretentious.)
Louisiana Airborne Memorial Bridge. I'm all for honoring our military, but seriously, nobody in south Louisiana is going to call it that; we all call it "the basin bridge."
An arterial road in Broussard, LA, is named Albertson Parkway. As in the supermarket chain, which has a store right where its namesake street meets US 90. I wonder if they paid for naming rights.