History of Roads in Phoenix

Oldphoenix.jpgry of Roads in Phoenix, AZ
Other Followers

(+BradHallArt.com)

Streets heading north from downtown
Washington Street - Named after our first president, George Washington.

Adams Street - Named after our second president, John Adms.

Melinda's Alley - You won't find this on maps anymore, but Melinda's Alley was once an alley filled wth buisnesses on Central in between Monroe and Adams. Charles Poston was born, and died, on Melinda's Alley.

Monroe Street - Named after our fifth president, James Monroe.

Van Buren Street - Major Street. Named after our fifteenth president, Martin Van Buren. But it once was also known as Tempe Road. As it curves west under Center Parkway and turns into Mill Avenue, there is a scenic view of the Red Rocks from the Phoenix Zoo.

Grand Avenue - In 1887 developer from Fresno, California came to make a route from Phoenix to California. The highway is a sharp route northeast towards Barwick, California. The highway runs west to a 45 degree route to Yavapai Street. Original Grand Avenue Document here. Some tricks on navigating on Grand Avenue overpasses here. Wow, Grand Canal, Grand Canal, Grand Avenue- Wow, they really liked the word grand in Old Arizona!

Polk Street - Named after our 11th president, James Polk.

Taylor Street - Named after our 12th president, Zachary Taylor.

Fillmore Street - Named after our 13th president, Millard Fillmore.

Pierce Street - Named after our 14th president, Franklin Pierce.

McKinley Street - Named after our 25th president, William McKinley.

Garfield Street - Named after our 20th president, James A. Garfield.

Roosevelt Street - 1/2 mile street. Named after our 26th president, Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt.

Diamond Street - Named after additional Diomand Heights platted in 1909 by E.J and Emma H. Bennit.

Portland Street

Latham Street - Named after H.I. Latham who owned the H.I. Latham Co. on Melinda's Alley. He lived with his wife, Henrietta, at Latham Mansion on the northwest corner of Central and McDowell. [see below]

Moreland Street - This street was originally called Westmoreland Street. The road actually ran north and south in those days. But they had to minimize the name to Moreland Street because it was a north-south street and people would think they were going east or west on N. Westmoreland Street. They had to cut off "west" to avoid confusion. Can you blame them? Original Westmoreland Street here.

Willetta Street

Culver Street

Lynwood Street

McDowell Rd - Ths road is named after Civil War general Irvin McDowell. A graduate of West Point, he was leader of the Union Army in The Battle of the Bull Run. His carrer survived when he got appoint at the Battle of Atlanta. He was next commenced into the Pacific Navajo Army Depot. According to records McDowell never visited Arizona, and is born at the National Army Cemetery Plantation in San Francisco.

Palmcroft Drive, Way - The Palmcroft Subdivision was platted in 1927 by   Dwight B. Heard [see below] and William G. Hartford on land once owned by J.W. and Dorothy W. Dobbins. It's still an amazing neighborhood to see today.

Almeria Road

Coronado Road

Granada Road

Palm Lane - You can probably guess by looking at the following.

Hubbell Street

Holly Street

Monte Vista Street - In spanish, this means "Mountain View" or "View of the Mountain". Monte Vista was a subdivision platted on December 4th, 1908 by Dwight B. Heard.

Cypress Street

Oak Street

Harvard Street - An Ivy League school, like Yale and Princeton used as 1924 subdivisions created by T.H. and Elise Greenfield [see below] at 16th Street just south of Thomas. Princeton Street was platted in 1924. By 1982, Princeton Street had vanished. The whereabouts of Princeton Street are unknown.

Sheridan Street

Yale Street - See Above

Encanto Boulevard - 1/2 mile street. "Enchantment" in Spanish.

Hoover Street - Named after our 31st president, Herbert Hoover.

Vernon Avenue - Named after George Washington's home, Mount Vernon.

Lewis Avenue

Ashland Avenue

Wilshire Drive - Named after Henry Galord Wilshire (1861-1927), who was known by his middle name, Gaylord, and was a land developer to whom it may concern Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles.

Woodward Drive

Virginia Avenue - Named after the 10th state of the United States, Virginia

West Virginia Avenue (2600 North) - West side of Central, Named after our 35th state, West Virginia.

Cambridge Avenue

Windsor Avenue

Edgemont Avenue

Thomas Road - Major street. Named after William E. Thomas, Arizona territorial county recorder at the turn of the century. Thomas owned an 85-acre ranch, 1 1/2 miles north of the city. Everthing north of Happy Valley Road [see below] was considered New River, so technically, Thomas didn't live in Phoenix. Page showing William E. Thomas Territorial County Recorder. Original biography of William E. Thomas here. Complete transcript of the book here. Aritcle from the 1908 Arizona Republic here. At the time t was also known as Oleander Ave.



Country Club Drive - Runs around the Phoenix Country Club

Merrel St

Verde Ln

Catalina Dr

Avalon Dr

Pinchot Ave

Earll Dr - Named after E.A. Earll, who platted Earll Place in 1991. Original Earll Place plat map here.

Flower St

Cherry Ln

Monterey Way

Campus Dr - Runs around Phoenix College.

Mulberry Dr

Osborn Rd - 1/2 mile street. Named after the Osborn family, who owned a farm on the southeast end of Central [see below] and Osborn, that had been owned by a fellow Tennessee-er, John Preston Osborn, and his wife, Paulina Elizabeth from Kentucky in the late 1870s. The road became known as Osborn Rd at the time of John's death in 1900 at age 84. Their son Neri became the Phoenix County Recorder. Neri and his wife lived at 77 Encanto [see above] in Phoenix. Neri's son, or John's grandson, was Sidney Osborn and she was the 7th Governor of Arizona.

Mitchell Dr

Witton Dr - Named after F.E. Witton, who platted the Witton Tract in 1991.

Columbus Ave

Weldon Ave

Clarendon Ave

Indianola Ave - Named after T.E. Earnhardt, who platted Indianola Place at the western corner of 2nd Street and Indianola in 1910.

Indian School Rd - Major street. Named after the Phoenix Indian School at Indian School & 2nd Street.