To Name or Not to Name

Dear Lowdown:

In a city, who is charge of naming the streets and what are they usually named after? In Chicago, we have an Indiana Street and California and Milwaukee Avenues. Why are our streets named for different cities and states? And what do I have to do to get my own honorary street sign? Even the Italian Village Restaurant has managed to procure a little brown street sign on the corner of Clark and Monroe.

~Tracy Lin (Chicago)


Dear Tracy:

Street names may seem random, but there are reasons behind them. In Chicago, we have streets named after states, lakes, and even people. Many more were named after historically (sometimes not even historically) significant objects and people. Now, how do we come up with streets names? Well, that is what I am here to explain.

The regular street name, the ones on the green plaques, is the official names. Now I know you know this. The process in which the names are chosen is basic. The majority of names are a representation of history unique to the United States. For example, three of the boundary streets of the city are named after the most prominent men of the day, a past land survey showing that Washington street were the south boundary, Jefferson street the west, Kinzie street the north, and Dearborn street the east. Nowadays, these streets are no longer considered boundary streets.

Dearborn Street is named after the fort, which in turn is named after General Henry Dearborn, Secretary of War; Kinzie Street took its name from John Kinzie, the early white settler, while the others were named after George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. Northward from Washington Street came Randolph, named after John Randolph of Roanoke; Lake, after Lake Michigan; Fulton, named after Robert Fulton, whose steamboat, the Claremont, made its first trip on the Hudson between New York and Albany just twenty three years before Chicago was mapped out; Carroll Street, after Charles Carroll of Carrollton.

Now that we know where the names come from, a new question comes up. Who chooses these names? Currently, no one names streets because Chicago no longer expands. In the past, the effort of naming streets went to Edward P. Brennan.

After much wrangling with the council, they in 1913 changed the names of 567 streets, of which Edward was said to have personally renamed 130. In general the idea is to eliminate duplication and make names of streets uniform throughout their length (instead of having one section named one name and another section of the same street be named a different name), but as inevitably happens in times of upheaval, some took the opportunity to pursue private agendas. Southport north of Argyle became Glenwood, and in a moment of craven toadyism Evanston Avenue became Broadway. (Don't blame Edward, but rather the north-side business association that plumped for the change.) Perhaps the only person in Chicago public life who didn't make out like a bandit, Edward, received a City Council testimonial for his efforts and later an honor that surely meant more to him than gold: the public way at 2300 east, from 95th to 98th, was named South Brennan Street.

As for the honorary street sign, to get one on your own is easy but time consuming. Currently, to install an honorary street sign, a community group or individual makes a proposal to their alderman. The alderman will review the suggestion and send an ordinance to the City Council. The Committee on Transportation reviews the ordinance, which if accepted goes to the full City Council for final approval. This seemingly transparent process, however, produces a particular set of markers and meanings for Chicago’s public spaces. Street names implicitly instruct residents about whose beliefs and behaviors should be honored and which political leaders we should be learning from. They also, by omission, suggest who are unworthy topics of such street lessons.

The process to get an honorary street sign isn’t at all egotistical but, the reasons for granting the street sign is entirely egotistical. In order to have permission granted, there must be a heroic or significant reason. It is close to arrogance since it implies that whoever gets the street sign has done something great. Many would get street signs for themselves, in honor of what they have done. The action of getting a street sign can be very egotistical.

Why must there be a process for the general public to name streets after themselves? By obtaining a street sign in one’s name, a person can never be forgotten. His/her name will always be there for generations to come! Although one’s personality is not known, their name will be remembered. This situation is similar to parents who name their children after themselves, especially male children because they carry on the family line. Parents want to continue the family line and pass on the family name.
By naming a child after one’s name, that parent will be preserved through the child. John Smith Jr. will evoke memories of John Smith Sr. once mentioned in a group of close friends and family.

Sincerely,

Sally Chan