The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-10-19
NAMING OF STREETS.
A System to Be Submitted to
the Council.
NECESSITY OF SIMPLICITY.
The Dearborn Plan Makes . Uniform
Arrangement-Some of the Pres
emit Aosurditfes.

The necessity for reform of some kind in
the system OF naming streets is generally recog-
nized, but perhaps few know 10 what an ex-
tent the evil reaches. The number of streets
with the same name or with names so much
alike as to be confusing finds no parallel in any
city. The following compilation of street names
within radius of three miles from Pioneer
place will give some idea OF the muddle.
There are seven streets named Sixth and one
sixth avenue, six streets named Seventh, five
named Fifth, four named Second, two Fifteenth,
two First, two Fourth, two Fourteenth, three
Ninth, two Third, two Thirteenth, two Twelfth.
Five streets are named Cedar; there are five
named Lake and one Lake avenue; there are
four named Crawford and four named Lincoln.
there are three streets each bearing the fol-
lowing names: Clay, Decatur, Elliott and one
Elliott avenue, Grant, Green. Howard. King,
Market, Oak, Prospect. with also two Prospect
avenues, Randolph, South, Willard, and one
Willard avenue, and WALL
There are two streets for each of the following
names: Adams, Alder, Allan, Ash land one
Ash avenue), B, Battery, Beacon, Blaine, Cali
fornia land one avenue), Canal, Carrie, Cascade,
Chester, Chestnut and one Chestnut avenue,
Choat, Columbia and avenue, Dear
born, Division, Douglas, Duwamish,
East, Elizabeth, Euclid with also
two avenues and one Euclid drive, Everett
and one avenue, Filbert, Fountain, Garfield,
Hayes, James, Jones' Laurel and one Laurel
Shade, Lee, Liberty, Main, Marion,
May, Nye, Olive, Oliver, Orange, with
also an avenue, Orleans, Park avenue,
Phelps, Pine, Preston, Prince, Railroad avenue,
Rainier, with two Rainier avenues, Scott, Seat
tie, and one avenue, Section, Sherman, Smith,
and one avenue, Spruce, State, Summit, and one
avenue, sunset avenue, Union, Vine and Wal
nut.
Besides these are other confusions arising
from similarity, such as Jesse and Jessie, Main
nv,A Nf.f,
Oliver two of each), Olympia and Olympic five
streets or avenues, Pike and Pine and Vine,
Plum and Plummer, Willard and Willie, Wait
and Waite.
committee of the city council has been busy
during the past three weeks endeavoring to
formulate plan whereby all the difficulties
can be avoided and system adopted by which
locations may be readily ascertained. They will
hold a meeting tonight in the city hail. and in
vite persons specially interested to he present,
not only TO suggest plans but 10 offer objections
to contemplated changes.
Mr.. II. II. Dearborn has suggested a general
system which can be applied to the whole city.
1t provides that Front street shall be changed to
First avenue. North Second to Second avenue,
and so continue 20 the intersection of Broadway
and Depot street produced.
At Yesler avenue and Broadway change Fir
street TO Belmont avenue, and then succeed by
parallel avenues, retaining the name of
CEDAR, out changing Alder TO : la-
dem, Terrace to Eagle, Jefferson to
Fairmont, James to Grand, Cherry TO Highland,
Columbia to Imperial Marion to Juvenal,
Madison to Kirkland, Spring TO Lenora, Seneca
to Madison, University to Normal, Union to
Olive, Pike retained, Pine to Queen, Olive to
Ramonda, Howell to Stewart, stewart 70
Terrace, Virginia to Union. Leonora TO Virginia,
Blanchard to Willow. These avenues will thus
be named in alphabetical order Bell would
then be changed TO Alder, and the same success
sion be followed until Grand was reached aud
that would be named Joy avenue. Depot would
then be changed to Atlantic, John to Baltic,
Thomas to Celtic, all to be called avenues, and
by their terminal syllable showing where they
began.
1t is proposed by Mr.. Dearborn to number
houses on all avenues north of Yesler as now,
reserving 100 for each block. All the wharves
would be numbered from Harrington's north.
The streets south of Yesler are to be called
streets, but changing them SO that South Second
would be South First, and SO on. Beginning
with Washington Mr.. Dearborn would change
that TO Andrews, and run each south
in alphabetical order: Andrews, Burke,
Collins, Dearborn, Estelman, Forrest, Gardner,
Hanford, Ingels, Jackson, Kinnear, Leary,
Marshall, Norman, Orth, Plummer, Quinn,
Rinehart, Stacy, Talbot, Upper, Vrooman,
Walker. The wharves running south to be let
tered A, b, c, etc.
A final recommendation is that street signs
and house numbers be placed as soon as possible
after adoption OF plan.