The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-08-14
cnAxerNq srnnrr AME
A Consideration Of scuse Reasons FOR q
noine and or Some Results.

notmG ana OF Some Hsesuits.
To EDITOR OF THE SUN-Sir: The
article in to-day's SUN on New York street
nomenclature is interesting from beginning
to end. but more particularly. l think. in
its references to the change OF name OF various
Of the thorouRhfares described in that con-
nection. without exception the changes made
appear to have been expcdiont and sensible.
wall. also. by tho way, is one OF our renamed
streets, H. having been originally Wacl.) But.
coming down to our own times. the changing Of
street names seems to have become a mania.
Some reason Is always given for the change, to
be sure, but the reason Is generally trivial.
Too often. indeed. the new namo has nothing
whatever that is discoverable to commend 1t,
whereas the old one may have been ft in every
sense OF tho word. Too often. too, when tho
name is not changed entirely we find avenue"
that much abused word in street nomenclature
substituted for street or road. For In
stance: In a suburb OF a Western city less than
Boldface. road, so named from Boldface Creek
with which 1t ran parallel. which latter took
in the border days of that section.
Boldface road was not, nor is 1t now. n particu-
iarly pro tSnt Ons n, tnhogrogEhfarG; but motw vihds
in the street directory Of the town referred to,
as also in It's lamppost signs; as .Bold,facc road,
tirely. and now what was Boldface road is Lin.
opinion. is mmeasnrabiy better than Boldfaco
avenue. 1t is at any rate no longer incongru-
2 sola,d T9r' t though wshr, Lincoln %dn t tbe St I ssrE Mon like
man. the ~paleface became known of all men
upon the avenues OF a groat nations capital and
whereas the red mans" avenues were solitary
trail, through tho wilderness Of the valley Of
the Ohio. his halls. rude tents Of poles and wild
beasts skins. and his councils the powwows of
the camp fire.
But what is to he snid Of the misguided per,
| Sons who are resOOnsihle for the change of this
streets namoi Did they fear. perchance, when,
having occasion to mention their h3me address.
fare in which they lived might unhappily convey
the impression that their domiciles were out in
inss. and destitute Of, ali the improvements"
And was the noble. picturesque. historical. and
them I Did it seem to them to be OF lowly origin.
and not high sounding enough. forsoothi
hd n"s a we B dHn,s nS ctee K &c go t 10 ff t5is sM MISUSE fro% n
street nomenclature Of the word "avennc."
White Plains road: for INSTANCE. the main thor.
R 1snS:si ]stHtio e. n i \; y Y; ci SitT = p O. 2. t Gns w thTon1S
Plains avenue; at Wakefield. which adioins
on the north. It Is still called White Plains road
but how long, alas! will, 1t, retain this two miles
or SO OF, It's, old fashioned, homely, humble. and
Boston road, too. below West Farms, is in.
fectcd. in one spot at least. with this fever OF
change, for / saw the other day on a corner
building two little gilt signs; one bore the name
OF n side street. the other the legend. Boston
avenue. And will Morningstar road. and Fin
gerboard road. and Amboy. road. on Staten
Island. be described in some future street direc
tory of the Greater New York as avenues"
Good Lord, forbid! And I hardly think 1t posi-
bic. Still. who can telli Perhaps some day we
NAV see some great-great-grandson or other IN
his Observation-Disclosures burial plot chisel
ling out the old names and in the new. exclaim
ing the while, How much nicer Clarence
sounds than Peter. and .Algernon' than ia
cob,' and 'Adelbert' than Abner' -
BURTON ZIMMERMAN.
New YORK. Aug. g. 1897.