Tucson's Street Names

1.

Which of the following roads got its name through a possible error, when Pima Country dropped word(s) in authorizing its name?

A.

(Rosetta) Stone Avenue
B.

(Ulysses S.) Grant Road
C.

Hacienda del Sol (School) Road

Correct Answer
C. Hacienda del Sol (School) Road

Explanation
The street was named for the school it ran past, but the word “school” was inadvertently dropped

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2.

A midtown street is named for Edgar Allan Poe. Did the author have any connection to Tucson?

A.

Yes
B.

No

Correct Answer
B. No

Explanation
No, none is known; Poe Street is between East 5th Street and Broadway in the Poet’s Corner neighborhood.

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3.

Bonney Avenue, between Irvington Road and Iowa Street, was named for

A.

Billy the Kid, whose alias was William H. Bonney
B.

Bonnie Prince Charles Edward Stuart, later Charles I
C.

Star columnist Bonnie Henry’s great-grandfather, Henry Bonney

Correct Answer
A. Billy the Kid, whose alias was William H. Bonney

Explanation
Easy one, right? A) Billy the Kid, of course.

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4.

Speedway Boulevard was named

A.

Wilson Street in 1896, after a Tucson city councilman
B.

Feldman Street around the turn of the century, after a local photographer and developer
C.

“The Speedway,” by a group of businessmen gathered in the Columbus Bar in around 1904, after a New York City racetrack
D.

All of the above

Correct Answer
D. All of the above

Explanation
Yup: D) all of the above. Why the racetrack-related name? Possibly because Speedway was still a dirt road then, and hosted plenty of horse races. Then again, the choice was made by a bunch of guys hanging around a bar …

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5.

Limberlost Drive is named

A.

After Franklin W. Limberlost, prominent local rancher
B.

After “The Girl of the Limberlost,” a 1909 novel
C.

After the Limberlost pioneer family, who were lost en route from Missouri to Oregon in the mid-19th century

Correct Answer
B. After “The Girl of the Limberlost,” a 1909 novel

Explanation
Around 1941, Tucson had two Wetmore Roads and University of Arizona professor Harry Behn, who lived at 411 E. Old Wetmore Road, successfully petitioned for the name change to Limberlost Drive in honor of the novel by Gene Stratton-Porter. Behn, who died in 1973, founded the University of Arizona Press in 1960 and wrote many children's books, including "The Faraway Lurs."

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6.

Camino Pio Decimo on Tucson’s east side was named for

A.

Pima County’s first public information officer, or “PIO,” Harvey Flack
B.

Native settlers
C.

Pope Pius X, who became pope in 1903 and was canonized in 1954

Correct Answer
C. Pope Pius X, who became pope in 1903 and was canonized in 1954

Explanation
C) In 1969, the Diocese of Tucson created St. Pius Parish and in around 1972 a developer asked Father Robert Fuller what he would like to name the new road to St. Pius X Catholic Church, then under construction. Fuller liked the sound of the Spanish translation of Pius X, so he called it Camino Pio Decimo. The church is located at 1800 Camino Pio Decimo.

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7.

Cushing Street downtown is named for

A.

An early upholsterer, George Cushion
B.

Lt. Howard Cushing, an Indian fighter killed in 1871 by a band of Apache warriors;
C.

Rex Cushing, an early athlete at the University of Arizona

Correct Answer
B. Lt. Howard Cushing, an Indian fighter killed in 1871 by a band of Apache warriors;

Explanation
B) A native of Milwaukee, Cushing also was a Civil War veteran

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8.

Anna Lester, who owned much of the land north of the University of Arizona, recorded the name "Lester Street" and three other street names in 1905. The three were named for

A.

A) Waterways (River, Santa Cruz, Wetmore)
B.

B) Trees (Linden, Seneca, Waverly)
C.

C) Early UA professors (Hughes, Euclid, Park

Correct Answer
B. B) Trees (Linden, Seneca, Waverly)

Explanation
b). Trees. You either knew this one or you didn’t.

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