|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Gather round trivia buffs.
Was Woodside Road always known as such? How about the original name of Hudson Street? What about Broadway?
For the curious, this writing will share the lineage of many of Redwood City’s streets. What their names were and what they became. Some you may already know. Others may surprise you.
Let’s begin with the year 1909 when city fathers engaged in a large-scale renaming effort.
Off we go….
Fourteenth Street, which later was Rogers, became Whipple Ave. Eleventh Street was called Broadway when it crossed Hudson. In the renaming, both Eleventh and Broadway disappeared in favor of Hopkins Ave.
Another project was to rename the lettered and numbered streets, which sparked some debate.
Some wanted to use the names of Redwood City’s early settlers, such as Kincaid, Beeger, Littlejohn, Gilbert and others. Another camp wanted to recognize the names of many of the families on the Mayflower.
In the end, those in charge went with Mayflower family names. Thus, Allerton, Bradford, Brewster, Standish, Howland, Marshall, Webster, Chilton, Eaton and others became names that remain today. Warren, Winslow and Eaton were also added.
However, it didn’t end there. More changes were in the offing. A postal inspector added the following: Portola Avenue and South Street disappeared, replaced with Grand Street. Gerwin and Wall Street both were erased and became Hudson Street.
Many who live or have family that lived on the alphabet streets between Industrial and Stafford are surprised to find out they are not the original alphabet streets.
For example, the original “A Street” became Broadway. “B Street” became Marshall, “C Street” became Bradford, and “D Street” became Fuller.
Other changes included:
1st St. became Jefferson
2nd St. became Middlefield
3rd St became Hamilton
4th St. became Winslow
Have you had enough street name trivia?
Let’s close out this chronicling with Woodside Road being a narrow dirt road, known as “Red Wood Road,” in the early days. At what is known today as “Five Points,” it crossed “County Road,” which became El Camino Real.
Everything else is just history
Some of the photos used in this blog are courtesy of the Local History Room, Redwood City's best-kept secret. The Local History Collection covers all aspects of Redwood City's development, from the 1850s to the present day, with particular emphasis on businesses, public schools, civic organizations, city agencies, and early family histories. The Local History Room is not affiliated with the Redwood City Public Library, but it is inside it.
