Tucson's Street Names

1. Cushing Street downtown is named for

An early upholsterer, George Cushion

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

Rex Cushing, an early athlete at the University of Arizona

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

Explanation

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

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

Yes

No

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

Explanation

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

3. Speedway Boulevard was named

Wilson Street in 1896, after a Tucson city councilman

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

All of the above

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 …

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 …

4. Camino Pio Decimo on Tucson's east side was named for

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

Native settlers

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

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.

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.

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

(Rosetta) Stone Avenue

(Ulysses S.) Grant Road

Hacienda del Sol (School) Road

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

Explanation

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

6. 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) Waterways (River, Santa Cruz, Wetmore)

B) Trees (Linden, Seneca, Waverly)

C) Early UA professors (Hughes, Euclid, Park

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

Explanation

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

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

Billy the Kid, whose alias was William H. Bonney

Bonnie Prince Charles Edward Stuart, later Charles I

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

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

Explanation

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

8. Limberlost Drive is named

After Franklin W. Limberlost, prominent local rancher

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

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

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."

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."