Naming Our City Streets

Growing up in Montclair (for me), Thornhill Drive was always just Thornhill Drive. But come to find out it was once called Thorn Road (sometimes Thorne Road). Thornhill is a more delightful-sounding name than Thorn. But there is a perfectly good reason why it was called Thorn Road.

Thorn Road

William J. Dingee 1878 Map of Oakland, Berkeley, and Alameda. David Rumsey Map Collection –

From the 1878 Map of Oakland

The name goes back to 1856 when a man named Hiram Thorn (Hiram Thorne) built the road at a hefty expense. Thorn’s road brought redwood logs to Oakland out of the vast forest known as the Moraga Redwoods, where he ran a lumber mill on Pinehurst Road. Thorn was later given a franchise to run and collect tolls for the road, it was one of 3 toll roads in Oakland. In 1933 Thorn Road officially became Thornhill Drive.

From the 1870 Oakland City Directory

Since I found out about Thornhill Drive, I have been inquisitive about the names of our city streets. You can read more at the Oakland Local Wiki page Street Names if interested.

Named after Trees.

  • Acacia
  • Beech
  • Birch
  • Holly
  • Linden
  • Locust
  • Palmetto
  • Pine
  • Poplar
  • Plymouth
  • Redwood
  • Sequoyah
  • Spruce
  • Walnut
  • Willow

In the Laurel District, there are streets named for the states.

  • Maine
  • Vermont
  • Jersey
  • Montana
  • Texas
  • Ohio (now Dakota)
  • Delaware
  • Georgia
  • Idaho
  • Kansas
  • California
  • Wisconsin

Maine, Vermont, and Jersey are no longer due to the construction of the MacArthur Freeway. I happen to live on Georgia Street.

Sequoyah Hills

They are varieties of horse-drawn carriages.

  • Hansom
  • Coach
  • CHariot
  • Phaeton
  • Shay
  • Surrey

The theme is a pun, considering the wheel-like arrangement of Shay, Phaeton, and Coach streets radiating from Hansom.

Montclair

Streets named after early explorers, WW II, and the signs of the Zodiac

  • Balboa
  • Cabrillo
  • Cabot
  • Drake
  • Gasper
  • Magellan
  • Mendoza
  • Liggett
  • Pershing
  • Sims
  • Wood
  • Aquarius
  • Capricorn
  • Leo
  • Taurus
  • Uranus

English Names

  • Ascot
  • Bagshotte
  • Beaconsfield
  • Camelford
  • Carisbrook
  • Chatsworth
  • Chelsea
  • Darnby
  • Exeter
  • Girvin
  • Haverhill
  • Holyrood
  • Keswick
  • Mall
  • Melville
  • Scarborough
  • Stockbridge
  • Westover
    Oakland Tribune 1953
    Oakland Tribune Dec 1960

    The following is a group of articles by Albert E. Norman from the Oakland Tribune in 1960

    If you have wondered about the name of your street, leave a message below, and I will check it out.

    More Info:

    Oakland-related links:

    Misc Street Links:

    Coming soon Gold Star Streets

    The End

    18 thoughts on “Naming Our City Streets

      • I thought about Zinn Drive when I was writing this post. It is right in the middle of the streets named after California Explorers. I can’t find anything directly. Rincon Drive which crosses Zinn Drive. Rincon means “angle or corner” in Spanish, which fits. It could be someones last name.

    1. I’ve always loved the group of street names where I grew up, Merriwood, Robinhood, Crown, and Abbot. It seems someone at that time loved to read adventure stories.

      • I don’t really know. But I will see what I can find out. Possibly it was name of a women the developer knew. I grew up on Capricorn Ave, not to far away from Ruthland.

    2. This is so interesting to read about! Any info on Meldon Ave in Maxwell Park? I tried doing some research at the Main Oakland library and all I came up with was a student at UC Berkeley with the last name Meldon in the late 20’s (I think). My house was built on Meldon Ave in 1932.

    3. I’m curious about Hoover and Clemens Rd. In the Oakmore area. No obvious connections to builders in the area. Possibly for Samuel Clemens and Herbert Hoover, but no similar patterns nearby.

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