How Streets in NYC Got Their Names: Part 2
So I’m not sure if anyone is actually reading these questionably topical history sections, but here we are. In a newsletter a year ago, we dove into the origins of popular New York street names, like Bank, Orchard, Bowery, Wall, Houston, and Maiden. Well, we’re going to cover another bunch because if you’re on a date, walking around, there’s a lull in conversation, and you find yourself on Canal Street *BAM* instant dorky yet endearing conversation topic. You’ll thank me later.
Canal Street – in 1807, the city commissioned a 40-foot-wide canal to drain the polluted Collect Pond (remember from this last newsletter?) into the Hudson River. The canal was covered in 1820 and tree-lined Canal Street was laid on top of it.
Spring Street – formerly known as Oliver Street, in 1799 the street was renamed after a spring on the Bayard farm, which is said to still exist in a basement on Spring St.
Beaver Street – one of Manhattan’s oldest streets, dating back to the 1660s, commemorates the beaver, whose pelt was the chief avenue of commerce between the Dutch and Native Americans from the 1620s to the 1650s.
Pearl Street – while people now would shutter to eat anything out of the East River, once the waters around Manhattan were abundant with oysters, hence Pearl Street.
Bedford Avenue – Bedford was a village in what is now Williamsburg and served as a focal point in the Revolutionary War’s Battle of Brooklyn – the name comes from the Dutch word “bestevaar“, meaning “the place where old men meet”.
Bushwick Avenue – the oldest street in all of Bushwick, dates back to the Dutch occupation and was named such in 1661. In Dutch, Bushwick means “place of woods” – the area was originally dense with forest; however the woods were depleted by British soldiers during the war for fuel, forever changing the landscape.
Times Square – is named after the New York Times, as in 1904 the esteemed newspaper moved its headquarters into the square. Before this, it was Longacre Square, after a carriage-making district in London as it was used for the same.