Useless Street Names Trivia

Did you know that Patterson Ave is named after Dr. Richard Archibald Patterson, a Confederate surgeon? Or, that Thompson Street is named after the publisher of the first horticulture paper?

Discoverrichmond.com has these and other street name facts in an interesting article highlighting the history of Richmond’s Roads and the derivation of the names.

Other interesting facts from the article…

• “Floyd Avenue was formerly Federal Street, but that name lost favor in Richmond during the Civil War. The street was named for Confederate Maj. Gen. John Buchanan Floyd, who was governor in 1849-52.”
• Cary Street used to be called D Street and then Dover Plank Road.
• Broad Street started out as H Street, then switched to Haxall, until finally Broad.
• Boulevard was originally named Clover Street, and was almost re-named after Arthur Ashe, but city council turned it down.