Accidental Blogger

Or at "Courageous" and "Fearless."  If that won't work, how about "Okra" and "Turnip?"

By now, you know of my fascination with interesting street names. I just discovered that there are many worthy instances within the city of Houston and its suburbs. I just haven't come across them. Author Marks Hinton has compiled a list in his book Historic Houston Streets.  A report in the Houston Chronicle. 

Houston may be notorious for tearing down the old to build the new, but our street names give us a little history, as well as a sense of personal whimsy and changing times.

So we have Travis, Austin, Lamar, Houston and Deaf Smith, named for Texas legends. MacGregor, Holcombe, Freeman and Fondren, named for local civic leaders.

Marks Hinton, author of Historic Houston Streets/The Stories Behind the Names, says there are about 50,000 streets in Harris County, and many more when you consider the metropolitan area.

Most are named by the developer, chosen for a melodic sound, he says. People would rather live on Pear Tree Lane than Inch Road, according to that theory.

"Most people wouldn't want to live on Stalin Street," Hinton says. "People are very particular about their street names." ……

……. Some names appear to be the result of mistakes and misinformation, preserved for the ages. Hinton says Weslayan Street in West University, which first appeared on a city map in 1935, is apparently named for Wesleyan University, named for John Wesley, founder of the Methodist Church.

Texmatti Drive in Katy is named after Texmati rice, a blend of Indian basmati and Texas long grain rice.

Local entrepreneurs are immortalized, including Michael Louis Westheimer, a German immigrant whose name is now used for a major east-west thoroughfare; neighborhoods around the Johnson Space Center reflect its mission with streets named Saturn, Gemini, Jupiter and Mercury.

Other names are private jokes: Hartgrove says legend has it that Lemac Drive just south of the South Loop is "Camel" spelled backward, named by someone for his favorite brand of cigarette.

I asked the following question in my post on Chlorine Road : "But rarely have I seen the essential ingredients of a particular business used in street names. Are there more out there? At hospital complexes, in Silicon Valley or other places dedicated to a specialized pursuit?"

I noted in the newspaper article that the Johnson Space Center in Houston's Clear Lakes does have street names (Mercury, Gemini, Saturn etc.) related to its mission. Chronicle journalists fanned out through the city to find and photograph quirky street names. Here are some memorable Houston area crossroads.

• Romeo and Juliet: In a working-class neighborhood in Pasadena. Does it matter that Juliet is a dead end?

• Boy Scout and Webelos: In a clean-cut neighborhood in Friendswood.

• Black Gold and Oil Center: Stating our city's business in an industrial area near Bush Intercontinental Airport.

• Okra and Turnip: A healthy sign in Spring.

• Gulf Stream and Jet Stream: Where sea meets air in Clear Lake.

• Grace and Faith: A miraculous moment, not too far from Tomball.

• Courageous and Fearless: Where the brave live, in northern Harris County.