street name changes in Detroit

**Goose** · May-19-10, 05:35 PM

I look at plats a lot in Detroit and noticed that a LOT of the street names have changed, a few for instance [[Monte Vista used to be Clinton) [[Camden used to be Poinsetta) [[Beaverland, in the very southern end used to be named Coon), many many other name changes. Why and when did the street names in Detroit get changed. I've got a full set of plats on Detroit in my office dated 1942 where most of the street names have been changed. Most of the plat scans online have the original names of the streets as they were originally platted when built. Any history on some of the name changes?

Bearinabox · May-19-10, 05:46 PM

It's the dummycrats' fault.

**mikefmich** · May-19-10, 05:50 PM

While some names have been changed, I would disagree with your statement that "most of the street names have changed."

**Goose** · May-19-10, 05:53 PM

Originally Posted by mikefmich

While some names have been changed, I would disagree with your statement that "most of the street names have changed."

i meant, in the 1942 plats, most of the streets that had name changes were already changed by that time....

but there are a LOT of street name changes....

**mikefmich** · May-19-10, 06:47 PM

What areas of the city appeared to have most of the changes, Goose?
This kinda interests me.....I had people in what is now Detroit but wasn't back when in the 1850-60-70's.

From what Ive seen from Victorian times, 1880's and forward except of course for new developments most seemed to stay the same.

I will admit my greatest focus was in the near downtown areas, and the east side out far as the old ribbon farms, and north to what is now McNichols.

**fareastsider** · May-20-10, 12:45 AM

I would suspect that many occurred when the townships were annexed and their were names that were already in the city of Detroit. I also would guess that contiguous roads that were not built and contiguous before the land was developed also would have their road name changed to the road that they were in line with. Such as Orangelawn road which stops and starts in multiple places but lies along the same E/W line approximately.

**Ray1936** · May-20-10, 11:59 AM

Originally Posted by fareastsider

I would suspect that many occurred when the townships were annexed and their were names that were already in the city of Detroit. I also would guess that contiguous roads that were not built and contiguous before the land was developed also would have their road name changed to the road that they were in line with. Such as Orangelawn road which stops and starts in multiple places but lies along the same E/W line approximately.

Yeah, I think that's the story. When my grandparents emigrated to Detroit from Germany, they bought their home at 12310 Avondale, Greenfield Township. When the area became part of the City of Detroit in 1927, the street and addy was changed to 12316 Sorrento. Alas, it's a vacant lot today.

**lafayette** · May-20-10, 12:25 PM

There was a major change to the address system in Detroit about 1920 to accommodate the growing population. Some street names were changed in the process, too. Example: Lafayette before 1920 was called Champlain.

**EastsideAl** · May-20-10, 04:47 PM

As the city grew, a lot of streets in various subdivisions and older communities had their names changed so that they conformed to the names of the streets they joined from adjoining subdivisions or from the pre-existing city streets. This subdivision building pattern is also the reason why many Detroit streets take a "jog" - often a significant one - when they cross older major streets, as the subdivisions often did not line up with one another.

If you look at old subdivision plats here - http://www.dleg.state.mi.us/platmaps/sr_subs.asp - you will see plans for a lot of streets with names that were changed either before or soon after they were built. So much so that many of these plats are almost impossible to locate today, as the street names used do not exist.

**takascar** · May-20-10, 05:24 PM

FYI - looks like the side street Waveney on the east side used to be called Stratford Avenue back in 1916 according to this subdivision plan:

http://www.dleg.state.mi.us/platmaps..._SUBINDEX=2447

**fareastsider** · May-20-10, 06:51 PM

Originally Posted by EastsideAl

As the city grew, a lot of streets in various subdivisions and older communities had their names changed so that they conformed to the names of the streets they joined from adjoining subdivisions or from the pre-existing city streets. This subdivision building pattern is also the reason why many Detroit streets take a "jog" - often a significant one - when they cross older major streets, as the subdivisions often did not line up with one another.

If you look at old subdivision plats here - http://www.dleg.state.mi.us/platmaps/sr_subs.asp - you will see plans for a lot of streets with names that were changed either before or soon after they were built. So much so that many of these plats are almost impossible to locate today, as the street names used do not exist.

They are not very hard to locate if you can interpret the legal description.

**takascar** · May-21-10, 12:18 AM

That dleg website is fantastic. Just found the subdivision that my dad grew up in on the east side about a quarter of a block from Denby High. The subdivision is called Kingston Heights and it was platted in June of 1920. My grandfather bought a lot there and built his house in 1939/1940.

Boy is that a mess - its another one of those Gross Pointe Twp [[later Gratiot Twp) annexed by Detroit issues - they had to change almost every street name:

Lexington became Payton
Loraine became Riad [[my dad grew up on this street)
Cambridge became Duchess
Portland [[borders on Denby's property) became Grayton
Lynn became Yorkshire.

The map has a little stamp on it saying that the plat was "vacated by the circuit court" in 1958.
I guess so - with so many changed street names.

**fareastsider** · May-21-10, 08:42 AM

Originally Posted by takascar

That dleg website is fantastic. Just found the subdivision that my dad grew up in on the east side about a quarter of a block from Denby High. The subdivision is called Kingston Heights and it was platted in June of 1920. My grandfather bought a lot there and built his house in 1939/1940.

Boy is that a mess - its another one of those Gross Pointe Twp [[later Gratiot Twp) annexed by Detroit issues - they had to change almost every street name:

Lexington became Payton
Loraine became Riad [[my dad grew up on this street)
Cambridge became Duchess
Portland [[borders on Denby's property) became Grayton
Lynn became Yorkshire.

The map has a little stamp on it saying that the plat was "vacated by the circuit court" in 1958.
I guess so - with so many changed street names.

That vacation stamp refers to the vacating of the alley not the plat. If a plat is vacated it does not exist anymore.

**DetroitPlanner** · May-21-10, 08:56 AM

Coon was the family name for a relatively wealthy farm family that owned most of what became Rouge Park. They had a large residence at Spinoza N of Warren Avenue and an AMC/Jeep/Chrysler Dealership at Plymouth and Telegraph, now run by Snethkamp. The residence was by the Cannon and stood until about 1980 where it was used as a recreation center.

Strangely enough this was not the only home in Rouge Park. Another existed at Rouge Park Drive and Outer Drive where it weas used as a nature center. This was closed when the nature centure on Belle Isle opened.

**Brock7** · May-29-10, 12:22 AM

Originally Posted by fareastsider

That vacation stamp refers to the vacating of the alley not the plat. If a plat is vacated it does not exist anymore.

Why would the alleys need to be vacated? I'm seeing some plats with multiple "vacated" stamps for different years and some with none at all. Sometimes the original street names of the sub have a line drawn through them and the current name of the street written in, but mostly not.

**fareastsider** · May-29-10, 01:07 AM

Originally Posted by Brock7

Why would the alleys need to be vacated? I'm seeing some plats with multiple "vacated" stamps for different years and some with none at all. Sometimes the original street names of the sub have a line drawn through them and the current name of the street written in, but mostly not.

The city went about to close many alleys for various reasons such as costs and views of them being out of date and not seeded so much. Many alleys throughout the city have been closed. Various reasons and more specifics can be found in other threads. I would guess that the reason some names are changed and others are not is weather or not an employee in whichever office the copied plat is from took the extra effort to notate the change. Though if it is an original I imagine that would be frowned upon.

**Brock7** · May-29-10, 01:46 AM

I still don't understand what the "vacated" stamps mean. Most of the plats I've looked at are from the 7 to 8/ Gratiot to Kelly area. Many were first platted in the 20's and have "vacated" stamps from the late 40's through the 50's after which the alleys remained open.
I tried google, but didn't turn up any explanation.

**Gistok** · May-29-10, 12:28 PM

Another interesting twist on name changes are those North/South streets that are in the Grosse Pointes, but cross Mack Ave. into Detroit.

Some streets such as University, Neff and Hillcrest cross over between the Points and Detroit with the same name. But other change names.... Kerby/Gateshead, Rivard/Marseilles, Moran/Radnor... since Kerby, Rivard and Moran already existed elsewhere in Detroit.

**buildingsofdetroit** · May-29-10, 08:41 PM

Vernor Highway [[now the Fisher Freeway) used to be High Street before that in front of Cass Tech.

**detlump** · May-30-10, 09:57 PM

Some of the streets continue west out of Detroit, like Clarita, Orangelawn, etc.

**EastsideAl** · May-30-10, 10:47 PM

Originally Posted by buildingsofdetroit

Vernor Highway [[now the Fisher Freeway) used to be High Street before that in front of Cass Tech.

Vernor Highway was a mid-1920s amalgam of 3 major streets - High north of downtown, Dix on the west side, and Waterloo on the east side - with some other short streets and newly built sections, in order to create an easy crosstown auto route.