Street Smarts.

A Look At North  Texas’ Most Clever Street Name Clusters.

We’ve long been fascinated by how some of North Texas’ most prominent streets got their names. Most of the time, however, we’ve learned that it’s all pretty simple; generally, these names either have something to do with the pioneers that first settled that area or the city’s most prominent politicians from years past.

Sometimes, though, it can get a little fun — like in the case of Rockwall’s Elvis Presley Lane or DeSoto’s Canterbury Trail, which were just named by developers with a sense of humor. And while street names like Pleasant Grove’s Memory Lane, South Dallas’ Cattle Drive or the Lois Lanes in Cedar Hill, Richardson, Dallas, Plano and Euless indeed make us chuckle a bit, they’re often the lone bright spots in otherwise dull neighborhoods filled with streets named after all manner of flora.

There are too, of course, the rare exceptions where developers run wild, naming entire subdivisions after characters from popular television shows, movies or brands of cigarettes. And these ones? We gotta say: They’re great.

Here, we take a look at a few of North Texas’ most awesome street name pairings and clusters. Some of them, we imagine, you likely already knew about. But we’re willing to bet that others — like, say, a grouping of streets very much named after South Park characters — are ones that you’ve never noticed till now.

GARLAND.

The streets in this slyly named Garland subdivision were named after the teacher, the school counselor and the bus driver characters from South Park, as well as the surnames of a couple of the main characters. Platted in 2000 by Lennar Homes, the streets Garrison Way, Mackey Street, McCormick Street, Cartman Road and Crabtree Street were named not long after the full-length South Park movie released on DVD in late 1999, although representatives at Lennar claimed they “don’t know the origin of these street names.”

Platted in 1978 by Fox and Jacobs development company, this outer-space-themed neighborhood features a Star Trek Lane. Named a year before the first Star Trek movie would even be released and nine years before Star Trek: The Next Generation began airing, the street is considered the first in the country named after the franchise. Other celestial-themed streets in the neighborhood include Jupiter Road, Apollo Road, Moonglow Drive, Aquarius Circle, Nova Drive, Centaurus Drive, Corona Drive, Aries Drive, Libra Drive, Taurus Drive, Leo Drive, Ursa Circle, Galaxie Road, Pulsar Drive, Zodiac Drive, Antares Circle, Canis Circle, Capella Circle, Scorpius Drive, Nebulus Drive, Auriga Drive and even an Alderon — which we’re hoping is just an alternate spelling of Princess Leia’s home planet Alderaan, even if that is a Star Wars reference and not a Star Trek one. Sadly, though, unlike this Star Trek-themed subdivision in California, there is no Warp Drive.

Conveniently located near the Garrett Metal Detectors facility, this batch of street names includes Gold Street, Bronze Street, Copper Street, Platinum Street and Silver Street. Despite its proximity to the Garland jail, though, there’s perplexingly no Iron Avenue.

RICHARDSON.

Despite concerns raised by Native Americans about racist implications, the Richardson neighborhood that contains streets named after Native American Tribes — Comanche Drive, Chippewa Drive, Cheyenne Drive, Mohawk Trail, Ottawa Drive, Cherokee Drive, Arapaho Drive, Apache Drive, Chickasaw Drive, Seminole Drive and Navaho Trail — is colloquially known collectively as “The Reservation.”

DALLAS.

Platted by Gump and Gaynier in the mid-1950s, the Midway Hills neighborhood that includes Peter Pan Drive, Princess Lane, Duchess Trail, Sleepy Lane, Wonderland Trail, Aladdin Lane, Snow White Drive, Pinocchio Drive, Cinderella Lane and Dwarfs Circles was one of the focal points of the 1954 and 1955 Dallas Parade of Homes, an event that attracted over 100,000 visitors. These days, everybody just calls these the “Disney Streets.”

Twenty-two of the 50 states have streets named after them in Dallas — and most of those can be found in this Oak Cliff neighborhood that contains Louisiana Avenue, Vermont Avenue, Iowa Avenue, Alaska Avenue, Michigan Avenue, Illinois Avenue, Montana Avenue, Maryland Avenue, Idaho Avenue, Georgia Avenue, Alabama Avenue, Arizona Avenue, Ohio Avenue and Missouri Avenue.

Cigarette brands like Bull Durham Smoking Tobacco and Fatima Cigarettes may have been phased out by the ’80s, but streets named after these and other old-time brands live on in one South Dallas neighborhood. The subdivision that includes Kool Avenue, Camel Court, Pall Mall Avenue, Lucky Street, Durham Road, Fatima Avenue, Ripple Road and Kite Street is now even officially known as “Cigarette Hill.”

Not far from Cigarette Hill is a neighborhood named after Depression-era automobile manufacturers including Cadillac Drive, Chrysler Drive, Packard Street, Lasalle Drive, Pontiac Avenue and Buick Avenue.

Like out in Garland, South Oak Cliff also has a metal-themed neighborhood that features streets like Bronze Way, Mint Way, Brass Way, Platinum Way, Gold Road, Shilling Way and Half Crown Drive. Also like the similarly-named Garland neighborhood, there aren’t really any banks nearby, although there are a handful of sheet metal/metal works shops in the vicinity.

DUNCANVILLE.

The suburban subdivision known as the Presidential Estates is full of three-bedroom homes, all situated on streets named after former White House residents, including Adams Drive, Taylor Court, Tyler Court, Grant Court, Monroe Drive, Eisenhower Drive, Wilson Court, Lincoln Drive, Truman Court and Madison Court.

MANSFIELD.

Mansfield’s luxurious Strawberry Fields addition contains a number of Fab Four-referencing streets like Penny Lane, Eleanor Rigby Lane, Long and Winding Road, Abbey Road, Strawberry Fields Drive, Norwegian Wood Court and Sergeant Pepper Court. Oddly, there’s no Why Don’t We Do It In The Road or Blue Jay Way. There is a Blue Jay Way in Irving, though, and it’s conveniently situated near that town’s own Abbey Road, Apple Way and Penny Lane, too.

LANCASTER.

Like the old song goes: Here comes Santa Claus, right down Dancer Lane. And if we’re talking about this Lancaster neighborhood, he’ll continue on down Dasher Drive, Prancer Street and Reindeer Road.

UNIVERSITY PARK.

Like many college towns around the country, the neighborhood just north of the SMU campus is comprised of streets named after all sorts of prestigious universities, including Amherst Avenue, Stanford Avenue, Purdue Street, Tulane Boulevard, Bryn Mawr Drive, Southwestern Boulevard, Hanover Street, Greenbrier Drive, Dickensen Avenue, Hillcrest Avenue, Vassar Avenue, Villanova Street, Wentwood Drive, Centenary Avenue, Marquette Street and Colgate Avenue.

GRAND PRAIRIE.

The streets in Grand Prairie’s Robin Hood Park neighborhood have names like Scarlet Lane, Nottingham Place, Sir Guy Drive, Ravenwood Drive, Robin Hood Drive and King Richard Drive. It’s kinda appropriate, too, considering that nearly 59 percent of the neighborhood’s residents are considered lower to lower-middle class, with over 25 percent of households earning less than $25,000 annually.

IRVING.

Speaking of Robin Hood: Irving’s Sherwood Forest subdivision pays homage to English folk tale as well, with streets named King Richard Street, Locksley Chase Street, Staffordshire Drive, Robinhood Drive, Huntingdon Drive, Little John Drive, Alan-a-Dale, Yorkshire Street and Linden Lea Street that were approved via four plats in 1955, 1958, 1961 and 1978.

For four decades, the Dallas Cowboys’ team headquarters and practice facilities were located in Irving’s Valley Ranch subdivision. As such, the streets around the facilities were named in honor of some of the team’s former greats. Others simply acquired generic football-themed names. They include Touchdown Drive, Winners Drive, Cowboys Parkway, Howley Court, Dorsett Court, White Lane, Avenue of Champions, Green Court, Norman Court, Cosbie Drive, Perkins Court, Andre Drive, Waters Court and Lilly Court.

ARLINGTON.

In the mid-’30s, Parker Brothers began selling the first edition of its Monopoly board game, which features properties named after a few dozen streets in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Years later, the streets in this Arlington subdivision were named after the game, officially bringing things full circle. They include Marvin Gardens Street, Baltic Avenue, Mediterranean Avenue, Ventnor Court, Reading Road, Oriental Avenue and, of course, Boardwalk Avenue.

WYLIE.

Smack dab in the middle of Dallas‘ 14-season run, the Southfork Mobile Home Park platted a whole bunch of streets named after the series’ characters in 1986.

DENTON.

Speaking of Dallas, there’s another neighborhood featuring streets named after the series’ characters up in Denton that includes Gary Way, Miss Ellie, Pamela Parkway, Oil, Donna, Ewing Way, Ray Krebbs, Valerie, Jock, Jena, Christopher, Dusty Blvd, Bobby Boulevard, Sue Ellen, Cliff Barnes, S. Fork, Lucy and J.R. Boulevard.

PLANO.

This Plano subdivision named after the different times of day adorably features street names like Evening Sun Drive, Daybreak Trail, Midnight Drive, Early Morn Drive, Twilight Trail, Nightfall Drive and Lantern Light Drive.

EULESS.

The Euless neighborhood that features streets named things like Clove Lane, Mint Lane, Ginger Lane, Almond Lane, Sandlewood Lane, Sage Lane, Bayberry Lane, Anice Lane, Rosemary Lane, Spicebush Lane, Saffron Lane, Cranberry Lane, Catalpa Lane, Poppy Lane, Tarragon Lane, Parsley Lane, Caraway Lane, Balsam Drive and Basswood Drive is known colloquially by residents as the “spice” neighborhood.

LEWISVILLE.

By far, the most extensively-themed subdivision in North Texas is this Lewisville neighborhood that features over 40 street names inspired by the legend of King Arthur, including King Arthur Boulevard, Lady Cornwall Drive, Lady Rule Lane, Morgan Lefay Lane, Lamberth Lane, Lady Cornwall Drive, Wild Forest Circle, Lady De Vance Lane, Queen Igraine Drive, King Mark Drive, Dame Susan Lane, Queen Peggy Lane, Sir Mallory Lane, Damsel Katie Drive, Holy Grail Drive, Lady Carol Drive, Sir Tristram Lane, Avalon Drive, Queen Guinevere Drive, Sir Percival Lane, Sir Turquin Lane, Merlin Drive, Sir Patrice Lane, Queen Elaine Drive, Sir Constantine Drive, Camille Drive, Sir Lancelot Boulevard, Sir Kay Drive, Sir Bedivere Lane, Lady of the Lake Boulevard, King Ban Drive, Queen Elizabeth Boulerard, Sir Galahad Lane, Sir Andred Lane, Round Table Boulevard, Dame Brisen Drive, Sir Gawain Lane, Sir Castor Court, Merlins Rock Lane, Gareths Sword Drive, 7 Shields Lane, Silver Table Drive and Long Isles Lane.