Here Are 9 Crazy Street Names In Greater Cleveland That Will Leave You Baffled
By Nikki Rhoades|Published January 12, 2019
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Nikki Rhoades
Author
Nikki is a lifelong Ohioan with a love for literature. She holds a Bachelor's Degree from the University of Akron and has enjoyed publishing her written work since 2007. She has a love of travel and does so frequently, though she believes that home is where the heart is — she continues to work in and around Cleveland as a digital content specialist to this day, working on everything from commercial scripts and social media posts to grassroots marketing initiatives.
Cleveland is a quirky city with a dialect that’s uniquely its own. This fun city features places, streets, and parks with unusual names, and neither local lore nor local history necessarily provide an explanation as to where the stranger names come from. That’s especially true when it comes to street names, as many have ambiguous origins. How many of these odd streets do you recognize?
Most streets have fairly simple and straightforward names, names that even elementary-aged residents can pronounce. Kosciuszko, as you may imagine, is pronounced something like Kos-choo-shch-ko. Click here to hear this Polish name pronounced.
An Indian Mound? As in, a Native American burial site... in Greater Cleveland? It may sound outrageous, but there were once several burial mounds in and around Cleveland. They have been destroyed over the years, but local lore hasn't forgotten. There are still several sites of archaeological significance in the area, including the Cleveland Metroparks earthworks.
Otters... in Cleveland? Believe it or not, otters were native to Ohio once upon a time. They were wiped out by the early 1900s, but were reintroduced to our state in the mid-1980s. Since then, they've been seen in nearly two-thirds of Ohio's counties. Perhaps this street was named to celebrate the legacy of this adorable, spunky species and its determination to thrive.
A johnnycake, if you did not know, is a cornmeal pancake and was a common tavern food back in the day. Just as barber's shops have that colorful pole and pawn shops have a scale to represent their business, the symbol of a johnnycake once alluded to an inn or tavern. Some historians believe an old tavern on this road contributed to its unusual name.
These unusual street names reflect the eccentricities of life in The Land. Did you grow up on an unusually-named street in Greater Cleveland? Let us know in the comments below!
