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The Georgetown Metropolitan explores the archives and finds a scandal in the heart of Georgetown: Is the road named Dumbarton a Street or an Avenue?
At first, it wasn't called Dumbarton at all — it was "Dunbarton". The GM has more:
The name “Dumbarton” made its way to Georgetown via Scotsman Ninian Beale who was granted 75 acres from Lord Baltimore in 1703 in what would become Georgetown. Beale named the land tract “The Rock of Dumarton” after a massive rock located in Dumbarton, Scotland. This name carries on in Dumbarton House, Dumbarton Oaks, and of course Dumbarton St./Ave.Note that Ninian Beale made an appearance in Prince Valiant, apparently.
Georgetown Metropolitan makes the case that the way went from Street to Avenue at about the time that Georgetown (then West Washington) was absorbed by the District of Columbia. But there's no rule to it: Plenty of roads that didn't fit the grid system survive today as Streets and not Avenues.
Fascinating stuff, with plenty of cool old map images to boot. Naturally, there is no question today that it is Dumbarton Avenue. Glad to have that settled.
Image courtesy Google Maps
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c'mon, mike, we're waiting to hear your two cents on this one!
@IMGoph: Greetings from Brooklyn ... Let's hope this Dumbarton mess doesn't cause local rifts like those that involve "North Cleveland Park." Closer to Georgetown -- or should I say Burleith? -- what is the difference between Whitehaven Street and Whitehaven Parkway? Or should I come to terms with the fact that my family's old house on the 2000 block of Eye Street NW, where the facade has been preserved as Kinkead's, is really part of 2000 Pennsylvania Avenue NW?
The clear and logical use of street-naming protocols is a sign of a healthy city.
Also, if I'm not mistaken, Wisconsin Avenue in Georgetown was once called High Street. You could argue, perhaps, that Wisconsin Avenue is indeed still a "high street," in the English sense ...
On to more pressing questions! For more American street- and city-naming mysteries, I suggest you consult George R. Stewart's Names on the Land. Fantastic book.