So just who was Major Deegan and why does he get an expressway? What did Hutchinson do to merit a parkway?
Growing up in New York City (Brooklyn, to be precise), you heard place names so often they just became background noise. Like lyrics in many songs, I heard the words but didn’t listen to the meaning behind the words. The Holland Tunnel was clearly a reference to the city’s historical connection to New Amsterdam. Shea Stadium was just a name. And obviously, the Outerbridge Crossing was one of the outer bridges connecting New York to the rest of the world. It was when I found that the Outerbridge Crossing was named after Eugenius Harvey Outerbridge, my world view changed.
Some place names I feel are to famous/obvious. These include:
- George Washington Bridge
- Alexander Hamilton Bridge
- Verrazano Bridge
- Jacky Robinson
- Hugh Carey Tunnel (which will forever really be the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel)
- Robert Moses Beach
- Ed Koch
- RFK
But others, like the list on the side (and on my Working List), have been taken for granted and their story should be told. Feel free to comment below with other place names I should research or provide stories of your own!