Tuesday’s Traveler’s Tip: Street Name Pronunciations
In yesterday’s Must See, Alicia shared her great photo of the 16th Street Mall street sign and it got me thinking. Denver and the surrounding Metro area, heck even all of Colorado, is home to many similarly named streets as the rest of the nation. However, as some of the streets may look the same in name- how we say them may differ greatly.
Street Name Pronunciations
If you take our advice to ride along the 16th Street Shuttle- you may notice that one of the stops is Tremont Street. Now, I am certain that The Boston Traveler and Boston residents alike will say- “Oh we have a Tremont Street!” And indeed they do, a Treh-munt Street, whereas we here in Denver have a Tree Mont Street. There is no rhyme or reason, it is just the way we westerners say it here.
If you are out and about and you see Galapago Street- you may feel smart and reminiscent of The Galapagos Islands and want to say the street name out loud just they way you have always heard it said, GahLahPahgo! Try not to say it too loud in front of a resident for we know that street here as GaLaPAYgo as it is a Street named after an influential resident who had that name and that pronunciation.
There is no doubt that you may happen onto a somewhat busy Street named Zuni. Images of Native Americans may flood your consciousness and make you feel confident to speak the name out loud as Zunee after the famous tribe. And you would be right, everywhere else but here. In Denver it is known as Zoo-NI with a long I.
Have no fear, we are a friendly lot and will not only help with directions but also may not even point out that you have pronounced the name of any street wrong. Or if we do offer its colloquialism correction it will be with a smile and in a kind and helpful way. Don’t worry- most of the streets may be pronounced just as they should be: Sherman, Curtis, California, Broadway, Blake, Wazee. Yet, we wouldn’t be a little wild west town if we didn’t through a few lassos, I mean loop holes at ya!
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POSTED IN: Getting Around - Local Transportation, History & Information, Sound Like a Local - Local "speak", Traveler's Tip
3 opinions for Tuesday’s Traveler’s Tip: Street Name Pronunciations
Matt B
Jul 8, 2008 at 12:38 pm
When I lived in Colorado Springs (an hour south), I lived near a street named Cache La Poudre. I heard that phrase pronounced so many different ways, I didn’t know which was right!
Biker
Jul 9, 2008 at 9:18 am
I’ve always wondered about Wazee…it’s just the weirdest name ever.
Jody Reale--The Hawaii Traveler
Jul 10, 2008 at 3:51 pm
I was just thinking of this phenomenon the other day, when my dad mentioned taking Pecos Street. (But he says it “PEE cuss.” Go figure.
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