The quirky spellings of some of our street names have long perplexed even excellent spellers. Let’s begin with Beechwood Avenue, spelled like the tree rather than the eastern suburb. The name is in the pattern of Oakwood and Elmwood Roads, and is older than the Beachwood suburb, which originally was spelled like our street.

Beechwoods’s neighbor, Altamont Avenue, has the “mont” spelling, like the Altamonts in California, Illinois, and New York—not the “mount” of Rydalmount (Rydal Mount is in the Lake District of England) or Fairmount Boulevard. Fairmount, in turn, is spelled like the district and famous park in Philadelphia, not with the “mont” of the luxury hotel of San Francisco’s Nob Hill.

Bendemeer Road, with its “meer” ending, is named for a village in New South Wales, Australia, while Delamere Drive’s name, with its “mere,” is also an Australian town but was more likely named for the district and forest in England. We also have Vandemar (generally alone, but sometimes three-word surname, with the “mar”) Street and Montevista Road—“Montevista” a picturesque Spanish name as one word, but as two words (Monte Vista), the Colorado village.

Scarborough was originally spelled “Scarboro”—in the style of Marlboro Road and Roxboro Drive. Interestingly, there are many legitimate “Roxboro” and “Roxborough,” “Marlboro” and “Marlborough” around the United States, Canada and England, but “Scarboro” seems to be only a common shortened form of the name.

“Navahoe” (Road) ending with an “e” was once a more common spelling for the Native American tribe than today. Our Forest Hills Boulevard still retains the “s” in the “hills,” even though other uses of the name in that district have recently returned to the original “Forest Hill” appellation—what the Rockefellers called their sprawling estate (though the famous development in Queens, New York has the “s”).

Finally, our North Park and West Park Boulevards—should they be listed in street listing under “N” and “W” or under “P?” Directory publishers, as well as the County Auditor, have disagreed on that point for almost a century!