The Broken Alphabet of SF's Westside Streets

This episode of Bay Curious explores the curious naming pattern of streets on San Francisco's west side, where east-west streets follow a mostly alphabetical sequence from Anza to Taraval (A to T), but with notable gaps like missing D, E, G, and H. Host Olivia Allen Price dives into the history behind this anomaly with editor Katrina Schwartz, uncovering a 1909 city planning effort to rename Richmond and Sunset District avenues after Spanish explorers like Anza, Balboa, and Cabrillo. However, the plan faced fierce local resistance due to xenophobia and political lobbying, especially from residents in the Inner Sunset who pushed for American names like Irving, Judah, and Kirkham. As a result, the city compromised—keeping some original names, preserving downtown streets like Fulton and Geary, and allowing developers to set the pattern in the Outer Sunset. The episode reveals how racism, local politics, and practical constraints shaped the city’s street names, with some letters skipped entirely (like X for Javier, deemed unpronounceable) and others replaced by non-Spanish names. The story is a fascinating window into how urban planning reflects social tensions and historical memory. The episode also highlights the importance of community input and historical preservation, with a rare 1909 map showing the original alphabetical plan before it was abandoned. Listeners are invited to vote on future topics, including the longevity of Bay Area food businesses and the line between communal living and cults. The episode concludes with a tribute to the KQED team and a reminder of the show’s listener-driven format.