Famous Streets, Roads and Byways, P – Z

(Go to “Streets A – G” or to “Streets H – O” or to “Listing by Locale”)

ery often street and road names describe more than geography—they convey meanings and images far from any location. They become a shorthand for a history or situation or way of life. (Read about street names at “Saks Fawn Creek Chase”)

Here are, on three pages, 135 such byways. (Bridges, railways and canals are not included with the exception of The Grand Canal of Venice.) A concise list of these streets, roads and byways sorted by locale is available at Listing by Locale.

The bias for American byways in this list must be forgiven since the compiler is more familiar with American name usage. If you know of any other roads in other countries which are considered famous or important, email me with the information.

Famous Street Names, P – Z
Street Name	Image	Reknown	Notes
Pan-American Highway		Inter-continental highway	Spans 29,800 miles, from Alaska, in North America to Chile and Argentina in South America.
Park Avenue		Emblematic of high style	Boulevard in New York City borough of Manhattan and a Buick car model.
Park Place		Symbolic of luxury and fine taste	A street and hotel-casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Parliament Street		The narrowest street in the world	In the city of Exeter, Devon, England, it is about 64 centimetres (25 inches) at its narrowest and approximately 1.22 metres (48 inches) at its widest.
Paseo de la Reforma (Reform Promenade)		Major wide boulevard in Mexico City	The road was built during the Second Mexican Empire by the Austrian military officer and engineer Ferdinand von Rosenzweig.
Pennsylvania Avenue		Called America’s Main Street	A major street in Washington, D.C. joining the White House and the United States Capitol.
Penny Lane		A song by The Beatles	Release in February 1967, the title comes from the name of a street in the band’s hometown, Liverpool, England.
Petticoat Lane		A center for manufacturing clothes in London, England	By 1608, the area had become a commercial district where second hand clothes and bric-a-brac were sold and exchanged.
Pilgrims’ Way		The historic route supposed to have been taken by pilgrims in England	Much of the traditional route of the Pilgrims’ Way is now part of the modern road network.
Primrose Path		Living a life of luxury	Film and book titles; also Primrose Lane is a song.
Promenade des Anglais		A celebrated road along the Mediterranean at Nice, France	Film and book titles; also Primrose Lane is a song.
Rheinhöhenweg Trail		A popular hiking trail on the mountains of the Rhine Valley	The trails, following the course of the Rhine, passes a vast number of famous castles and are probably the oldest known walking routes in Germany.
The Ridgeway		Britian’s oldest road	One of fifteen long-distance National Trails in England and Wales, The Ridgeway passes near many Neolithic, Iron Age, and Bronze Age sites.
Rodeo Drive		Famous shopping district in Beverly Hills, California	Pronounced Roh-DAY-oh, the name generally refers to a three-block long stretch of boutiques and shops.
Rose Street		A narrow street with many pubs and bars in Edinburgh, Scotland	Famed for Rose Street Challenge, having a drink in every bar, pub, and restaurant on the way.
Route 66		Icon of carefree driving	Once a important U.S. highway across the nation; a TV series and song title.
Royal Road		An ancient Persian highway	Rebuilt by the Persian king Darius I of the Achaemenid Empire in the 5th century BC.
Rue des Bouchers		Street of gourmet restaurants	In the Middle Ages this street in Brussels, Belgium was inhabited by pork butchers, sausage merchants, tripe butchers.
Rue Morgue		From the The Murders in the Rue Morgue, by Edgar Allen Poe	The story surrounds the baffling double murder in the Rue Morgue, a fictional street in Paris.
Santa Fe Trail		19th century transportation route through central North America	First used in 1821, it served as a commercial and military highway until about 1880 with the coming of railroads.
Second Avenue (Second Street)		Most common street name in the United States	Since the primary road in many towns was named “Main” or “Front” or something else, “First” is third most common street name. “Second Avenue” or “Second Street” is also part of many business names.
Sesame Street		Children’s TV program	An educational children’s TV series known for its Muppets characters.
Shuto Expressway		A network of toll expressways in the Greater Tokyo Area of Japan	The roadway network has many long bridges over water, tunnels, and sharp curves.
Silk Alley (now Silk Street)		Old shopping alley in Beijing, China, where many stalls sold mostly knock-off luxury items	In 2005, the new street replaced the old alley-based Xiushui Market, and has more diversified businesses.
Silk Road		An appellation for trade routes across the Eurasian continent	The interconnected routes cover over 5,000 miles enabling the transportion of silk and other fine fabrics as well as other sought-after goods.
Strand (The)		A old and famous street in London, England	Many famous buildings, churches, and historic places can be found along this street.
Sunset Boulevard		Once a synonym for the glamor of Hollywood	A street in western Los Angeles County, California, a 1950 film, a TV series, a song and musical title.
Sweet Track		One of the oldest engineered roads known	An ancient causeway in the Somerset Levels, England, probably built in 3806 BC.
Tin Pan Alley		Any city’s musical district	A name given to New York City music publishers and songwriters beginning in the late 1880s.
Tobacco Road		Metaphor for poverty (Also used in North Carolina sports)	A novel by Erskine Caldwell and a film and song title.
Tornado Alley		A term refering to the middle United States where tornadoes are most frequent	The area generally includes northern Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska, parts of Iowa and South Dakota.
Trans-Canada Highway (Route Transcanadienne)		One of the longest national highways in the world	The system that joins the ten provinces of Canada, the main route spanning 8,030 kilometers (4,990 miles).
Trans-Siberian Highway		The unofficial name for a network of highways in Russia	Spans the width of Russia from the Baltic Sea of the Atlantic Ocean to the Japan Sea of the Pacific Ocean.
Tverskaya Street (Tverskaya Ulitsa)		Route of the Tsars’ procession on official visits to Moscow	Moscow’s main street, on the north end of Red Square, was originally the main road out of the medieval city.
Unter den Linden		Famous boulevard in Berlin, Germany	The heart of the historic section of Berlin dating from the 17th and 18th centuries.
Varvarka Street (Ulitsa Varvarka)		The oldest street in Moscow	Though a short street, it has the most churches of any street in Moscow as well as many interesting sights that characterize medieval times.
Via dei Fori Imperiali		The road in the center of Rome running from the Piazza Venezia to the Colosseum	The road, original named "Via Triumphale," was built during the dictatorship of Benito Mussolini and courses through much of the ruins of ancient Rome.
Via Dolorosa (The Way of Suffering)		The path Jesus walked carrying his cross on the way to crucifixion	The remnant of a main east-west route through Aelia Capitolina, an ancient city once on the site of Jerusalem.
Via Maris (The Way of the Sea)		An ancient trade route dating from the early Bronze Age	Linking Egypt with the northern empires of Syria, Anatolia and Mesopotamia, its earlier name was Way of the Philistines.
Via Sacra		The main street of ancient Rome	Runs from the top of the Capitoline Hill through the Forum to the Colosseum.
Via Veneto (via Vittorio Veneto)		One of the most famous streets in Rome, Italy	The street was made famous by Federico Fellini’s classic 1960 film La Dolce Vita and turned it into a center for upmarket cafes and shops.
Victory Highway		An early road across the United States	Begun in 1921 and dedicated to American forces who died in World War I, the road was to run from New York City to san Francisco.
Voie Sacrée		Played a vital role for the Battle of Verdun in France during World War I.	Along the 72 km of the Voie Sacrée, day and night during the war years, 3,500 trucks were on the move, ferrying men, armaments, and supplies to the beleaguered city of Verdun.
Wall Street		An American stock market moniker	Street in Lower Manhattan where the New York Stock Exchange is located.
Wangfujing		One of the most famous shopping streets in China; in Beijing	In the Qing Dynasty, aristocratic estates and princess residence were built here. The street was previously known as Morrison Street in English.
Wangan		A Japanese manga series and a stretch of expressway in Tokyo	The series has been adapted into live action films, video games, and TV series. The name derives from the actual street racing that occurs on part of the expressway known as the “Wangan,” the longest, straightest road in the entire country.
Watling Street		Old Roman road parts of which are still in use with varying names	Part of the route was the site of the Roman victory at the Battle of Watling Street in 61 AD.
Woodward Avenue		The first mile of road in the world to be paved with concrete and an historical and important street in Detroit and southeast Michigan	The annual Woodward Dream Cruise takes place in suburban Detroit during the summer attracting thousands of classic car owners and admirers from the entire country.
Yellow Brick Road		Dorothy’s path to Emerald City	In the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, based on the novel by L. Frank Baum.
Yonge Street		The longest street in the world	A major arterial street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, it is home or close to many attractions.
(Go to streets A – G or to streets H – O) (Go to listing by locale)

Interested in college team names? How about pro team names? Or how about famous ship names?

Or maybe famous dog names? There is also a list of the names of masked heroes, and one for U.S. Presidents.