How Loop 101 Pima Freeway cross streets were named
How Loop 101 Pima Freeway cross streets were named
For another installment of “how highway cross streets got their names,” we move onto the Loop 101 Pima Freeway.
We’ve completed past installments for these freeways:
- US 60 Superstition Freeway
- Interstate 17 through Phoenix
- Loop 101 Price Freeway
- Coming soon: Loop 101 Agua Fria Freeway
Here’s the history behind the major cross streets of the Loop 101 Pima Freeway.
McKellips Road: McKellips Road is named for Gordon W. McKellips, who was a businessman and land and citrus developer in the Valley.
McDowell Road: McDowell Road is named after Civil War General Irvin McDowell. Nearby Camp McDowell and Fort McDowell are also named after him.
Thomas Road: Thomas Road is named after William E. Thomas, Arizona’s Territorial Deputy County Recorder in the early 1900s.
Indian School Road: Indian School Road was named after the Phoenix Indian School, which opened in the 1890s.
Chaparral Road: Chaparral Road was a name selected by the city of Scottsdale in the 1960s.
McDonald Road: It used to be named MacDonald Drive before being shortened to McDonald Road. Duncan MacDonald was a pioneer builder/contractor in the Valley.
Talking Stick Way/Indian Bend Road: Talking Stick Way leads to Talking Stick Resort on the east side of the freeway, while Indian Bend is named after a nearby wash on the west side of the freeway.
Via De Ventura: We can’t find the origin of the street name, but Via De Ventura translates to “The Way of Fortune” in English.
Pima Road: Pima Road was named for the nearby Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community.
Shea Road: James Shea was a farmer who helped organize the Paradise Verde Irrigation District in 1916. The district was responsible for the Horseshoe Reservoir on the Verde River.
Cactus Road: Cactus Road is named after the town of Cactus, which was northeast of Sunnyslope.
Raintree Drive: Our research could not find a definitive answer for the origin of Raintree Drive.
Frank Lloyd Wright Boulevard/Bell Road: Frank Lloyd Wright is one of the greatest architects in American history and nearby Taliesin West was his winter home for decades. Harvey Bell was a farmer who helped organize the Paradise Verde Irrigation District in 1916 with James Shea. The district was responsible for the Horseshoe Reservoir on the Verde River.
Princess Drive/Pima Road: Princess Drive was named for the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess hotel.
Hayden Road: Wilford Hayden had a farm in the Scottsdale area between 1890-1950.
Scottsdale Road: Named after the city of Scottsdale. Winfield Scott, a former US Army chaplain, founded the town in the late 1800s.
Tatum Boulevard: Named after Russell F. Tatum, who was the first mayor of Homestead, Fla., in the early 1900s. Tatum and his family moved to Arizona in the 1920s and worked in real estate and land development.
Note: We want to thank City of Phoenix historian Steve Schumacher and Scottsdale Historical Society President Jason Song for helping confirm some of the harder-to-find information.