Views of the Neighborhood – Street Signs in Lakeway

~ John W. Howell

I thought I would try something a little different. There are so many different names of streets in Lakeway, and yet some have a commonality. For instance, a number of them have a nautical theme, which makes sense since there is a lake here. Since Lakeway was founded in the sixties there are some streets that carry an astronaut or space theme. Since space travel was of high interest, then it is not unusual to have streets named after either vehicles or heavenly bodies.  Here are those signs.

Views of the Neighborhood

This crossroad has a twofer, Rocket, and Explorer. The marker that is attached to street signpost designates the original parts of Lakeway. The font used for the words ‘Old Lakeway’ is the style used originally on the real estate sales brochures and posters back in the sixties.

Here’s one that is pretty simple and self-explanatory.

Yeah, we can get that for sure.

Of the eleven Vanguard rockets which the project attempted to launch, three successfully placed satellites into orbit.

Although a stretch, the Zephyr Rocket was an overnight passenger train operated jointly by the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (“Burlington Route”) and the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad (“Rock Island Lines”) between Saint Louis, Missouri and the Twin Cities of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota. I left this in for Dan Antion.

At the time of naming the street, I’m sure the thought was the constellation. Now NASA has an Orion, the only spacecraft designed for long-duration, human deep space exploration.

Views of the Neighborhood

Although it is unclear why the name Challenger was picked back in the sixties, it certainly can stand as a memorial to those who lost their lives on the shuttle disaster in 1986.

Intrepid is probably named after the Aircraft Carrier USS Intrepid which was the recovery ship for Mercury and Gemini space capsules.

I hope you enjoyed the walk around and hope you don’t have a crick in your neck from looking at the signs.

73 thoughts on “Views of the Neighborhood – Street Signs in Lakeway”

  8. Love it! This is such a fun idea, John. Your commentary truly added a lot to my enjoyment.
    I heard of this kind of “street naming themes” last year (over the several years of my research for a new location). I can’t remember if the place I was reading about was San Antonio (I think) or Austin… I think it was one of those two, but might have been a general article. Anyhow several communities were listed with different themes. One was a Robin Hood theme. I just think it’s a lot of fun.
    The city planners here must have been trying to remind the world that New Mexico is part of the USA, because there is a big collection of streets named after states. (I’ve been repeatedly shocked by the people who don’t know or grasp that.) But nothing as fun as yours. Hugs.

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  12. Thanks for the tour, John and the mention. The California Zephyr is now the name of the AMTRAK train from Chicago to San Francisco. Zephyr also makes me think of Zefram Cochrane, inventor of the Warp field in Star Trek. I also appreciate the mention on the Intrepid. Now docked at a pier in the Hudson, I have visited the Intrepid Museum many times. Great names.

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  16. These are fun. One of the best pairs of street names is down in Lake Jackson. Since the town was “created” as a residential area for Dow Chemical workers of all sorts, it was the planned community par excellence. But when they were naming streets, they got worn out with the job, and that resulted in there being a “This Way” street, and (of course) at “That Way” street.

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  19. The origins of street names always are interesting to me and I like to know the origins. Your neighborhood has some good ones. No simple numbers or letters for your neighborhood! I like that they kept the old style signs too.

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  24. Thanks for the tour, John. Street names can be interesting and I like how Lakeway has developed a space and science theme. A neighborhood in my city has a lot of streets with “Ne Ne” at the end of the name (for example, Chuli Ne Ne). For a long time people thought the names came from the Native Americans that populated Florida before the Spanish arrived. Then it turned out that a city employee had just made them all up 😦

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  25. These are simply wonderful!! I think you saved the best for last. Do you know the story of Zachary Fisher who saved the Intrepid from mothballs or salvage? After that success he founded Fisher Houses. Wonderful! Great post, John. Love the old Lakeway signs and their script. Sorry for the ramble.

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      1. Yes, it was a big struggle. Have you been there? It was my first time on an aircraft carrier. Big wow! And then he moved forward to start Fisher Houses. I think there is at least one in every state. Wonderful man.

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        1. No I have not. A very rich friend of mine parked his yacht near the Intrepid but I didn’t visit. I have gone on the Lexington in Corpus Christi which is the boat my dad served on. He was a navel aviator in WWII. My first book My GRL was inspired by standing on the flight deck.

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        2. I can’t imagine a yacht parked near the Intrepid, but I can imagine you standing on the flight deck of the Lexington. That is a wonderful story! My husband talks fondly of the Lexington. After the first Lexington was sunk at Pearl Harbor, and in respect for the second Lexington, his AOCS class in Pensacola had to march by the Lexington every single morning and shout out, “Good morning, Lexington.” What did your dad fly, and what was his squadron? Great memories, John.

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        3. My dad was the squadron navigator for bombing squadron nine (VB9). He took the crew position in a Curtiss SB2C Helldiver with the group commander. The group operated off the Lexington and later the Yorktown.

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        5. No The elements of VB9 were finally on station as a group in March of 1944. My dad enlisted after Pearl. (He was 32 at the time) and was immediately comissioned (after a battery of tests) since he was an Electrical Engineer. He had to go to school (Princeton University) for navigation training and then to gunnery school (since he was a crew member he had to operate the twin 50’s in the rear of the plane.) The group supported several major battles (Iwo Jima, Siapan, and the bombing of the Japanese mainland. They also were involved in sinking of the battleship Yamato. My dad’s job was to navigate the squadron to the target and then back to the ship. He was on the Lexinton when a Kamakazi hit. He related that he would rather have been in the air at the time. Thanks Jennie.

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        6. This is fascinating. Hubby also enjoyed it immensely and described much to me. He asked me to ask you if your dad kept a journal. That would be a treasure. Yes, I imagine he would have rather been in the air when the Kamakazi hit. 🙂 Thank you so much, John.

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        7. If he kept a journal it has been lost. Sadly when he died (I was 10 years old) my mom was so grief-stricken she burned all the letters they wrote to each other. (They each saved every one received) If there was a journal it probably rests with those letters. I do have the cruise year book. Here is the link to the post I wrote for the Cherished Blogfest which describes the book. https://johnwhowell.com/2015/07/24/friday-johnku-aka-cherished-blogfest-day/

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        8. Oh, no!! Last night Steve and I watched the third and final part of the mini series “Washington” on the History channel, which was excellent. Martha Washington did the same thing your mother did. You remembered so much at such a young age. Thank goodness you documented and researched your dad’s wonderful career. I am headed over to read your blog. Thank you so much, John. Oh, Steve wants me to tell you how wonderful the Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola is. It will put your dad’s experience into focus. They have the plane he flew. I second his words. 🙂

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        10. Steve and I love museums, and this is one of our favorites. I hope you get to visit. Best to you, John. And, the blog post you wrote about your dad’s cruise book was just wonderful! Many thanks.

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