May 23, 2017
Atlas Obscura: TUCSON, ARIZONA
Cherrybell Stravenue - A rare wayfinding portmanteau of “Street” and “Avenue.”
Tucson, Arizona is a city built on an orderly grid. Most of the North-South streets are named Avenues and the East-West ones are Streets. However, a quirky handful of outliers run diagonally and are called “Stravenues,” shortened on signage simply as Strav. or Stra.
Cherrybell Stravenue was the first of the lot. It’s a short half-mile stretch of asphalt that cuts across a square lot to connect with the Tucson central post office. Cherrybell dates to 1949, according to a reporter at the Tucson Daily Citizen who felt the momentousness of the newly named road warranted an entry into the historical record.
