Ever Wonder Why Lubbock Has an Indiana Avenue? There’s Actually a Reason

If you've lived in Lubbock for any length of time, you've probably driven Indiana Avenue approximately 14,000 times.

As a life-long Lubbockite, here's something I had never really thought about: Why is it called Indiana Avenue?

Get our free mobile app

Was somebody important from Indiana? Did an early Lubbock resident just really love the Hoosier State?

Nope.

It turns out there's an actual system behind the name, and Indiana Avenue apparently isn't named for the state at all.

Google Maps

Indiana Avenue Used to Have a Different Name

The answer is buried in an old City of Lubbock ordinance.

In 1949, Lubbock adopted Ordinance No. 924, which reorganized street names around the city. As part of that change, Tyler Avenue became Indiana Avenue.

And Tyler wasn't alone.

Washington became Akron. Adams became Boston. Jefferson became Canton. Madison became Detroit. Monroe became Elgin. Jackson became Flint. Van Buren became Gary.

Keep going west and you get Hartford, Indiana, Ithaca, Joliet, Knoxville, Louisville and Memphis.

At first glance, that's a pretty strange collection of names.

Until you know the rule.

Indiana Avenue Isn't Named After Indiana

According to Lubbock's street-naming ordinance, avenues west of University Avenue were to be named alphabetically for cities located east of the Mississippi River.

That's the key.

Indiana Avenue therefore appears to refer to Indiana, Pennsylvania, rather than the state of Indiana.

Look at the sequence:

Hartford → Indiana → Ithaca → Joliet → Knoxville → Louisville → Memphis.

They're city names arranged alphabetically.

Suddenly, the Lubbock street map starts looking a whole lot less random.

Google Maps

There's a Hidden Pattern All Over Lubbock

Once you discover this, you start noticing that Lubbock's street names contain several little systems hiding in plain sight.

The 1949 ordinance designated avenues east of Avenue A with alphabetically arranged tree names. That's where names including Ash, Birch, Cedar, Date, Elm and Fir came from.

READ MORE: All American Color Guard Suspended By Texas Tech Athletics Mid-Season

North of First Street, another naming scheme used colleges and universities, again alphabetically. That produced streets including Amherst, Auburn, Bates, Baylor, Colgate, Cornell, Dartmouth, Duke and Emory.

And on the west side of town, it was cities.

The ordinance even anticipated Lubbock's future growth, providing instructions for continuing the alphabetical city-name system as new streets were added.

Google Maps

So Now You Know

For more than seven decades, Lubbock residents have been driving up and down Indiana Avenue without necessarily realizing there's a little piece of city-planning history underneath their tires.

Before 1949, it was Tyler Avenue.

Then Lubbock reorganized its street names, started working through an alphabetical list of cities, and Tyler became Indiana.

READ MORE: Does the Lubbock County Jail Have to Be Air Conditioned? Here’s What Texas Law Says

And apparently, Indiana Avenue is named after Indiana, Pennsylvania...not Indiana the state.

Which means the next time you're stuck at 50th and Indiana staring at a red light, at least you've got something to think about.

You're sitting on a Lubbock history lesson.