Army Street, San Francisco

Then and Now: South Van Ness at Army Street, 1953
Originally uploaded by Telstar Logistics.

This is the sort of thing that eats my brain. Someone on livejournal asked where Army Street got its name. It's been 15 years since the name was changed to Cesar Chavez, but a lot of locals still think of it as Army Street, just as there are parts of Martin Luther King Bl. in the east bay that I'll always call Grove Street, just because I was living near there, or knew someone who lived near there, or shopped there, when it was Grove. I have nothing against Chavez or King, it's just that I'm old, and my brain settles into patterns.

At any rate: Now I'll be digging half the day looking for the origins of the name Army Street, because it's the sort of thing I can't let go, and I have things to do, and don't have time.

If you know, please help out here, or on livejournal at the link.

Thanks!


Edited to add:

Found by @silvercrone on twitter:

"As for Army, Loewenstein says it was named by John and Robert Horner, who bought two ranches in the area for $200,000. They named the street to honor the military. There was also a Navy Street, but it did not survive. Its name was changed to a number."

So far, the only relevant Horners I've found were in San Francisco in the 1860s. They did have ranchos, were they the Horners? Probably. Still searching.