Yes, it's named for President John F. Kennedy. But there's a reason that specific street in Tampa honors him. "Three days before he was assassinated in Dallas, [Kennedy] was in Tampa," said Rodney Kite-Powell.Kite-Powell is the curator of history at the Tampa Bay History Center, where they have one of the oldest maps of the city of Tampa. On it, part of what's now Kennedy Boulevard is called Lafayette Street. The visiting president "traveled along what was then called Lafayette Street, through downtown Tampa, and then Grand Central Avenue through Hyde Park," Kite-Powell said."And because of that, that was the street that they decided to name in his honor after his assassination." A statue of the late president on the University of Tampa campus still looks out onto the street that shares his name. Kite-Powell says there was one other benefit to renaming the road: and that's convenience. "Depending on where you were on what is now Kennedy Boulevard, the street would either have been called Lafayette Street -- in the downtown portion... [then] it became Grand Central. And then, at Howard Avenue, it turned into Memorial Highway," he said. "Good to have a unifying name for that street." Why do they call it Oldsmar?
It's the same reason some cars are called Oldsmobiles. After making a fortune off his first car company, Ransom E. Olds bought 37,000 acres at the top of Tampa Bay. He wanted to turn the thick woods into a city the size of modern-day Clearwater. Kite-Powell says Olds cruised around Tampa Bay in a REO -- an older-style car made by a new car company Olds founded after he left Oldsmobile. The Tampa Bay History Center has a REO used by Olds on display. "It was purchased new in Tampa in 1908, so it's certainly among the oldest -- if not the oldest -- car purchased new in Tampa," Kite-Powell said. A truck made by the same company is where the band R.E.O. Speedwagon got its nifty name. Well, Olds lost $3 million trying to build his new town. He had planned for 100,000 people. When he sold off his assets, Oldsmar had just 200 people. For a decade, the town's name was changed to the more marketable Tampa Shores. But in 1937, the name went back to Oldsmar, and the attitude that it's okay to just be a small city by the bay caught on for good. Why do they call it that? Now you know.
There are a lot more places out there with names that could use explaining. If you want to ask "Why do they call it that?" send an e-mail with a name that has you curious to Grayson Kamm using this link. We'll be featuring new places and stories each Wednesday on The Morning Show from 5-7 a.m. on 10 Connects. Connect with 10 Connects multi-media journalist Grayson Kamm on Twitter as @graysonkamm, on his Facebook page, or by e-mail at this link.
