Some want to rename street after Capitol architect

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By MARK MAHONEY / Lincoln Journal Star

Sarah Gordon wouldn’t mind a name change.

Not for her, but for the street she lives on.

Fifteenth Street, between A and H streets, could change to Goodhue Boulevard if the Nebraska Capitol Environs Commission has its way.

The commission is sponsoring a proposal that would change the name to honor Bertram Goodhue, the architect who designed the Capitol, said Ed Zimmer, the historical preservation planner for the Lincoln-Lancaster County Planning Department.

Gordon, who has lived at 1246 S. 15th St. for 35 years, said the name change is a good idea because it honors the man who gave Nebraska “one of the most beautiful buildings in the world.”

For residents along the affected stretch of road such as Gordon, the environs commission will hold a public information meeting at 7 p.m. Wednesday at McPhee Elementary School.

Capitol Administrator Bob Ripley said the name change would make people aware of a man not well-known except by Nebraska historians.

“There’s nowhere in the state of Nebraska where he’s recognized by name for his work on the Capitol,” Ripley said.

Ripley said if Goodhue lived today, the architect wouldn’t know he was in Lincoln, except for the seven blocks of 15th Street south of the Capitol.

“If Goodhue could visit Lincoln today,” Ripley said, “it would be the only street he’d recognize from his lifetime.”

Zimmer said the commission is going to ask the City Council to put the proposal on its agenda sometime in early 2007.

If the council votes in favor of the name change, only one of the streets leading away from the Capitol wouldn’t have a special name.

Centennial Mall runs from the Capitol north to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus. It gets its name from the 100-year anniversary of Nebraska’s statehood, which was 1967.

The other specially named street, Lincoln Mall, goes west from the Capitol to the County-City Building. It was named for President Lincoln in 1983.

That leaves J Street, which heads east from the Capitol and could sound downright alphabetical should South 15th become Goodhue Boulevard.

There’s a possibility that could change someday, Zimmer said, but not for a long time.

Ripley said the environs commission decided on renaming 15th Street a boulevard instead of a mall because of the number of residential buildings between A and H streets south of the Capitol.

There are about 100 housing units, most of them apartments, along that seven-block stretch, Zimmer said, but only the ones using 15th Street addresses would be affected.

Zimmer said the name change could pose a potential problem for residents because they would have to change their addresses.

“It would be comparable to moving,” Zimmer said.

Neither Zimmer nor Ripley have heard many negative comments about the proposal.

Though Gordon favors the name change, she said it would be a slight nuisance because she would have to inform her family and friends of her new address.

Other than that, Gordon said she doesn’t have any complaints.

“It’s nice to honor (Goodhue) because it’s such a unique building,” she said.

Reach Mark Mahoney at 473-7237 or mmahoney@journalstar.com.