What Happened to J Street?

Tellers of tall tales say John Jay was dissed by D.C. street planners. (Wp Library)

I was wondering why there is no J Street in D.C. What's the story?

Kathrin Bachrack, Arlington

There's a myth that Pierre L'Enfant (or Thomas Jefferson; versions vary) despised John Jay, chief justice of the United States. Rather than challenge him to a duel or leave a flaming bag of dog excrement on his doorstep, L'Enfant (or Jefferson) stiffed him by going straight from I Street to K Street in the design of the District. Take that, Mr. Jay!

Except, as we said, it's a myth. Back in Colonial times, the letters I and J were written alike. (The Latin alphabet doesn't even have a J.) There's no J Street because the District's designers didn't want people to confuse it with I Street.

But, you ask, what about X, Y and Z streets? The original design was of only the central part of Washington. Twenty-three streets -- ending at W -- fit on either side of the East Capitol Street axis.

Washington's street grid is actually quite an elegant system. Numbered streets run north-south; lettered streets run east-west. Avenues named after states run (mostly) diagonally. After W Street in Northeast and Northwest, things get alphabetical, with two-syllable names (Adams, Bryant), then three-syllable names (Allison, Buchanan), then the names of trees (Aspen, Butternut). Things aren't quite so neat on the eastern bank of the Anacostia, but streets are roughly alphabetical there, too.

At various times in the past, well-meaning but idiotic citizens have tried to "improve" Washington's street names. Some complained the labels weren't patriotic enough, or were just plain boring.

In 1897 a judge named Alexander B. Hagner recommended renaming the lettered streets alphabetically after "Presidents, Vice Presidents, Chief Justices, Speakers of the House, Cabinet members and celebrated military characters." He admitted there were no good candidates for I Street, so he dumped it and resurrected J Street, to be renamed Jefferson Street in the north of town and Jackson Street in the south.

If Judge Hagner had had his way, George Clooney's new HBO show would be known as "King Street." John F. Kelly

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