Who are the streets named after at the Minnesota State Fair?
You hear us say it all the time at the Minnesota State Fair, "Stop by the WCCO Booth at the corner of Carnes and Nelson."
Dominated by foot traffic, it's easy to forget the Minnesota State Fairgrounds is paved to handle vehicle traffic, complete with street names.
"If I cannot see anything I'm familiar with yeah, that's what I go to," said fairgoer Dalton Kautz, as he analyzed the street names on his paper map.
Others said they use landmarks like Andy's Diner or the Giant Slide to get their bearings.
"Having the streets also helps people say, 'Come over to this corner and the building will be right over here,' but of course landmarks are helpful, too," said Keri Huber, an archivist for the fair.
How did the streets get their names at the Minnesota State Fair?
"The streets are based off of people who have been a part of the Minnesota State Fair from its beginnings, like the 1880s into the early 1900s," said Huber.
Consider them the founding fathers.
Cosgrove Street is named for one of the fair presidents from 1902 to 1906.
Underwood Street is named after a former superintendent of horticulture and agriculture.
"[Cosgrove] goes next to the Agriculture Building so, I think that's a really appropriate space," said Huber.
Carnes Avenue is named after Norris Carnes, a former superintendent of horses who lived to be 102 years old.
Nelson Street is named after one the fair's vice presidents.
Judson Avenue, running along the livestock buildings, honors a former secretary of the society from to 1875 to 1887.
While those are all named after men, there's one street with origins to a legendary animal. Dan Patch was a famous racehorse.
"In 1906 at our second grandstand he did one mile in 1:55. That was a world record," said Huber.
Commonwealth Road became Dan Patch Avenue in 1995, passing the grandstand where his well-known story was born.
Those street names came in handy back in the day when drivers could pull right up to a booth and park, a luxury that ended as crowds grew in the 1990s.
There were several parking lots on the grounds going back to the early 1900s. Some of last areas people could park were on Machinery Hill near the turn of millennium.