A Brief History
On December 28, 1795, construction began on Yonge Street in York, Upper Canada (modern day Toronto). Yonge Street went on to fame as “The longest street in the world” according to The Guinness Book of World Records at 1178 miles long, running from Lake Ontario to Lake Simcoe and on to the Minnesota-Ontario border at Rainy River. Many other streets and roads across the world have achieved a measure of fame, and here we list 10 of those famous roadways. Is the list a little US of A centric? Yes, but that is to be expected with an American author! Sorry! (Note: The order listed has no significance.) (Honorable mention to Lombard Street, San Francisco, Santa Monica and Hollywood Blvd. in Los Angeles, Abbey Road, Carnaby St. and Savile Row, England, Via Dolorosa, Jerusalem, Las Vegas Strip, Nevada, Michigan Ave, Chicago, Auto Strada, Italy, and the Pacific Coast Hwy/Carmel-San Simeone Highway, California. Add your selections!)
Digging Deeper
10. Yonge Street, Ontario, Canada.
Unfortunately, although still quite famous and its construction listed as an Event of National Historical Significance in Canada, the so called longest street in the world lost that title in 1999 when it was determined that counting Highway 11 as part of the street was not really accurate, and the overall length of the street was officially reduced to 86 kilometers, something not so impressive. Still, Yonge Street is a main road in Toronto and host to many important sites along its route.
9. La Rambla, Barcelona, Spain.
Dating back to 1377, this broad street separated by an central tree lined area is a mecca for tourists and is occupied by numerous cafés, restaurants and shops. One of if not the greatest streets to walk up and down in the world. (My personal favorite.) Oddly enough, this route was once a sewage/stream bed!
8. Avenue des Champs-Elysees, Paris, France.
Only 1.2 miles long, this wide street (230 feet) is home to numerous shops, cafés, and the Arc de Triomphe. It is the site of the finish of the Tour de France bicycle race and the annual Bastille Day Parade. The Avenue gets its name from the Greek mythological paradise (where heroes go when they die, the Elysian Fields) and is the heart of Paris.
7. ALCAN Highway, US and Canada.
Also called the Alaskan Highway or Alaska-Canadian Highway, this road was built from March to October of 1942 through incredibly rough terrain, an incredible achievement spurred on by wartime necessity. Built mostly by 10,000 men of the US Army Corps of Engineers, about a third of which were African-Americans, the 1387 mile road linked Dawson Creek, British Colombia to Delta Junction, Alaska, allowing for ground travel from the mainland US to Alaska. This road is a triumph of hard work, dedication, and perseverance against harsh nature. The ALCAN is unofficially considered part of the Pan-American Hwy that links Alaska in the North to Argentina in the South.
6. Pan-American Highway, North and South America.
A network of roads stretching 30,000 miles that connects North and South American countries (except for the so called Darien Gap) the Pan-Am is called the longest “motorable road” in the world by Guinness World Records. The 60 mile Darien Gap had attempts to eliminate it in 1974 and 1992, both of which failed. Some local tribes in Panama claim possible erosion of their culture by bridging this gap of swamp, jungle and rivers, as well as environmental concerns. Prevention of the spread of foot and mouth disease is another factor in preventing closing the gap. A proposed ferry to bypass the gap may be a viable option.
5. Broadway, Wall Street, Fifth Avenue, New York, New York.
Arguably the most important city in the world, New York would dominate the list if these streets were listed separately. In order, the most important streets to stage, money, and fashion (go ahead, list all your other favorites) in the world, the streets of New York are to a large extent the heartbeat of the world.
4. The Appian Way, Italy.
When it was said “all roads lead to Rome” (the quote is of unknown origin, but it goes waaaayyy back) it was pretty much true. The Romans were the first great road builders in civilized history, and their sturdy construction has allowed many of these roads to remain as the foundation of modern roads today. The Appian Way was one of the first of these great Roman Roads, and led from Rome to Brindisi, first opened in 312 BC, incredibly the same year it was started! Rome at its peak had 29 major military roads radiating from the Eternal City and another 372 great roads connecting its various provinces. The Appian Way can easily be considered the Father of all Highways.
3. Autobahn, Germany.
Although Italy created the first (more or less) high speed roads for automobile traffic, the Autobahn circa 1935 was the first modern truly high speed limited access highway in the world, often pointed to as a triumph of Nazi Germany. Although much of the system does not have mandatory speed limits, the amount of traffic, high fuel prices, and “advisory” speed limits of 81 mph generally keep traffic to the sane level of around 88 mph. This modern system put the US highway system to shame in the 1930’s and 1940’s, until the US Interstate Hwy system emerged as a world class highway system. (When I was on the Autobahn we moved along at about 60 mph in a bus, and we were not being blown off the road by any means.) Today, China, the US, and Spain have more miles of controlled access highway than the Autobahn, but as the Grand Daddy of ‘em all, the Autobahn makes this list.
2. Bourbon Street, New Orleans, Louisiana.
Compared to the other roads on this list, this street is filthy and shabby, not much of motorway at all, but still, it is one of the most dynamic and flat out interesting places in the world to walk around, especially during Mardi Gras. The music and the food is fantastic. (Bourbon Street is the author’s favorite American street.)
1. Route 66, USA.
This road once carried Americans from Chicago, Illinois to Santa Monica, California, starting in 1926 when automobiles began to challenge trains as a method of passenger transportation in the US. Known as “The Main Street of America,” or “The Mother Road,” and also as “The Will Rogers Highway,” this was the first long distance highway across the US for motor traffic. Oddly for this list, the road no longer exists as it once did, superseded by the Interstate Highway System. Today it exists in separate parts as a National Scenic Highway.
Question for students (and subscribers) to ponder: What streets or roads would you include on this list? Perhaps London’s streets are so famous and so many it is hard to narrow it down for the list.
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Malloy, Ronald Alexander. The Yonge Street Strip. BookRix GmbH & Co. KG, 2013.
Trembath, Don. A Beautiful Place on Yonge Street. Orca Book Publishers, 1998.
The featured image in this article, a photograph by Raysonho @ Open Grid Scheduler / Grid Engine of the Start of Yonge Street, is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.
