It’s Time to Change the Name of Bush Street

I doubt many Beyond Chron readers will disagree with my opinion of George Bush – that he is without exaggeration the worst President that this country has ever had. Already, Americans have mentally moved beyond the Bush-Cheney years and are focusing their attention on the 2008 Presidential election. If George Bush did not win a single precinct in San Francisco in the 2000 – or 2004 – elections, why do we have a street with his name to remind us about him?

Of course, Bush Street was not named after our current President. In fact, nobody knows for sure who it was named after and it is probably the most difficult to trace of all San Francisco street names. There are two prevailing theories. One is that it was named after Dr. Jonathan P. Bush, but he didn’t come to the City until 1849 and there are two earlier maps from 1847 that already had a Bush Street.

The other theory is more credible, but is unverified. In 1893, the Chronicle published a story about a man claiming to be J.P. Bush. According to Bush, he first arrived in San Francisco in 1845 as a cabin boy on a New England whaling ship, then deserted and became an assistant to Jasper O’Farrell – who was mapping the City streets. O’Farrell then named Bush Street after his assistant.

In other words, we’re not sure who Bush Street was named after, and even if we did it wasn’t anybody really important. Today, San Franciscans overwhelmingly despise our current President – and we’re stuck with a street that shares the same name.

While locals know that Bush Street is not named after the President, tourists who come here may not. Many of them are from countries where Bush has made America universally hated, and it can’t be a very warm welcome for them to have a street like that in San Francisco. With Bush Street running through Chinatown and other tourist destinations, changing the name for this reason is especially important.

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