If you live in the city of Brotherly Love or even have just visited, you may have noticed that most of the streets are named after trees. But why is that?

Don't judge me, though, because it took me living in the area for almost a year and a half to realize that most of the streets you go down in Philly are named after plants.

Some of the names have changed since the 1600s, but originally the names were Vine, Sassafras, Mulberry, Chestnut, Walnut, Locust, Spruce, Pine and Cedar, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. For some reason I always find myself on Spruce Street. They have the best bars in the city...just throwing that out there.

The long standing theory is that William Penn, the founder of the state of Pennsylvania, named these streets after trees as a nod to his love for nature. Penn used to always boost about our beloved state's beauty and call it a "Greene Countrie Towne," Philadelphia Curbed says. 

Another theory that has been floating around is that the streets are named after the trees that William Penn planted on the side of each road.

It's interesting because according to a report from Philadelphia Curbed many of the residents couldn't read back then so Penn planted different trees on the side of the streets as a way to help people navigate where they were.

And very much coincidentally, the street names are in order from hardwood trees to softwood trees, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.  Many residents have pointed this out over the years, but there is no way to prove that this was done purposely.

It's as simple as that. Pretty interesting stuff, right?

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