Devoted to the names of their thoroughfares

In 1492, Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue - as any school child will enthusiastically report. In 1992, Columbus' spirit was moored to the Delaware.

That year marked the 500th anniversary of Columbus' first voyage to the New World. To commemorate the occasion, the Italian American community of South Philadelphia lobbied to have one of the city's largest north-south roadways, Delaware Avenue, renamed in honor of the intrepid Italian navigator.

An innocuous request it was not. The plan to replace street signs along four miles of Delaware Avenue incensed neighborhood groups and American Indians, including the Lenni Lenape, for whom the avenue was originally named.

"I just think it was done in blatant disregard of another people's heritage," said Janice Mongelli Cauley, a member of the Lenni Lenape tribe.

This local conflict represents a national debate. Whereas Columbus' cartographic contribution is undoubted, the cultural and social implications of his journey continue to be debated.

Many neighborhood associations joined the United Indians of Delaware Valley in protest marches prior to the change. And even Philadelphia residents without Columbian reservations were leery of the new appellation.

"We're really pleased that he found America, but this is Delaware Avenue and has been for generations," said Bernard M. Steifel, then the executive director of the Queen Village Neighbors Association.

The Department of Streets floated a compromise, replacing only street signs south of Spring Garden Street. In the years following, the emotional bonds between many residents and their street names could be seen in the defacement of these new "C Columbus Blvd" signs.

Philadelphians have a proper street running parallel to the river thanks to banker and philanthropist Stephen Girard, who was primarily responsible for funding in 1834-45 of what was then the city's most expensive civic improvement project. And with the $500,000 that Girard set aside to rehabilitate the city's waterside came the provision to name the end result "Delaware Avenue."