Evanston Avenue in Chicago was renamed to Broadway in 1913, the only city thoroughfare without a suffix.

Broadway in Chicago is neither an avenue nor a street. It is of two Chicago thoroughfare without a suffix. Adding a suffix is a mistake that many have made, including the City of Chicago whose error, now corrected, could be seen every day in plain sight at the corner of Broadway and Catalpa. The street sign on that corner read “Broadway Av.” Almost every other sign along the thoroughfare reads properly with no suffix added. 

The Broadway thoroughfare sign at Broadway and Wellington was changed in mid-2016, and then the "AV" for avenue was added to this sign. Perhaps a printer's mistake.

The U.S. Post Office recently shows Broadway as "Broadway Sreet" on their Zip Code Finder website page.

Chicago Street Sign, Looking West, on Devon Avenue.

If you say that Lincoln Park West also has no suffix, you must go back to 1920 for proof. According to the Chicago Almanac and Year-Book for 1920; Lincoln Park West is a Boulevard that runs 1/2 mile from Fullerton Avenue / Fullerton Boulevard on the north to Clark Street on the south. The Boulevard or "BLVD" suffix would not fit on the street sign, so the city left it off.

Let's go back to the beginning of Chicago area history. In 1854 landowners organized to make their land more attractive and more valuable by constructing the Lake Shore Plank Road, which became Evanston Avenue, then renamed Broadway in 1913. Lake Shore Plank Road was the last wooden plank road built in the Chicago area.

Evanston Avenue was an important connection for those traveling between Chicago and its northern neighbor Evanston. It cut through woodland areas, including the 'White Birch Forest' that would eventually become neighborhoods such as Uptown, Edgewater, and Rogers Park. The land on which Evanston Avenue was built was more stable ground compared to the swampier soil located east of the road to the lakefront.

As roads such as Evanston Avenue became increasingly traveled, the woods that they sliced through made way to what is now the far north lakefront neighborhoods of Chicago. Developers saw potential in the land and built communities that catered mostly to well-off Chicago families, moving away from the city center.

In order to service these new residents, businesses started to quickly pop up along Evanston Avenue. In 1913, those merchants pushed to have the street’s name changed. Uptown and Edgewater were evolving into Chicago’s version of New York City’s "Great White Way," they chose to rename the street Broadway to reflect the new opulent area.

NYC’s Broadway also has no suffix. Originally the Wickquasgeck Trail, Dutch settlers needed to widen the Manhattan Island street to make room for 4-horse drawn traffic (to allow a 4-horse team to turn 180°) in the mid-1600s. After completion, they renamed the street in Dutch to "Brede Weg" which translated to "Broad Way" in English. Like the Dutch word, Broad Way was spoken as one-word, Broadway, and over time, was spelled as one-word, Broadway.

For those who believe Broadway deserves a suffix, the thoroughfare is technically a 'Way' but became a portmanteau word when Broad Way was turned into one word.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.

Osborn Oldroyd, Collector of Lincoln Memorabilia and Founder of his "Lincoln Museum."

The Lincoln Museum, in the heart of downtown Washington, D.C, is housed in the old Ford's Theater, where President Lincoln was assassinated. Its history may begin with Osborn Hamline Ingham Oldroyd of Ohio, an admirer of Abraham Lincoln. In his eighteenth year, during Lincoln's first campaign for the Presidency, Oldroyd was inspired by a little book, "The Life, Speeches, and Public Services of Abraham Lincoln." He was eager to learn more about this man who could reach such heights with no more than a year of schooling.

At the beginning of the Civil War, Oldroyd was one of the first to enlist when Company E, 20th Ohio Infantry, was organized in his neighborhood. He spent nearly four years in defense of the Union, upholding the principles of his hero. At the age of 22, after his discharge from the Army, Oldroyd determined to devote his life to the pursuit of knowledge about this great man. With unfailing devotion, he gathered pictures, speeches, newspaper articles, books, furniture, and other Lincoln mementos that he could obtain by gift or purchase. He sustained himself and his family by selling some of his collected relics.

Osborn Hamline Ingham Oldroyd, date unknown.

While attending a memorial service for Lincoln in 1880, Oldroyd displayed his collection. When Lincoln's son Robert sought a tenant for the family's house in Springfield in 1883, Oldroyd found the perfect place for his collection. 

The Lincoln's Springfield, Illinois, House. NOTE: Mary added a 2nd floor in 1856 without Abraham knowing.

For 10 years, Oldroyd operated his "Lincoln Museum" there with rather dubious financial practices, charging a small fee for visitors and skimping Robert Lincoln on the rent. Robert Lincoln gave the family home to the state government in 1887 (for free public use), and Oldroyd was hired by the state of Illinois to be the first custodian of the house and gave him a salary of $1,000 per year. Oldroyd undoubtedly used this salary to increase his collection at every turn.

One-half of a stereo card picture of Oldroyd's Lincoln collection in "The Parlor" of the Lincoln House.

After ten years of residence in Springfield, Oldroyd moved his collection to Washington and took up residence in the Government-owned Petersen House at 516 10th Street, northwest. This was the house into which the President was carried, across the street from Ford's Theater, after Booth's fatal shot. It was here that Lincoln died on the morning of April 15, 1865, approximately nine hours later. 

When a Democratic governor was elected in Illinois in 1893, the staunch Republican Oldroyd was evicted from the Lincoln House. Luckily for Ford's Theatre, the then-owners of the Petersen House invited Oldroyd and his now-homeless collection to Washington. He set up shop in the former boarding house across the street from Ford's Theatre at the Petersen House.

This picture was taken from within the front parlor of the Petersen House, facing toward the rear parlor. The door to the right leads into the room where Lincoln died at the Petersen House.

View from within the rear parlor of the Petersen House in the direction of the front parlor. This photo shows only the front parlor.

Photograph shot from the entrance of the room where Lincoln died. The bed Lincoln died in would have been located in the bottom right-hand corner of this photo.

This photo was taken from the rear of William T. Clark's rented room where Lincoln died. Ahead is the doorway to the hallway to the Petersen House entrance, and the X marks the location of Lincoln's deathbed.

When the U.S. government acquired the Petersen House in 1896—the government first purchased a historic home—Oldroyd continued living in the house and served as curator. 

Osborn Oldroyd in front of the Lincoln Museum in the Petersen Boarding House in 1925

THE SIGN READS: HOUSE IN WHICH ABRAHAM LINCOLN DIED — CONTAINS THE — "OLDROYD LINCOLN MEMORIAL COLLECTION" OF OVER 3000 ARTICLES. DAY AND EVENING ADMISSION 27¢ + 3¢ TAX ● TOTAL 30¢

In the 1920s, Oldroyd brokered a deal with then Illinois Representative Henry Riggs Rathbone—son of the Lincolns' ill-fated guests on the night of the assassination—for the federal government to purchase the collection for $50,000 ($785,000 today).

Congressman Henry Riggs Rathbone (left) with Osborn Oldroyd, owner of an extensive collection of Lincoln memorabilia housed in the Petersen House from 1893 to 1930. Rathbone arranged the U.S. government's purchase of the collection in 1926.

In 1932, Oldroyd's collection moved into a repurposed Ford's Theatre, which had sat empty since several floors had collapsed in 1892. With the centennial of the Civil War approaching and plans to restore the Theatre under debate in the 1940s and 1950s, descendants of theatre owner John T. Ford and the Defense Department began to return objects pertinent to the assassination. These included the pistol used to assassinate the President and the door to the Presidential Box where Lincoln sat that night.

A 1935 guide to the Ford's Theatre Museum compared its significance to the Lincoln Memorial, saying the "Lincoln Memorial is a shrine to a great Patriot; the Lincoln Museum is primarily a memorial to the human qualities of a beloved leader." 

Osborn Hamline Ingham Oldroyd (1842-1930)

The self-appointed "Captain" Oldroyd, who was once described as a "deadbeat" by Robert Lincoln, strikes me as one of the most exciting personalities of the Ford's Theatre story—eccentric, conniving, financially unscrupulous. But he astutely figured out how to help others understand and love Lincoln as he did—through preserving and displaying objects of historical significance. 

ADDITIONAL READING:

Life of Osborn H. Oldroyd, Founder and Collector of Lincoln Mementos. pub:1927

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.

Account of Captain Edwin Eliaphron Bedee, in the Union army who was part of the historic tragedy witnessed President Lincoln get shot at Ford's Theatre.

Captain Edwin Bedee (1837-1908)

Captain Bedee was seated in the second row on the left side of the theatre in the back of the orchestra. A commanding view could be had of President Abraham Lincoln watching the play. The sound of a shot rang out above the actor's voice on stage. Captain Edwin Bedee stared as a man vaulted from the President's box onto the stage.

Little did  Edwin Bedee, 12th Regiment, New Hampshire Volunteers, know when he enlisted, August 18, 1862, in Meredith, New Hampshire, that he would witness the tragic shooting of one of American's greatest Presidents, Abraham Lincoln, on the fateful day of April 14, 1865.

When Captain Bedee saw the man drop onto the stage from the President's box, his first reaction was to pursue the fleeing assassin. Instead, Bedee, like the rest, listened as Booth boldly uttered the incredible words, "Revenge for the South!"

Sensing a catastrophe, Captain Bedee sprang from his chair, climbed over some rows, bolted past the orchestra and footlights, and across the stage in the direction Booth had disappeared.

A scream shattered the mounting noise. "They've got him!" Bedee presumed the assassin was caught. Another scream. It was Mrs. Lincoln.

"My husband is shot!" A doctor was called for. Captain Bedee reeled around and bounded across the stage towards the box. As he was scaling the box, a man appeared and stated he was a physician. Captain Bedee stepped aside, pushed the doctor up to the railing, and followed directly behind. Had the Captain not given assistance to the surgeon, he would have been the first to reach Lincoln. The only entrance to the box was believed locked by Booth when he slipped in to do his foul act, which apparently kept anyone from hastily entering from the outside passageway.

President Lincoln lay reclined in his chair, his head tilted back as though he were asleep. The doctor searched for the wound seeking some evidence of blood or torn clothing, the surgeon started to remove Lincoln's coat and unbutton his vest. Meanwhile, Captain Bedee was holding the president's head. Suddenly, he felt a warm wetness trickling into his hand. "Here is the wound, doctor," Captain Bedee said as one of his fingers slid into the hole in the back of Lincoln's head where the ball had only moments before forced an entry.

During the removal of some of the president's clothing, papers fell from his pocket. Mrs. Lincoln, apparently rational in spite of the shock of the calamity handed the packet to Captain Bedee remarking, "You are an officer, and won't you take charge of these papers?" Captain Bedee took the papers while she removed others from her husband's inner pocket and placed them in Dedee's hand.

By now others had gained entrance to the box through the door. One was a surgeon. Together the two doctors worked over the President and then Lincoln was removed to the house across the street from the theater, Bedee helped carry the dying man. He waited at the house where Secretary of War Stanton was soon to arrive. Upon the Secretary's arrival, Captain Bedee delivered the papers to him writing his own name and regiment upon the wrapper which Stanton placed around the documents. Secretary Stanton gave the Captain two assignments: first to go to the War Department with a message, and secondly, to contact the officer in command at Chain Bridge on matters dealing with the escaping assassin.

When the missions were completed Captain Bedee returned to Stanton. The Secretary thanked him for his diligence in handling the duties assigned to him and also for caring for the President's papers. He was then told to return to his post of duty.

The following day Captain Bedee was with his regiment. That evening an officer brought an order for the Captain's arrest. Apparent misunderstanding of the connections between Bedee, Lincoln's papers, and the assassination had made him a suspect within the War Department. Captain Bedee was so distraught that he telegraphed the department explaining the situation.

For two days Captain Bedee was kept under arrest. Finally, his release came, with an explanation of the confusion. Immediately the Captain wrote Secretary Stanton a personal letter stating that his honorable record during the war years would now have a very serious blemish if the details were not clarified. The Secretary wrote back explaining the error caused by the lower echelon in his department and gave proper acknowledgment to Captain Bedee for the commendable acts performed by him in the handling of Lincoln's papers. Thus the good captain was completely exonerated from any suspicious association with the murder of President Lincoln.

How did Captain Bedee happen upon this sorrowful moment of American history?

Edwin Bedee was born in Sandwich, New Hampshire, and grew up in the area. he was a printer by trade prior to the war. At 24 he enlisted and spent three months in a New York regiment but hastily returned to Meredith upon his release to join the 12th Volunteers, wanting to be with fellow New Hampshire men.

Mustered in as a sergeant major of the regiment, Bedee was soon promoted to the rank of first lieutenant. At the battle of Chancellorsville, he was wounded and yet assumed command of his regiment when those higher in command were either killed or unable to lead.

At Chancellorsville, Bedee's ability to make decisions under the pressure of battle was recognized, and he was promoted to captain. A year later, at Cold Harbor, Virginia, Captain Bedee was severely wounded. Recovering from his wounds, Bedee went back to action. This time he was captured at Bermuda Front, Virginia. He was paroled in February of 1865. Shortly thereafter, Captain Bedee was selected to serve on the staff of General Potter and went to Washinton on special duty. On Friday evening, April 14, 1865, be decided to attend Ford's Theatre.

The play was "Our American Cousin." It was being performed for the last time. Captain Bedee was fortunate to obtain a seat for the house was sold out. In fact, his seat gave him a full view of the President's box and its occupants. Because the audience was laughing at the antics on stage at the time, few heard the shot that felled the President.

A month after this tragic and involved affair, Captain Bedee was promoted to the rank of Major. Soon he was mustered out of the army along with his regiment.

When the war was over, Major Bedee caught the speculating craze and was lured to the South African diamond fields. But within a few years, he sold out, returning to Boston, and established himself as a successful diamond trader.

During his later years, Major Bedee, now a man of moderate wealth gave generously to the churches and other institutions in the town of Meredith. He purchased a statue in honor of the 12th Regimental Volunteers and had it placed on the lawn of the Meredith Public Library.

Major Bedee died at the famous Pemigewassett House in Plymouth, New Hampshire, on January 13, 1908, just five days after his 71st birthday. He never married. His body lies in the Meredith cemetery beneath a simple monument.

Little, if any, recognition has even been given Major Bedee in many accounts written on Lincoln's death because his role was that of a dutiful officer acting in a crisis. Had the circumstances surrounding Lincoln's personal and official papers not been so minor in the wake of such a tragic event, Major Bedee might have become nationally exposed as a suspect in the plot to assassinate President Lincoln. His innocence brought oblivion.

A typical style of many Civil War statues. Major Edwin E. Bedee's monument to the 12th New Hampshire Volunteer Regiment has a colorful history. The regiment participated in many of the fiercest battles of the Civil War, including Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, and Cold Harbor. Local soldiers reportedly sustained the highest percentage of casualties of any unit in the Union Army. Major Bedee himself was injured twice and later spent several months in a Rebel prison camp. Bedee paid for the statue because he wished "to keep alive the memory of our fallen brave."

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.