NYC / Houston Street
TimeOutNY reveals in their What’s up with that column: Question: What’s with Houston Street being pronounced "HOW-ston" instead of "HYU-ston" like the city in Texas? Answer: When Houston Street was named in 1788, future Lone Star State governor Sam Houston was barely old enough to ask Pa if he could borrow the buggy. Now an eight-lane thoroughfare, the road was originally christened Houstoun Street, after Continental Congress delegate William Houstoun, by his son’in’law city planner (and major suck-up) Nicholas Bayard. The spelling was corrupter, but th eoriginal pronunciation remains - mainly because it’s the easiest way to root out recent arrivals.
