on local history by local historian David Reamer. Have a question about Anchorage history or an idea for a future article? Go to the form at the bottom of this story. Behind every Anchorage street name is a story. Of course, some of these stories are longer than others, with drama, crime and standout characters. Spenard Road is one such example. Thankfully, most streets lack an infamous backstory. The following are some of the shorter but still important local street name origins. A drive through most Anchorage neighborhoods reveals patterns in the street names. In general, residential streets are often named by some combination of developers and residents. Developers, and city planning departments that approve names, tend to be partial to themes. Collectively named streets are one helpful step toward the construction of a community identity. Where the neighborhood identity goes from there is another story (i.e., dead presidents in Spenard).