‘It’s unusual:’ Why does Prineville have a 5 1/2 Street? ‘Practicality’ by Ochoco Creek, but a confusing hassle for some

(Update: adding comment from current and former Public Works director, residents)

PRINEVILLE, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Home to a warm and neighborly sense of culture, Prineville is also home to plenty of history, and a peculiar kind of street name uncommon to Central Oregon. This particular street - Northeast 5 1/2 Street - is relatively unknown, especially for folks who don't live in the city.

Folks who've visited or live in Prineville know the area and neighborly feel that's existed here more than 100 years. What many might not know is it's home to street with such unusual addresses. 

"It's one of the little deals that if you're not involved in Public Works or the fire department or someone like that, you probably don't even know its there," said former city Public Works director Jerry Brummer, who's lived in Prineville his whole life. 

Prineville resident Windy Minton said, "We've been here seven years. We lived up on Juniper Canyon and we ride our bikes and we noticed it, and it was just cute."

Rich Minton said, "I looked up, and I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I actually grabbed my phone and took a picture of it. It's unusual."

NE 5 1/2 Street is home on  one side to the Prineville Parks Department. On the other side, there are two homes with a 5 1/2 Street addresses. Other nearby homes are on the cross-street.

The streets were first laid out in 1877. Ochoco Creek over time was in the way of planning for a street. Eventually it migrated south, creating room for this small street.

Casey Kaiser, the current Public Works director, said, "It looks like going back and looking at old maps that maybe originally where that creek fell, you know, made more room or less room for a block on one side or the other of the creek."

It came to NewsChannel 21's attention when a fire happened near 5 1/2 street on April 25th. Crook County Fire & Rescue put out a news release with the unusual address.

We asked the Public Works Department the history, and no one had a definitive answer for why the city has a half-street.

Kaiser said, "It was just a matter of practicality, That street lines up with some alleys. If you carry it across the creek, you can kind of see how it lines up with some alleyways in there. But I think once addresses were established on that, it made sense to make it an actual street and name it as such." 

As folks might expect, 5 1/2 Street sits between Fifth and Sixth streets. We spoke with a neighbor who said the address causes constant confusion, creating a hassle for her with the post office.