University officials are proposing a name change to one of the most well-known and heavily-traveled streets on campus.

Soon Elwood Drive may have a new name, as proposed by Warren Madden, vice president of business and finance. The road on the southeast side of campus would become University Boulevard, pending authorization by the Ames City Council. If it goes into effect, the avenue’s renaming could take place later this summer or after school starts again, Madden said.

“Most people feel it’s an improvement to the university,” Madden said.

The name change is seen as a benefit for both Iowa State and businesses along that stretch of road, such as hotels, gas stations, convenience stores and office buildings.

Ten of the 17 property owners on Elwood have signed off on the change, Madden said. He expects the rest will soon sign off, as there was overwhelming support for it by the property owners. The university administration and the ISU Foundation have signed off as well.

“If the university benefits, then the city benefits. They are mutually together. The feeling of this is pretty positive,” said Ames 3rd Ward City Councilman Ryan Doll.

The name change was proposed by Madden and other property owners and appeared on the city council agenda Feb. 13. The draft for the name change has yet to pass over the required three city council readings, but it will over the next several weeks, Madden said, as the name change affects a city ordinance. The name change will go as far south as Highway 30.

“[Elwood is seen as] the main entrance to the campus today,” Madden said.

New ISU students, parents, businesses and visitors stand to benefit from the name change, as it will be easier for newcomers to find the university.

“We hope [it will benefit] the visitors to events, the 1.5 million [cars] wanting to come to ISU,” Madden said. “There was a feeling that we could improve the directions and way finding.”

And that’s not all, Madden said, as the name change will usher in new architectural landscaping changes.

The Department of Transportation will have to change signs that refer travelers “to our fine arts facilities, athletic facilities and the central campus area,” along Interstate 35 and Highway 30.

There are also plans for a wall or column structure by the Reiman Gardens site that will relate to the campus, as well as a south campus entryway feature, which is backed by the ISU Foundation. The unveiling is proposed to be a part of the upcoming sesquicentennial festivities or a part of the Veishea 2008 festivities. These updates and more are a part of a multi-year landscape improvement plan, Madden said.

The name change brings about concerns of how Philip Henry Elwood, the former ISU professor the street is currently named after, will be remembered if the name is changed to University Boulevard.

“He [Elwood] was a major landscape architect,” Madden said.

According to university archives, Elwood, a former professor of landscape architecture, was born in Fort Plain, N.Y., on December 7, 1884. He earned his B.A. in Landscape Architecture from Cornell University in 1910. Elwood became the head of the landscape architecture department for Iowa State in 1929 and taught until 1951.

In 1958, Elwood was named Professor Emeritus. He died in Tucson, Ariz. in 1960. He was instrumental in developing the department of landscape architecture. Elwood was also the editor of American Landscape Architecture magazine, and served on many professional planning commissions. Elwood Drive was named in his honor on Feb. 5, 1963.

The memory of Elwood could be honored in a few ways, at completely different sites, Madden said. One option falls with the College of Design’s current renovation and addition that could be named after Elwood. Another idea stems from the University Boulevard landscaping package that suggests the intramural fields on Lincoln Way will be rededicated, or introduced as an outdoor teaching area or nature reserve.