Kobe Bryant Drive? Gianna Bryant Way? The real effort to bring both to Overbrook
An effort is gaining steam to rename an intersection in Overbrook after basketball legend Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna.
In Kobe Bryant, LeRoy McCarthy has found his next project.
McCarthy, who works as a location scout for feature films and TV, was the driving force behind renaming stretches of Philly roadways in honor of legendary journalist Ed Bradley and hometown hip-hop group The Roots. He now has his efforts set on renaming an intersection in Overbrook after basketball legend Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna.
McCarthy says he is working to rename North 60th Street to Columbia Avenue as Gianna Bryant Way and Lancaster Avenue to City Line Avenue as Kobe Bryant Drive.
The intersection is symbolic, as 60th Street heading south leads to Tustin Playground, the basketball courts are credited for honing Bryant’s skills in Philadelphia. McCarthy said he’s in talks with Councilmember Curtis Jones to consider drafting a resolution to rename the stretch from 60th from Lancaster Avenue to Tustin Playground, Gianna Bryant Way.
As for Kobe Bryant Drive, the plan is to start on the Lancaster Avenue side of 60th, but have the stretch ideally run west to City Avenue. With Lancaster Avenue being a state route, that is a separate conversation McCarthy says. He has been talking with State Sen. Vincent Hughes, whom he worked with on Bradley’s historical marker in 2015, about renaming Lancaster Avenue.
McCarthy’s long-term vision for Kobe Bryant Drive is to see it extend beyond City Avenue into Lower Merion, ultimately ending at Lancaster Avenue and Church Road, which leads to Lower Merion High School, Kobe’s alma mater.
However, that consideration would need to be through State Sen. Amanda Cappelletti’s office, whose oversight determines what would happen along the stretch of Lancaster Avenue past City Avenue and up to Church Road.
Inquiries for comment from the offices of Jones and Hughes were unsuccessful.
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“Since he passed away, I always wondered how I could use my talents as a location manager in film and television to connect it to things that I like, like hip-hop and sports?” McCarthy told The Inquirer. “When I saw that the Bryant family worked with [Philadelphia Parks and Recreation] to put up the mural and revitalize the basketball court at Tustin, I thought, ‘What else could be done?’
“I have a working relationship with Vincent Hughes’ office [from] when we dedicated a historical marker for Bradley. And so just following up on that success, I reached out to his office again to ask about possibly honoring Kobe Bryant with a street name. And then when I reached out to Curtis Jones Jr.’s office, they were receptive to the idea as well. At this point, it’s almost a matter of seeing how this cannot happen.”
Bryant’s death in 2020 at the age of 41 shocked the world when his chartered helicopter crashed into the hills in Calabasas, Calif., killing nine, including Gianna.
On Friday, Bryant’s wife, Vanessa, testified in a Los Angeles courtroom, chiding those who released graphic imagery of the crash site, marking an emotional day in a legal saga that had been ongoing since the accident.
All of this falls ahead of Aug. 24, known nationwide since 2021 as “Kobe Bryant Day.”
“There’s a lot of symbolism in naming this road Kobe Bryant Drive,” said McCarthy. “Kobe is known for having Mamba Mentality, which was the driving force of all his success. It’s also a basketball term that fits great with the naming of the street.
“Kobe brought a lot of pride to Philadelphia representing the city, although he [lived] on the Main Line. But he still is, and will be forever known as a Philadelphia guy. Something like this would be not just appreciated locally, but state and nationwide.”