What American city had the first freeway and what was and still is its name?

Answer 1

Los Angeles, had and still has it in operation.

Answer 2

Not as straightforward a question as it may seem.

Freeways weren't always called that; they were originally known by the term "limited-access highways."

The first limited-access highway was in New York, the Bronx River Parkway (1924), running from New York City to White Plains. But you could argue that it was a parkway, or a highway, but not a freeway.

There were also the Merritt Parkway (1926) in Connecticut, and the Henry Hudson Parkway (1934) on the west side of Manhattan.

The Arroyo Seco was the first freeway in name, built in Los Angeles, California in 1934 -- about the same time that Chicago's Lake Shore Drive was conceived.

Technically, then, the first "freeway" (in name) in the US was the Arroyo Seco -- but it was neither the first limited-access highway in the US, nor does it still carry the same name -- it is now called the Pasadena Freeway 110.

So it's tricky to answer this question. If you consider a freeway to be a limited-access highway, then New York gets the credit for the Bronx River Parkway, built in 1924 and still carrying the same name today. However, if you consider only those roads where the term "freeway" was commonly applied, the Arroyo Seco (now Pasadena Freeway 110) gets the credit, but is disqualified for the name change.

Addendum: if you consider the first freeway to be the first road built under the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, then there is no definitive answer -- there is some debate. See the article cited below.

Answer 3

The first freeway in the United States connected downtown Los Angeles with Pasadena. The limited access and toll-free highway called the Arroyo Seco Freeway was built in 1940 and is now known as the Pasadena Freeway, or California 110.