(airy electronic music) - [Tom] The following presentation explores the history of
Los Angeles street names, with documents and historic photographs provided by the Seaver Center
for Western History Research located in the Natural History
Museum of Los Angeles County. The discussion of early Los
Angeles will be followed by a look at neighborhoods
including Echo Park, Lincoln Heights, Playa Del
Rey, and Windsor Hills. And how street names reflected the growth of the city
from ranching, agriculture, land speculation, oil
discovery, and movie making. Also covered are the former
streets and neighborhoods in what is now South Park along the Figueroa
Corridor south of downtown. (traffic passing) lastly, the former streets
that existed before the arrival of the downtown
portion of the Harbor Freeway, the Hollywood Freeway and
the four level interchange will be discussed. - [Marisol] Street names
are pages in a history book full of colorful stories. The names are anchors in the passing of time, events, and people. - [Tom] Los Angeles grew from
the original 1781 Spanish settlement of four square leagues, that is about 28 square miles. 50 years after the founding of the pueblo, there was not a regular street. A traveler on horseback threaded his way among the scattered houses. By 1830, Mexican Los Angeles had expanded from its nucleus at the
plaza and its church. - [Marisol] When California
ceded to the U.S. in 1848 it marked the beginning of
change to the landscape of L.A. Expansion was possible when
the city was able to gain additional land from
the federal government. Expansion also resulted from
real estate tract developments, speculation activities, land booms. There were many annexations
of places like Eagle Rock, Hollywood, and Venice
into the fold of the city. - [Tom] An 1879 observation
of street life reported, "Because of the mixed population, "they were always
colorful and interesting. "Street cars crossed
the principle streets, "numerous vehicles and carriages are seen, "four seated carriage with heavy springs, "light American vehicles, and
frequently small carriages "driven by Chinese. "The Americans usually drive
in place of riding horseback. "Many riders however, are in evidence. "For the Spaniards, Frenchmen, "and Italians prefer riding to driving. "Spanish boys are often
seen galloping gaily. "Young Californians, brown
as Arabs, also ride by. "In the summer the dust is
distinctly disagreeable. "However in the morning the streets "are frequently watered
from sprinkling carts. "The dust in the sidewalks
is settled by using a hose "attached to water
connections inside the house." The city relied on a convict labor force called chain gangs for public works such as street maintenance,
shown as a newspaper report on the chain gang. (bright music) The exploration of street
name beings with Ord Street, located in Chinatown. Named in honor of Edward Otho Cresap Ord, who drew the first land
survey of Los Angeles. Lieutenant Ord made numerous
trips to Los Angeles in the course of his military assignments and side work as a surveyor. He 1849 land survey was mandated after the U.S. war with Mexico. - [Marisol] Ord's historic survey included Spanish and English names. Many of those original street
names are still used today. One is Spring Street, or
(speaking in foreign language). In the earlier Mexican period, it was known as (speaking
in foreign language), or Street of Charity because it was viewed that
the wealthy and charitable residents subsidized the poor. An even earlier name around 1800 was (speaking in foreign
language), or Beware Street. The oldest thoroughfare may be in today's Los Angeles Street at the segment near Aliso and Arcadia Streets. In the earlier part of the century, it was known as (speaking
in foreign language), because the mother water
ditch ran along here. By the 1830s the name evolved to (speaking in foreign language), meaning the Main Street. But it was named Los Angeles Street mistakenly by Lieutenant Ord. The name Los Angeles was derived from various Spanish references
to the Lady of the Angels. Due to the mistake in the Ord survey, a less important street ended up being (speaking
in foreign language), which is today known as Main Street. A continuation of (speaking
in foreign language) was named (speaking in foreign language). But by 1853 Orchard Street
was changed to San Pedro, as it was the main thoroughfare heading south to the
San Pedro embarcadero. Other names still used
today that were derived from the original Spanish names are Hill Street, or (speaking
in foreign language), Olive Street, or (speaking
in foreign language), Hope Street, or (speaking
in foreign language), and Flower Street, or
(speaking in foreign language). In 1886, Grand Avenue was adopted in place of Charity Street. Residents objected to the
connotations of the word charity. Broadway Street replaced
(speaking in foreign language), or Fort Street in 1890. Fort Street was associated
with Fort Moore, a hilltop memorial to
fallen American soldiers of the U.S. war with Mexico. City boosters chose
Broadway to give the city a semblance of Americanness. The streets running east and west are similar today as in 1849. (speaking in foreign
language) or First Street was documented as early as 1846. The Ord survey only noted
(speaking in foreign language), however the survey continued down to the city border at 12th Street. North of the Los Angeles Plaza,
extending north and south were (speaking in foreign language). Today the only remaining
name is Adobe Street. Likewise, the east and
west running streets north of the plaza were
(speaking in foreign language). The only name that remains from the early period is College Street. (soft piano music) (energetic music) Early Mexican air maps called disenos were simply drawing with
unnamed geological landmarks. Many of the visual descriptions
found on the disenos were adopted later in
naming an area or a street. An example of a natural demarcation
was the Western boundary of the city shown as
(speaking in foreign language) in the Ord survey, later referred in English
as Grasshopper Street. And then changed to Pearl Street in 1874. The area was on the outskirts
of the Los Angeles pueblo, along fields of uncultivated vegetation. It is now Figueroa Street. Another name derived from
a landmark is Aliso Street, from a large sycamore called
(speaking in foreign language). A familiar point of reference for the traveling Spanish
settlers of Los Angeles, their trail became known as Aliso Street. It was later changed to Mission Road as the path to the Mission San Gabriel. Instead of a natural landmark, settlers often applied the
names of their places of origin, such as Canoga Park for Canoga, New York. And Chatsworth for an estate
in Devonshire, England. Street naming has been shaped by land development and events. As well as through
individuals and families. This includes the legacy of the
Spanish and Mexican ranchos, such as the pictured
streets that stem from (speaking in foreign language) and (speaking in foreign language). As well as American era
housing tract names. Names are attributed to land developers and prominent residents. Street name origins also
reflected early farming culture, the oil industry and the
growth of Southern California's movie making industry in the early 1900s. - [Tom] In the first years of
the newly Americanized city, all the streets south of Pico were named for the first presidents in
their order of succession. Washington, Adams,
Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, John Quincy Adams, and Jackson
Streets were identified on an 1857 survey map even
though the land had not yet been granted by the United
States Land Commission. Today only three of the names remain, Washington, Adams, and Jefferson. The Mexican legacy of the
city was acknowledged through the establishment of Pico
Street in the early 1850s, named for the influential
statesman, vast land owner, and the final Alta California
governor under Mexican rule, Pio de Jesus Pico. Today it is a boulevard. Pio Pico was born at the
San Gabriel Mission in 1801. He resided in Los Angeles
where he witnessed a burgeoning American city before he died in 1894. He was the epitome of a Californio, a Mexican who lived
through California's rule under Spain, Mexico,
and the United States. - [Marisol] Figueroa Street is remembered for Mexican general Jose Figueroa, governor of Alta California
from 1833 to 1835. Other Mexican governors
represented in street names include Jose Maria de Echeandia,
Manuel Micheltorena, and Juan Bautista Alvarado. The Sepulveda family, landholders of (speaking in foreign
language), and other properties is remembered through Sepulveda Boulevard, the longest street in the city. During the transition
to American governance, land ownership had to be
contested and proven in court. Pictured is Jose Dolores Sepulveda, whose family was awarded
Rancho San Vicente, Santa Monica in 1881. - [Tom] Proposals to change street names often struck the nerve of the community. Sentiments ran deep when
the name was ingrained in an area and served as its identity. In 2003, city hall set out
to rename Crenshaw Boulevard to Tom Bradley Boulevard in honor of the five term African American mayor. But a barrage of opposition
blocked the effort. An example of a successful
name change took place in 1983 when Santa Barbara Avenue became Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in tribute to the slain
civil rights leader. Temple Street faced five
name change proposals in 1921, 1925, 1931, 1932, and 1953. And each instance was
embroiled in controversy. Having arrived in Los Angeles in 1827, John Temple was praised for building the first commercial structures to house the first market, theater,
courthouse, and offices. He held the largest expanse
of land in the Mexican era, and he was considered a trailblazer in the Anglo community of Los Angeles. The last unsuccessful
attempt to change the name of Civic Center Boulevard was in 1953. - [Marisol] Two other Street
names adopted in recent years are Cesar E. Chavez Avenue, and Astronaut Ellison S. Onizuka Street. Cesar Chavez Avenue is named for the late civil rights leader who was a symbol of Chicano empowerment and who fought on behalf
of migrant laborers. The name replaced Macy Street which was connected to Brooklyn Avenue. The renaming occurred in 1994. Macy Street was named
for Dr. Obediah Macy. Like most white settlers of the time, he and his family endured a
ninth month overland journey that was at times harrowing and fraught with danger
from several Indian attacks. They managed to arrive out west unscathed. But many groups making similar
treks were not as fortunate. Brooklyn Avenue was a primary
street laid out in the 1877 Brooklyn Heights subdivision
of Boyle Heights. (calm music) In 1987 Weller Court, a Street
in Little Tokyo was renamed Astronaut Ellison S. Onizuka Street in remembrance of the
Japanese American astronaut who died in the 1986 Challenger
Spacecraft explosion. During the 1850s, competing stagecoaches often raced through Weller Street while transporting passengers
from the San Pedro Harbor to their dusty destination at the Bella Union Hotel on Main Street. - [Tom] In the heart of Los
Angeles is Vignes Street, named for Jean-Louis Vignes from France. He came to California in 1831 and resided in Los Angeles
until his death in 1862. He was the most important
wine maker in the West, producing over 40,000 gallons a year and is considered a pioneer
of California viticulture. Pictured here about
1890 is Vignes' nephew, Ferdinand, and his family who followed his uncle's footsteps and
came to Los Angeles in 1843 and also established a vineyard. A short distance away is
Arcadia Street, which was the property line of (speaking
in foreign language), home to Abel Stearns and Maria Francisca Paula Arcadia Bandini. Arcadia Bandini, as she
is commonly referred to in history books, was the daughter of Juan Bandini, a Peruvian born Italian
who arrived in California at the time of Mexico's struggle for independence with Spain. Arcadia accumulated land and wealth by inheritance and marriage. She and her second husband co-founded the city of Santa Monica. The city of Arcadia was named for her by its founder, Lucky Baldwin. She died in 1912. - [Marisol] Chavez Ravine
Road originally extended to an area settled by a young
New Mexican, Julian Chavez, who applied to the Mexican
granting authority, the (speaking in foreign language) for land rights in the 1840s. He served on the first
American city counsel, the first board of supervisors, and two subsequent terms
as city councilman. Stadium Way supplanted the road by the time Dodger Stadium opened in 1962. Today Chavez Ravine Place is
the short path that remains. Nearby is Coronel Street, a
reminder of the Coronel family who settled in Los Angeles in 1834, including the distinguished Californio, Antonio Franco Coronel. He served as the justice
of the peace in 1843. He became the first Mexican
mayor of Los Angeles during the American era from 1853 to 1854 and was later the state Treasurer. He died in 1894. Bellevue and Beaudry Streets were major roads transversing
through he property subdivided by the prolific French
Canadian land developer Prudent Beaudry and his brother Victor. Prudent Beaudry also became mayor. More about the two brothers
later in this presentation. Downey Road runs less than a mile east outside the city limits, but across town in Lincoln Heights, there was a time when
Downey Avenue existed. The switch to North Broadway took away a city tribute
to John Gately Downey, an influential Los Angeles resident who became California governor
when the Civil War started. He had extensive land holdings that included (speaking
in foreign language). And he was part of the town committee that pushed for a railroad between Los Angeles and San Francisco. Pictured is a public notice dated 1872 to promote the railroad. A major Street in Lincoln
Heights that has survived is Griffon Avenue and is
attributed to Dr. John Griffon. Pictured is an 1873 tract map showing the land owned by
Griffon and John Downey. - [Tom] St. Vincent's
Court, a narrow street tucked between buildings
by 7th and Hill Streets served as an entrance into St. Vincent's College from 1867 to 1887. The Catholic school was the first institution of higher learning
in Southern California. This was formerly the site of
Bullock's Department Store, and is currently St.
Vincent's Jewelry Center. Pictured here is the school. The school is now known as
Loyola Marymount University, located in the Westchester
district of the city. The next group of Streets
located west of downtown came about from land settlements westward during the 1880s to the 1900s. Witmer Street traverses up a hilly terrain once known as Crown Hill. Edward Doheny's famous
1892 discovery of oil occurred on a lot on West 2nd Street, sold to Doheny by Henry Clayton Witmer, a Wisconsin transplant. The Board of Education
purchased land on Crown Hill in 1923 to build Belmont High School. Carroll Avenue, in the famed
1886 Angelino Heights tract was named for Carroll Stilson, a son of the developer
William Wallace Stilson. Rampart Boulevard was a point in turn of the 20th
Century land development proceeding further west
beyond Angelino Heights. In 1905 the Rampart Heights Tract was reported to include the
grading of Rampart Boulevard to run through the
center of the subdivision and touted to exceed 120 feet wide. Nearby tracts included the Chateau Place, Occidental Park, and Commonwealth Tracts. In the late 1890s the population
concentrated in Los Angeles but settlements were
also scattered in places like the Cahuenga Valley, and the towns of Hollywood
and Santa Monica. There was general interest by all to develop transportation links. The demand for transportation prompted the development
of Sunset Boulevard. Sunset first existed at
two different places. Heading westward from about Douglas Street in Angelino Heights, but also
within the town of Hollywood. The Sunset name might have been inspired by a failed real estate
venture during the land boom of the 1880s called Sunset,
in what is now Holmby Hills. A promotional campaign
called for a grand boulevard to form the main thoroughfare between Los Angeles and Santa Monica. Efforts to join the two
roads culminated in 1904. Although the successful link
in Hollywood was through Prospect Avenue, later
renamed Hollywood Boulevard. Shown here are travelers in 1909. Hollywood has continued a
legacy of self-promotion. In the 1950s the Hollywood Walk of Fame was created to celebrate movie
history on the Boulevard. - [Marisol] In another part of town there is a remnant of early filmmaking. In Lincoln Heights, Selig Place is what remains of Selig Zoo, operated by the first
West Coast film studio, Selig Polyscope Company. The street Trolleyway in Playa Del Rey, is a holdover of an early 20th
Century land venture called Palisades Del Rey, the Pacific
Electric Transportation Line had hoped to operate
along the 1924 development via this Street. Palisades Del Rey however,
failed with the onset of the stock market crash in 1929. Land developer Fritz
Burns was at the center of this doomed development. Olympiad Drive, which
runs through Windsor Hills was named in the 1937 subdivision to commemorate a temporary housing complex built nearby to accommodate
the male athletes of the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics. Fritz Burns purchased some of the cottages after the games ended then
moved them to Palisades Del Rey and renamed the property as Olympic Beach. (calm music) (pedestrians chattering) - [Tom] The South Park District
at the Figueroa Corridor immediately south of downtown
is home to visitors' venues like the Los Angeles Convention
Center, built in 1971. But 1993, the face of the neighborhood changed again when the
convention enter expanded, causing the relocation
of over 1500 residents and 128 businesses. The Staples Center Sports Arena presence, other entertainment venues,
and nearby residential lofts, have funneled new activity
and patronage into this zone. This area was the fringe
of the original pueblo. The earliest city demarcations
ended at preset-day Figueroa on the west and
12th Street on the south. Pictured here is an early view and a contemporary view
of Pico and Figueroa. Another photograph here shows the corner of Washington
and Figueroa in 1898. Chick Hearn Court is named
for the late sportscaster of the Lakers basketball team. The team's home court
is the Staples Center. A road on the grounds
of the convention center honors the late city
councilman Gilbert Lindsay. Nearby Georgia Street was a
19th Century naming tribute bestowed to Georgia Herrick
Bell during her lifetime, as she had resided in the area since 1866. The area has undergone a
great deal of transformation but the historic street remains. As years have passed, Georgia
Bell Street has been truncated in name and in its street length. She was married to former
Union soldier Horace Bell, who was a member of the
Los Angeles Rangers, a semi-vigilante peacekeeping group formed by private citizens. Mr. and Mrs. Bell's nearby
home at 1337 Figueroa was the first residence
on Figueroa Street. A newspaper reported that she
was the first American woman to live south of 8th Street
and west of Grand Avenue. - [Marisol] At the Western boundary of the convention center is Cherry Street. A section of this street was
originally Sentous Street, named for the landowners, French brothers, Jean and Louis Sentous who were successful sheep
and cattle breeders. During the gold rush when
people from around the world swarmed to California,
the Sentous brothers arrived separately
around the year of 1850. They soon acquired expanses
of land including reaches to present-day Jefferson and Western. The San Pedro Harbor was a
busy and profitable marketplace for their wares of
cowhides and cured meats. Pictured are Sentous Cattle brands, registered in Los Angeles
County for 1850 and 1868. As the city became increasingly urban, areas surrounding their property were subdivided in a heated
land speculation market. Pictured is an 1886 tract map of the city center development. The Sentous ranchers joined
the real estate trend and the Sentous subdivision
appeared on the market in 1887. By 1896 a much needed
elementary school was built at Pico and Sentous, aptly
named Sentous Street School. The school was razed in 1969 to make way for the convention center. Biograph Studios, one of the
earliest silent film companies, established their first
transit West Coast studio at Pico and Georgia Streets around 1910. The innovative director, D.W. Griffith, headed the films projects
for Biograph in Los Angeles at a time when East Coast film
studios were transitioning to Southern California for the advantage of year round sunshine. Other major buildings in the area included the Herald Express Newspaper, the Central Receiving Hospital and Jail, a Pacific Electric Railway carbarn, and pictured is the El Roy Hotel. Automobile dealerships have
long resided on Figueroa, with showrooms for Oldsmobiles,
Studebakers, and others. Shown here is a car lot on Figueroa. (calm music) - [Tom] This last segment discusses the former streets appropriated
in the 1940s and 1950s to build the downtown portions of the Hollywood and Harbor Freeways, and the four level interchange. Beaudry Avenue exemplifies
the history and development of the area. It is the legacy of a Los
Angeles pioneer, Prudent Beaudry. In 1850, French Canadian brothers, Victor and Prudent
Beaudry were among those to arrive in California
during the gold rush. Both worked as merchants in mining camps. Prudent Beaudry made his
way to Los Angeles in 1852. A man with bold business
acumen, Beaudry took risks when he purchased cheap
land on the outskirts of the young city, made the land habitable, and laid out several housing tracts. One of those tracts was Bunker Hill, which gained its name
from the primary street, Bunker Hill Avenue, named in
1876 for the Revolutionary War centennial of the Battle of Bunker Hill. By 1883 the area bordering Olive, Temple, and Bunker Hill Avenue was compared to San Francisco's affluent Knob Hill. The critical need for
an adequate water supply in his subdivisions let him
to join Dr. John Griffin and Solomon Lazard in forming the Los Angeles City
Water Company in 1868. Their company became the water
provider to the entire city. Beaudry's Midas touch
included his election as mayor from 1874 to 1876. His brother Victor was
also residing in the city and was sales agent for
subdivisions adjacent to Bunker Hill including the Rosas Tract,
the West Rosas Tract, and the Beaudry Tract, which
encompass today's Chinatown. Victor Beaudry sold land
in 1886 to William Stilson who developed the property
into Angelino Heights. Another subdivision in
1886 was the Park Tract, located in today's Northwest
section of the civic center. By the 1890s Bunker Hill's
well-to-do residents began moving out as oil drilling
pockmarked the landscape. By the 1940s the homes were deteriorating. The grand mansions were
gradually converted to cheap rooming houses and the area developed
a criminal reputation. A municipal project was enforced to redevelop the neighborhoods. Here are some of the homes
pictured in the late 1960s. Neighborhoods in adjacent tracts, the Beaudry Tract and the Park
Tract were maturing as well. Newer, outlying suburbs
drew the middle class away and low income residents took their place. By 1947 construction of portions of the Hollywood and Harbor Freeways and the four level interchange
would puncture and slice away the old subdivisions. The first L.A. freeway,
the Pasadena Freeway, formerly the Arroyo Seco Parkway, took away corners of the Beaudry Tract. Later downtown freeway projects mostly affected the Park Tract. Evictions took place as early as 1945 along the 101 Hollywood route. Residents protested but eventually
segments of the north and south running Centennial
and Custer Streets gave way for the four level,
which broke ground in 1947. The cloverleaf, the freeway junction, or the Los Angeles interchange,
as it would be known, was finished in July of 1949. The east and west bound
Court Street sat in the way of the Harbor Freeway,
just north of First Street and was demolished by 1948. The first segment of the
freeway opened July 30th, 1952 and stretched from the
four level interchange down to 3rd Street. Around 1948, two streets
were leveled to make way for the last segment of
the Hollywood Freeway, where it converged with the four level. One was Fort Moore Street, the
other was California Street, which was originally named in 1896 for two separate streets
in Beaudry's Park Tract, Sand Street and Bunker Hill Avenue. An early filmmaking
presence was located here, the East Coast based film company called the Mutoscope and Biograph
Company had a West Coast address at 312 California Avenue in 1909. Once residential streets like
Mignonette and Custer Streets now dead end to the path of freeways. The stories behind city street names serve as permanent reminders
of our shared sense of place. And those stories can be
introduced to new generations as well as visitors and newcomers. This video has shown the significance of Los Angeles street names through documents and historic photographs from the Seaver Center for
Western History Research. Touching upon the rich
heritage of Los Angeles and its layers of history made by those
city builders and dwellers who have passed through
the land we call our own. As long as street signs exist,
our past is always present. (slow, calm music)
Great video BUT, if I may:
No one can agree on how Jean-Louis Vignes pronounced his name (the Anglicized "Vines" and the French pronunciation, which sounds like "Veen", are both widely accepted), but Vignes Street is NOT pronounced "Vig-nez".
Cherry Street wasn't the only stretch of Sentous Street. What's left of the rest of it became LA Live Way.
The Beaudry Tract could not have been in Chinatown. It was bordered by 2nd, Hill, 4th, and Grand.
*cries in frustration in French*