L.A. Street Names – Los Angeles Street Names – their origins, their histories, their meanings

Welcome to L.A. Street Names, the origin stories of street names across Los Angeles County, from the shortest cul-de-sacs to the longest boulevards. Mysteries solved, myths debunked, scandals exposed, history revealed. This is an ongoing project with more than 1,900 streets – and growing. See FAQ for more information.

Featured Major Street

Western Avenue

Los Angeles (Citywide), Gardena, Lomita, Rancho Palos Verdes, San Pedro, Torrance

Western Ave. street sign
Image courtesy of Mark Tapio Kines

Few Angelenos would consider this thoroughfare to be in the “west” side of town, but when Western Avenue was opened in 1885, it was indeed west of Los Angeles city limits: it was a county road. A mile and a half to the east, Hoover Street still marked L.A.’s western boundary. In 1896, the city finally outgrew its original four square leagues of land (which had been certified by the U.S. Board of Land Commissioners forty years earlier) and expanded to meet Western Avenue. Of course the street itself has been extended significantly over the years, now topping out at some 27.5 miles. Miraleste Drive traces Western’s original 1923-1924 extension through Palos Verdes, altered in 1935-1936.

Featured Offbeat Street

Standard Street

El Segundo

Named for the Standard Oil Company of California, the original owners and developers of El Segundo. They began subdividing this 840 acre “payroll town” and building their second (segundo) California refinery here in 1911, mere weeks after Standard Oil itself was broken up by the Supreme Court for violating antitrust laws. The Standard Oil Company of California was one of 34 offshoot corporations. Standard Oil was founded in 1870 by John D. Rockefeller Sr. (1839-1937), his brother William, and other industrialists. (The company made Rockefeller the wealthiest man in modern history – a title he still holds, factoring in inflation.) Its California spinoff was rebranded the Chevron Corporation in 1984, after forty-plus years of using the Chevron brand in its gas stations and petroleum products.