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 2,100 streets – and growing. See FAQ for more information.

Featured Major Street

Telegraph Road

Commerce, Downey, La Mirada, Pico Rivera, Santa Fe Springs, South Whittier

You may have guessed that Telegraph Road traces the route of an old telegraph line. Indeed, its original name, given in 1872 when it was laid out by County surveyor Frank Lecouvreur, was “Anaheim Telegraph Road” because the line connected Los Angeles to Anaheim. Western Union owned the system; in fact it owned all of California’s telegraph lines from 1867 onward. I can’t say when this particular line was dismantled but the street officially dropped the “Anaheim” from its name in 1952. Members of the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce lobbied the L.A. County Board of Supervisors for the change; they argued that too many drivers mistakenly thought it went all the way down to Anaheim – maybe it did in 1872, but now it terminates in La Mirada – and/or confused it with Long Beach’s Anaheim Street, which for the record doesn’t go to Anaheim either.

Featured Offbeat Street

Kodak Drive

Silver Lake

Kodak Drive was christened in 1921 on what would later be called the Pacific View Terrace tract. By then, Kodak cameras and film were household items – George Eastman (1854-1932) had founded the company back in 1888 – so this street couldn’t have been named after anything else. (The “Kodak” name itself was invented by Eastman and his mother.) Tract owners Peter and Nellie Van Der Meid, a Dutch couple in their early 60s, did live in Rochester, NY for several years before coming to Los Angeles – and since Eastman Kodak is headquartered in Rochester, I assume that’s what inspired them to name this street. (There’s no evidence that the Van Der Meids knew Eastman socially or worked for his company.) Perhaps they also thought the Kodak name reflected their tract’s photogenic vistas.