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

Michillinda Avenue

Arcadia, Pasadena, Sierra Madre

“Michillinda” is a portmanteau of three states: MICHigan, ILLinois, and INDianA. The Michillinda tract was opened here in 1912 by the California-Michigan Land and Water Company (Cal-Mich), “a syndicate of Michigan millionaires”. These so-called millionaires must have known about Lake Michigan’s Michillinda resort, named in 1895 in honor of its founders’ home states. Utility footnote: since Cal-Mich had to install a domestic water system on its new development, it wound up becoming a water utility in 1913. Even today, Cal-Mich still owns the East Pasadena Water Company.

Featured Offbeat Street

Vidor Drive

Beverlywood

Named for King Vidor (1894-1982), a Texas boy who moved to L.A. at 21 and became one of the biggest movie directors of Hollywood’s Golden Age. (His most enduring titles include The Big Parade, The Champ, Stella Dallas, Duel in the Sun, The Fountainhead, and War and Peace.) In 1937, Vidor bought 40 acres of the Beverly Green subdivision from George E. Read and got a street name in return. George Temple, who bought 20 acres from Read, had his own showbiz connections: his nine-year-old daughter Shirley was Hollywood’s biggest moneymaker at the time. (She also has a street here.) Vidor himself never lived in this neighborhood; in 1937, he was building his dream home on Summitridge Drive, deep in the Hills of Beverly.