What’s a Russian name doing on an El Sereno byway? Easy: Novgorod Street was laid out in 1900 on the Newton Park tract – and novgorod is Russian for “newtown”. Newton Park was developed on land owned by Mary Hulda Titus Newton (1848-1904; see Newtonia Drive for more). Although the developers weren’t Russian, the Russian city of Nizhny Novgorod was mentioned in SoCal newspapers throughout 1899, owing to its world-famous fair. So clearly someone knew the word and its English translation. After the City of Los Angeles annexed El Sereno in 1915, most of Newton Park’s streets were renamed in order to avoid duplication with other L.A. streets. Thus Castro Ave. became Castalia Ave., Ridge Place became Renovo Street, Rosecrans Ave. became Rosemead Ave., Titus Ave. became Tampico Ave., and Newton Ave. itself became Pueblo Ave. Only Novgorod and Drysdale kept their names.
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