Montreal Street

Lest you think some French Canadian was behind this one, Montreal Street was actually named by L.A. city ordinance. Laid out as Montgomery Avenue on the 1902 Playa del Rey townsite, it was renamed in 1938 to avoid postal conflicts with the San Fernando Valley’s Montgomery Avenue. I’m pretty sure “Montreal” was chosen to replace “Montgomery” simply because it started with the same four letters, although I suppose we can’t rule out some Quebec-born civil engineer suggesting the name. P.S. If you’re wondering who this street’s original honoree was, my money’s on Bishop George T. Montgomery (1847-1907) as he was tight with Joseph Mesmer, owner of the land that was transformed into Playa del Rey.