Ditman’s provenance is a mystery. It was born Ditman Street way back in 1887 on a large subdivision owned by Henry T. Hazard, who would soon become mayor of Los Angeles. Hazard tended to name streets after friends (Gage, Townsend) and fellow landowners (Hammel, Hicks, Record), yet I found no Ditmans in his orbit and in fact none whatsoever in Gilded Age L.A. Variations on the name (Dittman, Dittmar, etc.) turned up empty as well. The street was actually written “Dilman” on Hazard’s tract map. Was the “l” just an uncrossed “t”? Or was someone named Dilman or more likely Dillman the lost honoree? 1887 city directories listed architect William P. Dillman and merchant tailor Charles Dillman, but now we’re straying pretty far from “Ditman” – and connecting either man to Hazard has proven to be a fool’s errand anyway.
Find it on the map:
