Eugene H. Riggin (1839-1930) subdivided a good deal of this neighborhood in the late 19th century, whether with his business partner John Ford Humphreys or with his sister Isabella Thornton (see Riggin Street for more on her). Born and raised in St. Louis, Riggin joined his father John in real estate when he was twenty-one. (In an event that made the local news, a meteorite the size of a robin’s egg crashed through the Riggin & Son office window in July 1862.) Riggin, along with his sister and their father, moved to Los Angeles in 1882; all three had lost their spouses, suggesting a shared desire for a change of scenery. (Riggin’s wife Dorothy died in 1876, leaving behind one child, James, who was raised by his maternal grandparents. Riggin married his second wife Ella Hack, twenty years his junior, in L.A. in 1892. They had no kids.) Eugene Street was named either on an 1893 tract owned by his sister or on an 1886 tract he owned with Humphreys. There was also once a John Street close by, presumably honoring Dad. It’s now North McDonnell Avenue.
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