It’s unknown who owned this land or christened this street in 1923, so “Larke Ellen” might have been a private reference to a loved one, but the name – misspelling and all – was absolutely derived from West Covina-based soprano Ellen Beach Yaw (1868-1947), known as “Lark Ellen” for her birdlike voice. It might have even been inspired by the Lark Ellen Home for Boys, a dormitory for orphaned and/or poor newsboys that was named for Yaw in 1897 after she helped finance it through a benefit concert. (Yaw would give many such concerts over the years.) First located in DTLA, then in Cypress Park, the Lark Ellen Home opened its five acre Sawtelle branch at present-day Olympic and Corinth in December 1923 after a year of fundraising. One may well wonder if the Home was originally meant to be here on Larke Ellen Circle, but I found no evidence. See Covina’s Lark Ellen Avenue for more about Ellen Beach Yaw.
Find it on the map:
