Driving up Doheny towards Sunset, you’ll notice Cinthia Street in Beverly Hills on your left and Cynthia Street in West Hollywood on your right. What gives? Well, WeHo’s Cynthia came first: it was the fourth street in town (then called Sherman) and thus would have been named around 1895. (I have no idea who “Cynthia” was – the honorees of the first three streets, Sherman, Clark, and Larrabee, were the top brass at the Los Angeles-Pacific Railroad; none had a Cynthia in his immediate family.) A 1902 tract map clearly shows Cynthia Street between Clark (now San Vicente) and Larrabee. However, a 1906 map of Beverly Hills mentions a “Cinthia Road” at Cinthia Street’s current location. In short, the discrepancy goes back to the beginning: two surveyors forgot to compare notes, and thus each street was registered under its own spelling in its own municipality.
Find it on the map:
