You might wonder why East Whittier has a 2nd Street and a 7th Street but not a 1st, 3rd, 4th, etc. The answer is complicated, but here goes: When the East Whittier townsite was platted in late 1887, it’s likely that eight ordinal streets – 1st through 8th – were then named. Lacking a map from that time, I can only go by mentions in newspapers: 4th Street was referenced in 1893, 1st Street in 1894, and so on. So I believe they were all there in 1887, if only on paper. As the streets physically materialized, however, they didn’t quite follow the original plan. For instance, it seems that 3rd Street didn’t show up until 1950! (It’s part of Tedemory Drive now.) When the Friendly Hills tract was laid out in 1941, its developers extended 4th Street into the tract and dubbed it La Cuarta Street – la cuarta being Spanish for “the fourth” – and in 1966 the rest of 4th Street adopted its name. Friendly Hills also had an extension of 6th Street called La Sexta Street, but both were merged into Mar Vista Street in 1956. Perhaps someone thought La Sexta was too sexy? As for the rest: 1st Street was absorbed by Whittier Blvd. long ago, 5th disappeared after 1905, and 8th was renamed Linda Vista in 1955. Only 2nd and 7th remain blissfully untouched.
Find it on the map:
