Named for Edouard Amar Jr. (1852-1928) on land he subdivided. A native of the French Alps, Amar immigrated to San Francisco in 1872 and settled in San Pedro the following year. Here he became a sheepherder, first employed by a “Monsieur Vilet” – who paid him in sheep – then striking out on his own in 1876. At one point, Amar had a flock some 28,000 strong on Rancho Alamitos. He eventually became one of the largest sheep breeders in California. He and his first wife Marie had a daughter, Irma; after Marie’s death, Edouard married second wife Josephine (1861-1949), who hailed from his hometown. Their son Eloi (1891-1963) would one day preside over the L.A. Harbor Commission. Amar Street was named in 1913; it was a fateful year for Edouard Amar, who was also selling off his sheep, building the first commercial structures on Pacific Avenue, and grieving the loss of another son, 17-year-old Leon, to diabetes.
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