Named in 1912 for Ambrose Gregory (1859-1919), a gentleman farmer who lived close by. Born in Wiltshire, England, Ambrose and his family emigrated to Canada by 1871 and to Illinois by 1880. He and his father William then came to Los Angeles and purchased 9 acres of the Lick tract (present-day Los Feliz) in 1888. The following year, Ambrose married Jennie Gregory (1864-1954) – although her maiden name was also Gregory and she was born just 8 miles from her husband’s hometown, they were apparently unrelated – and they settled on Vermont Ave., mere steps away from their future namesake street. Here they raised their kids Ambrose Nicholas (1890-1962) and Ada (1892-1977) while growing citrus and melons. Ambrose Sr. was active in the community as landowner, supervisor of roads, and even landscape designer for Arthur Letts’s famous Los Feliz mansion “Holmby House”. In the 1940s, Jennie and Ada – who never married – moved around the corner to Los Feliz Blvd. and remained there until the ends of their respective lives.
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