This originated in 1887 as Ash Street on the Santa Fe tract. (The Santa Fe Railway was then in the process of building a subsidiary line out to south Santa Monica.) I assume the “ash” in question is the ash tree, as the tract also had a Cherry Street (now Pier Avenue). In 1902, a supplement to this road was built out next to the beach and dubbed Joy Street. (It’s now a paved walkway at Ocean View Park.) Residents didn’t like that name, so in September 1904 these literal killjoys petitioned to have both streets consolidated under a brand new name: Ashland Avenue. My guess is that someone thought it sounded more elegant than “Ash Street”, because it does.
Find it on the map:
