If we accept that Effie Street is named for Effie Baxter (1864-1938), then Baxter Street is for her father Reuben (1834-1894), a New York-born, Wisconsin-raised tinsmith who came to L.A. in 1872 with his family. An old theory is that Baxter Street was named that year for an “R.L. Baxter”, a “business partner” of mega-landowner Ozro W. Childs. Almost. The 1880 census reveals Reuben, Effie, and the rest of the Baxter clan living right next door to Marcus W. Childs – Ozro’s brother. Ozro, who himself had come to L.A. as a humble tinsmith, went on to make his fortune in plant nurseries and real estate, but Marcus kept their old tinware business going. It’s logical to conclude that Reuben Baxter worked for Marcus Childs and that someone in the Childs family named Baxter and Effie streets as an affectionate gesture. (Fatal footnote: Baxter died after accidentally falling off a barn.) By the way, Baxter Street is not the steepest in L.A. That honor goes to Eldred Street.
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