Prudent Beaudry (1816-1893) wasn’t just an early mayor of Los Angeles – he led the charge in making it a viable city. Born outside of Montreal, Beaudry went to San Francisco in the 1840s to go into business (including a maple syrup concern) with his little brother Victor. He moved to L.A. in 1852 and ran a general store at Los Angeles and Aliso streets until 1867, when he got into real estate big time. Beaudry’s specialty was buying up the seemingly uninhabitable hills on what were then the outskirts of town and subdividing them – most notably Bunker Hill, which he likely named. (Beaudry Avenue was born at 6th Street on Beaudry’s 1868 Bellevue Terrace tract.) Beaudry was elected to City Council in 1871 and to the mayoralty in 1874; he served for two years. Among his other achievements: presiding over the creation of City Park (today’s Pershing Square), helping develop Pasadena and Alhambra, and building a long-running streetcar line along Temple, the street he called home. A lifelong bachelor, Beaudry died in L.A. but is buried in Montreal.
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