Driving down Sunset through Brentwood, you’ll notice North Bristol Circle on one side and South Bristol Circle on the other side. Do they in fact form a circle? Indeed they do – and back in 1906, when the Brentwood Park tract was mapped out, Sunset was not yet here to bisect that circle. Bristol Avenue was then called Grand Boulevard, since it was Brentwood Park’s main concourse. After the City of Los Angeles annexed this area in 1916, the street was renamed to prevent postal conflicts with L.A.’s Grand Avenue. “Bristol” was presumably just a generically upscale-sounding replacement with no special meaning. (It is of course a city in England.) In fact most of Brentwood Park’s streets had to be renamed, save Parkyns and Bentel. Bristol Avenue at least retains some of Brentwood Park’s tract-wide street design, with the semicircular “parks” down the middle.
Find it on the map:
