It’s not named for Santa Catalina Island – at least not specifically. When Redondo Beach was laid out in 1887, most of its east-west streets were named after precious stones while most of its north-south streets were given Spanish female names, e.g., Catalina. Each set of streets followed a rather slack alphabetical order, with some letters skipped over (no “F”-themed gem between Emerald and Garnet; no “K”-named dama between Juanita and Lucia) and some represented twice (Agate and Amethyst; Guadalupe and Gertruda). And some of those street names have since been erased: adios Benita, Margarita, Marguerita, Prudencia, Rebeca, and Ramona! At any rate, it’s a myth that those north-south streets honor the daughters of Rancho Sausal Redondo landowner Manuel Domínguez – he only had six girls, not twenty-plus, and several of their actual names (Dolores, Victoria, etc.) aren’t even represented here in Redondo Beach.
Find it on the map:
