Named in November 1911 on a tract – housing, not digestive – owned by Charles O. Middleton and Dolores Domínguez de Watson. Why “Colon”? The answer can be found in another of the tract’s streets, which lost its own name in 1931 when coopted into Alameda: Panama Street. The Panama Canal was under construction in 1911, and at its Atlantic/Caribbean entrance lies the city of Colón, named in honor of Cristóbal Colón, a.k.a. Christopher Columbus. Since Wilmington is the port of Los Angeles, locals were justifiably excited about the Panama Canal (which finally opened in 1914) as it would greatly expedite the shipping of goods between L.A. and the East Coast, Europe, and so on. Colon and Panama streets were named in optimistic anticipation.
Find it on the map:
