Likely named for attorney James Edward Degnan (1863-1936). Born in Princeton, where he would later obtain his law degree, Degnan practiced in Red Bank, NJ for many years before coming to Los Angeles with his wife Dorothy (1868-1936) in 1911. (Their adopted daughter Dorette, a newlywed at 17, remained in New Jersey.) He soon partnered with Oscar Lawler (1875-1966), one of L.A.’s top lawyers, and worked with him until his death. Dorothy died just four months later – couldn’t live without him, I guess. Anyway, in 1927, the couple had a La Cañada Flintridge mansion built for them by the great Paul Revere Williams. While I found no direct connections between Degnan and Leimert Park, Oscar and Hilda Lawler socialized for years with Walter and Lucille Leimert, so it’s certainly possible that Lawler asked Leimert to name this street (in 1928) after Degnan. One or both men might have even been silent partners in Leimert Park, but that’s just conjecture on my part.
Find it on the map:
