Ditman’s provenance is a mystery. It was brought to life on a large 1887 subdivision owned by Henry T. Hazard, who would soon become mayor of Los Angeles. Hazard tended to name streets after friends (Gage, Townsend) and fellow landowners (Hammel, Hicks, Record), yet I found no Ditmans in his orbit – and in fact none whatsoever in Gilded Age SoCal. Searches for variations like Dittman, Dittmar, etc. turned up empty as well. The street was actually written “Dilman” on Hazard’s tract map. Was the “l” just an uncrossed “t”? Or was someone named Dilman or Dillman the lost honoree? 1887 city directories listed architect William P. Dillman and merchant tailor Charles Dillman, but now we’re straying pretty far from “Ditman” – and connecting either man to Hazard has proven to be a fool’s errand anyway.
Find it on the map:
