Named for Thomas Horace “T.H.” Dudley (c. 1867-1934), banker, landowner, and twice mayor of Santa Monica. Hailing from Leicester, UK, Dudley immigrated to Bakersfield in 1889 and got into real estate. He then came to Santa Monica in July 1896 for his first wife Mary’s health; sadly, she died just a week later at 22. Three years later, Dudley married the newly widowed Matilda Brooks Ryan (see Brooks Avenue) and assumed management of the land and businesses that her late husband Francis had controlled with Abbot Kinney. In 1902, the same year Dudley Avenue was named on Matilda’s old property, the couple partnered with Kinney to found Ocean Park Bank – shortly after the trio sold off 167 acres of prime Ocean Park real estate, which ultimately led to Kinney founding Venice. Dudley, who would preside over several more local banks during his lifetime, was elected mayor of Santa Monica in 1907. He held the post for five years and then served two more in 1914. He and Matilda drifted apart and finalized their divorce in 1922; a week later, Dudley wed tennis champ Louise Riddell Williams (1884-1958).
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