You’re correct if you guessed that Federal Avenue is called that because it abuts federal property – that is, the West Los Angeles VA Medical Center. But most of this roadway stretches away from that facility. Here’s the story: Federal Street, as it was initially dubbed, was laid out in 1905 on the Westgate tract. It ran between Wilshire Blvd. (then called Nevada Ave.) and Montana Ave. alongside “Soldiers’ Home”, a.k.a. the VA campus (see Veteran Avenue for some background). South of Wilshire, folks knew it as 9th Street, as Sawtelle was then its own municipality. After Sawtelle was incorporated into the City of Los Angeles, 9th Street had to go, so it was briefly and awkwardly rechristened 109th Avenue before adopting the Federal name in 1925. The original bit of Federal north of Wilshire lost its identity in 1956: half of it was absorbed into San Vicente while the other half was named Bringham Avenue, after a VA supervisor.
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