Originally called Edward Street, this was renamed by city ordinance on May 8th, 1889. Over a hundred street names were changed in that ordinance, and the committee that chose their new identities often looked to California counties for inspiration. In this case, Fresno Street owes its name to Fresno County, not to the city of Fresno. (Fresno is Spanish for “ash tree”; apparently that region once had ash trees in abundance.) It’s one of the few county-themed streets in Los Angeles that still bear their 1889 names, along with Humboldt, Merced, Mono, San Benito, Siskiyou, and Trinity. Others such as Butte, Colusa, Inyo, Kern, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Tulare, and Yolo are long gone.
Find it on the map:
