Two separate streets – Arroyo and Arroyo Seco – were combined into the brand new Humboldt Street by city ordinance on May 8th, 1889. Over a hundred streets were renamed in that ordinance, and the committee that chose their new identities often looked to California counties for inspiration. Humboldt County takes its name from its titular bay, christened in 1850 in honor of German scientist and explorer Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859), whose work in botany, geology, and other fields made him hugely influential worldwide: countless places are named after him. Humboldt Street is one of L.A.’s few county-themed streets that still bear their 1889 names, along with Fresno, Merced, Mono, San Benito, Siskiyou, and Trinity. Others such as Butte, Colusa, Inyo, Kern, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Tulare, and Yolo are long gone.
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