It’s unknown who owned this land or christened this street in 1923, so “Larke Ellen” might have been a private reference to a loved one, but the name – misspelling and all – was absolutely derived from local soprano Ellen Beach Yaw (1868-1947), who was called “Lark Ellen” for her birdlike voice. It might have even been inspired by the Lark Ellen Home for Boys, a dormitory for orphaned and/or poor newsboys that was named for Yaw in 1897 after she helped finance it through a benefit concert. (She would give many such concerts over the years.) First located in DTLA, then in Cypress Park, the Lark Ellen Home opened its 5 acre Sawtelle branch at present-day Olympic and Corinth in December 1923 after a year of fundraising. One may well wonder if the Home was originally meant to be here on Larke Ellen Circle, but I found no evidence. See Covina’s Lark Ellen Avenue for more about Ellen Beach Yaw.
Find it on the map:
