Named for someone who only existed on the airwaves. Crime reporter Lorelei Kilbourne was a character on the CBS radio drama Big Town, which ran from 1937 until 1952. Lorelei Avenue was unveiled in 1941 by Mayfair developer Charles Blauvelt Hopper (1880-1964) on his so-called “Columbia unit”, with streets named after CBS radio personalities both real and fictional. Big Town‘s leading man was Edward G. Robinson, who played crusading newspaper editor Steve Wilson until 1943. Although Claire Trevor originated the role of Wilson’s sidekick Lorelei, Ona Munson (1903-1955) played the part from 1939 until 1943 and was scheduled to appear at Lorelei Avenue’s dedication on August 2nd, 1941. We can presume she showed up; she did pose with the street sign in publicity photographs a few days earlier.
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