I kid you not: this street is named for a horse. Born in 1898 outside of Santa Ynez, CA, Lou Dillon was one of the most celebrated harness racing horses of her day, the first standardbred to trot a mile in under two minutes. She accomplished that feat in 1903; she retired three years later and died in Santa Barbara in 1915. (That city has a Lou Dillon Lane.) Real estate man Ralph Rogers (see Nolden Street) introduced Lou Dillon Avenue on his 1904 tract Nadeau Park Villa. Said tract also gave us Alix and Croesus avenues, named for other record-setting trotters. (The latter horse was actually named Cresceus.) These equine streets were likely inspired by Ascot Park, a local racetrack that opened months earlier.
Find it on the map:
