Born south of the original 1875 Santa Monica townsite and named many years later, Main Street was never intended to be the city’s, well, main street – but it did come to serve that role in Ocean Park. It was first christened Lucas Avenue in 1875, its name a reference to Nancy T. Lucas (1806-1881), a wealthy widow who, one year earlier, had purchased 861 acres here from the Machados for her coastal estate. She then sold 50 acres to John W. Haverstick and Hollywood pioneer Ivar A. Weid, who subdivided it as “South Santa Monica” and named Lucas Avenue along with three streets that still have their old names: Bay, Pacific, and Strand. The last mention of Lucas Avenue that I could find was in 1895; it was then called 2nd Street for a few years – while today’s 2nd Street was called Lake Street – and became Main by 1901. The Venice portion of this street was known as 2nd Avenue until 1936. Ghoulish addendum: Nancy Lucas wound up dead from strychnine poisoning, the cause never determined although her Chinese cook was suspected.
Find it on the map:
