As far as I know, no Marthas were involved in the naming of this byway. In fact it was born in 1912 as Margaret Street – namesake unknown – in the town of Lankershim (today’s North Hollywood/Toluca Lake). In 1924, after Los Angeles annexed Lankershim, City Council decided that Margaret Street had to go. Some creative genius suggested changing “Margaret” to “Martha” and here we are. (The street expanded west across the Valley in later decades.) Curiously, while such alterations were usually made to prevent duplicate street names within city limits, Los Angeles had no other Margaret Street at that time; there was a Marguerite Street in Glassell Park, a Margaret Avenue in Del Rey (not yet part of L.A.), and a Margaret Avenue in unincorporated East Los Angeles, so perhaps someone thought that was enough.
Find it on the map:
