Call this a “spite” street name: a rebuke to an heiress’s cheating ex. “Moreno” refers to Daisy Moreno (1884-1933), daughter of Beverly Hills financier Charles Canfield and wife of silent screen star Antonio Moreno. The streets in this neighborhood were named in January 1924 to honor the men who ran the Beverly Hills Speedway, a popular racetrack then located here (see Durant Drive). Tony Moreno wasn’t among those men – but Daisy’s first husband, oil tycoon Jay Morris “Jake” Danziger (1883-1954), definitely was. In fact he was founder and first president of the Speedway. He had married Daisy Canfield in 1901; in 1920, when the track opened, they were still husband and wife. But during their contentious divorce, faithless Jake became persona non grata in BH. Daisy married Tony in January 1923, mere days after her divorce was finalized, and thus what should have been Danziger Drive was instead dubbed Moreno Drive by Team Daisy.
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