In 1951, members of the Lakewood Village Businessmen’s Association felt that this street’s then-name, Los Cerritos Diagonal, was too much of a mouthful. So they held a contest to rename it. Mrs. Nola Gowen Vredenburgh (1902-1953), a local librarian, submitted the winning entry – Norse Way – and received a $100 “merchandise prize” as thanks. Vredenburgh, who had no Scandinavian roots herself, argued that Norse Way made a good pair with Viking Way, its mirror twin a few blocks east. (Long Beach City College’s sports teams are called the Vikings.) Los Cerritos Diagonal thus officially became Norse Way on January 22nd, 1952. Vredenburgh didn’t have much time to enjoy that $100: she died from uterine cancer the following year. Lakewood Village was annexed by Long Beach shortly after that.
Find it on the map:
