Is it named for Mary Pickford (1892-1979), the silent movie star? Most folks believe so, but in 1926, when Pickford Street was extended, the Los Angeles Times received “no official affirmation” as to whether it honored the famous actress/producer. Anyway, it was born as just one block on a 1921 tract that also gave us the mysteriously-named Saturn, Airdrome, Hi Point, and Point View streets. Newspapers from that year suggest that this tract was part of the short-lived “South Wilshire Acres” subdivision, developed by prominent realtor C.C.C. Tatum (see Charleville Blvd.), and so it may have been he who named these streets. Was Tatum – or whoever named this street – a fan of Mary Pickford, the most powerful woman in Hollywood at the time? Certainly plausible. But there’s no indication that Pickford herself was involved with the tract. For more on her, see Pickford Way in Culver City, which was definitely named for her.
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