This is the shortest street in Los Angeles, lying between Terrace Park and the grassy median that divides Bonnie Brae Street from Alvarado Terrace. How short is Powers Place? Since it intersects with a curving street, the answer depends on which side you measure – and I’ve measured both: the south side is about 46 feet and 6 inches while the north side is a little over 36 feet. This debunks the long-held myth that it’s only 13 feet long! City engineers named Powers Place in 1910 in honor of Pomeroy Wells Powers (1852-1916), a New York-born real estate developer and onetime City Council president who subdivided this neighborhood in 1902 and lived just a couple doors down on Alvarado Terrace. His house still stands; Powers himself is interred in Inglewood Park Cemetery, which he cofounded. Powers Place is one of the only all-brick streets in Los Angeles, along with the very old Olvera Street and the relatively new L. Ron Hubbard Way. This unusual feature makes it easy for a measurer to know where it starts and ends.
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