The Westside has a number of avenues named after U.S. states. It started in Santa Monica in 1875 (see Montana Avenue), filled in a little a year later (see Michigan Avenue), then spilled over into the Sawtelle area in 1901 (see Iowa Avenue) and 1903 (see Ohio Avenue). And then there’s Rhode Island avenue. It was originally carved out in 1905 as Loomis Avenue, named after local subdivider Laurence D. Loomis. In or around 1919, during the City of L.A.’s protracted acquisition of Sawtelle, Loomis Avenue was renamed to avoid conflicts with DTLA’s own Loomis Street (located near Wilshire and Figueroa; it has since disappeared under development). Some bureaucrat with a sense of humor noticed that this Loomis was just one short block long and decided to rechristen it Rhode Island Avenue, after the smallest state in the Union.
Find it on the map:
