Tracing the old border between the historic Sausal Redondo and San Pedro ranchos, this diagonal street likely honors Edward Payson Ripley (1845-1920), president of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway from 1895 until his death. Many of north Redondo Beach’s original 1906 roadways were named by William H. Carlson on his Redondo Villa tract. Reflecting his own aspirations for fame and fortune – aspirations that would ultimately land him in prison for mail fraud – Carlson, a former mayor of San Diego, liked to name his streets after notable industrialists, executives, and bankers of the era. In this context, no other Ripley would have been as qualified for a Redondo street name as the Santa Fe’s head honcho. E.P. Ripley himself was based in Chicago but he visited Los Angeles in February 1906 and spoke at an L.A. Chamber of Commerce dinner.
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