Could it be named after the legendary Notre Dame football player-turned-coach Knute Rockne (1888-1931)? The Norwegian-born, Chicago-raised Rockne had nothing to do with Whittier, but the Hollywood biopic about him, Knute Rockne – All-American, opened at the Whittier Theatre in October 1940, mere weeks before Rockne Avenue was christened. (It was originally only one block long, between Loch Avon and Holbrook; much of the rest of the street was known as Midway Avenue until 1966.) Considering Knute Rockne’s fame, and noting that there were no Rocknes living in Whittier at the time, my guess is that whoever named this street was a fan.
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