Roxford Street started out in 1885 as Jackson Avenue, in honor of President Andrew Jackson. (Why do I know he was the namesake? See Polk Street.) It was renamed around 1917, a couple of years after the City of Los Angeles annexed the San Fernando Valley, to avoid postal conflicts with DTLA’s own Jackson Street. Since city bureaucrats established its new identity, Roxford’s etymology is opaque. There were no noteworthy individuals or locales by that name; in fact the most prominent Roxford in 1917 was the Roxford Knitting Company, a Philadelphia-based manufacturer of men’s underwear. (They had a branch in L.A.) Maybe whoever named this street was inspired by his long johns!
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