This one is very likely a play on words – or, rather, names. Samoline Avenue was christened in 1939 on the Paramount Estates tract; the only plausible source for the name is a household cleaning product that was widely available at the time. Samoline was an all-purpose cleaner introduced in 1912 by Samuel R. Olmsted (1862-1943), who surely took the “Samol-” from his own name. Olmsted was a Canadian based first in NYC, then in Chicago. Although he died in Monrovia, CA while wintering with his wife, he had nothing to do with Downey. So I posit that Samoline Avenue is in fact a goofy nod to tract owner Samuel “Sam” Dudlext (see Dudlext Avenue). Skeptical? Then note that Paramount Estates also gave us Kingbee Street – and the tract was co-owned by one Grover D. King. I honestly think the guys were just having fun with their names. You’re free to disagree. As for Samoline Cleaner, it was manufactured until at least 1950 but disappeared quickly after that.
Find it on the map:
