Sheldon’s namesake remains a mystery. The street was born on the 1885 Maclay Rancho tract as Cleveland Avenue (for President Grover Cleveland, still in office at the time). After the City of Los Angeles annexed the San Fernando Valley, a name change was forced to avoid postal conflicts with L.A.’s own Cleveland Street (in present-day Chinatown), so Cleveland Avenue became Sheldon Avenue in 1917, then Sheldon Street in 1935. Who or what was the inspiration? I can’t even venture a guess: there are no clear standouts amidst the many Sheldons who popped up in newspapers and directories of that era.
Find it on the map:
