Named c. 1875 in memory of Philip Sichel (1822-1868), an early Los Angeles merchant. While facts are particularly scarce in this case, I know that Sichel was born in Bavaria, immigrated to the U.S. in 1845, and was in L.A. by 1850. One of only eight Jewish Angelenos at that time, Sichel ran a hardware and crockery store with an Israel Fleishman – although other accounts cited Sichel’s brother Julius as Fleishman’s partner. (It’s plausible that both were.) At any rate, Sichel was prominent enough to be elected to City Council in 1862 and briefly served on the County Board of Supervisors as well. Dr. John S. Griffin, who named Sichel Street on his land, knew him well. Personal details indicate that Sichel sailed to Europe in 1858 to marry Fanny Aron or Aaron (1831-1927?) and promptly brought her to Los Angeles. They had four kids: Maurice, Julia, Albert, and Charles. The family moved up to San Francisco in 1868, where Sichel died of an aortic aneurysm while playing cards. His survivors then relocated to New York.
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