Back in June 1887, during L.A.’s big real estate boom and its westward focus, a planned town called “Sunset” was announced – and Sunset Boulevard was its main drag. But the town, situated in present-day Westwood, never materialized and its titular thoroughfare either vanished or became part of Wilshire. Meanwhile, in July 1887, Hollywood founder Harvey H. Wilcox, hoping to lure Angelenos out to his brand new suburb and its pastoral sunset views, ran this ad: “Look out for Hollywood, at Cahuenga Pass, on Sunset Boulevard.” That was the Sunset Blvd. we know today. It started out small – just a few blocks – but gradually crept eastward, swallowing up streets with names like Bread, Short, Elysian, and Marchessault until terminating in 1904 in what is now Chinatown. Sunset’s westerly expansion was another story: WeHo’s Sunset Strip was known as Santa Monica Avenue during the town of Sherman‘s brief heyday; west of Benedict Canyon, the long and winding road to the coast was part of Beverly Blvd. all the way up until 1934. Sixty years after that, Sunset’s easternmost portion was renamed in memory of Cesar Chavez.
Find it on the map:
