Welcome to L.A. Street Names, the origin stories of street names across Los Angeles County, from the shortest cul-de-sacs to the longest boulevards. Mysteries solved, myths debunked, scandals exposed, history revealed. This is an ongoing project with more than 1,700 streets – and growing. See FAQ for more information.
Featured Major Street
Hyperion Avenue
Hyperion was one of the Titans of Greek mythology and father to Helios, god of the sun. That would certainly make him an appropriate namesake for a street in sunny Los Angeles, but it’s also possible that Hyperion Avenue, laid out in 1887, took its name from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s Hyperion, a rambling “prose romance” from 1836 that was still popular at the time. The street originally ran for just a couple of blocks south of Effie. It was extended in 1911.