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
Clybourn Avenue
The Clybourn name originated in 1917 at this street’s northern terminus (near Roscoe) and slowly worked its way down. That first bit was originally called Foothill Avenue and was presumably rechristened to avoid conflicts with other Foothill-named streets. My guess is that some civil engineer took inspiration from Chicago’s Clybourn Avenue, a diagonal thoroughfare that was mentioned often enough in the Los Angeles press. That Clybourn was named for Archibald Clybourn (1802-1872), one of the Windy City’s earliest residents. Archibald’s son Henry (1842-1913) did live in L.A. during his final years, but there’s no indication that he would have inspired this street name.