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
Washington Boulevard
Washington, Adams, and Jefferson boulevards are, of course, named after the first three presidents of the United States. City planners may have established the names as early as 1853 (the oldest reference I found to Washington – then “Street”, not “Boulevard” – was in an 1860 newspaper), but the roads sat empty until the late 1860s, as young Los Angeles didn’t expand as rapidly as some had hoped. Anyway, if you’re wondering why this presidential motorcade concludes with Jefferson, in fact more POTUS-inspired streets were intended: an 1871 “wishful thinking” map included Madison Street, Monroe Street, the awkwardly-named John Quincy Adams Street, and Jackson Street. But since L.A. city limits ended just south of Jefferson, and civic leaders couldn’t name anything beyond that, those additional four streets never materialized.