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
Haskell Avenue
Originally called Cabrillo Avenue after the Spanish explorer (see Balboa Blvd. for the why) and renamed in January 1916. The new honoree: Arnold Delbert Haskell (1895-1977), personal secretary of Valley landowner Moses H. Sherman and something of a son to him. Born in Indiana, Haskell was raised in Riverside and was working as a bellboy at the Mission Inn when Sherman hired him at the age of 19. Sherman was one of the biggest developers in Los Angeles and could have anyone he wanted, so clearly he saw something special in the young man. Upon Sherman’s death in 1932, Haskell not only served as executor of his $3.3 million estate, he also received the same inheritance as Sherman’s own daughters Hazeltine and Lucy. (Sherman’s estranged stepson Robert had died the year before.) Haskell then ran many of Sherman’s enterprises and in 1951 he established the Sherman Foundation, which still manages Corona del Mar’s Sherman Library & Gardens.