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
Rockwell Canyon Road
The street that College of the Canyons calls home is aptly named for COC’s first superintendent-president, Dr. Robert Clarke Rockwell (1913-2000). The youngest of thirteen children, Rockwell was born in Santa Barbara and grew up in Carpinteria. Aside from getting his bachelor’s at Harvard, he was a lifelong Californian, earning his masters and doctoral degrees in educational administration at USC. After helping develop Cerritos College, Dr. Rockwell was superintendent-president of Santa Barbara City College before coming to Santa Clarita in 1968 to run the brand new COC; with a permanent campus years from completion, classes began in 1969 at Hart High. This street was christened in 1975, during Dr. Rockwell’s twelve-year tenure. As the county wouldn’t let the school name the street after a living person, they added a bogus “Canyon” as a workaround. Robert Rockwell and his wife Betty retired to Encinitas in 1980.