Compton Blvd. to Be Renamed

Compton Boulevard in Gardena will be renamed Marine Avenue by Nov. 1, in accord with a City Council vote on Tuesday.

The change will mean that the name Compton Boulevard will disappear from the area west of the Harbor Freeway, except for two sections that run through Hawthorne.

Gardena officials approved the change following a mail survey of Compton Boulevard merchants, property owners and residents. The results of the survey showed 68.4% approved the change and 31.6% were against it.

The city’s Public Works Department estimated that the cost of changing streets signs along the city’s two-mile stretch of Compton would be $1,855.

Officials in Lawndale, who had already approved renaming the street, have begun putting up Marine Avenue signs, but will mark major intersections with both names for several months.

In Manhattan Beach, the street has been known as Marine Avenue since the early 1900s.

Hawthorne officials have discussed changing the name of the boulevard but have not done so.

At Tuesday’s Gardena council meeting, 19 of 22 residents and business owners who addressed the council were in favor of the change, saying that Compton Boulevard “is neither a boulevard nor does it go to Compton.” Residents also said the change would improve the street’s image and make the name consistent with other South Bay cities.

The Post Office will continue to deliver mail to Compton Boulevard in Gardena for at least a year after the name change becomes official in November, city officials said.