Postcards FROM THE Past : Burbank Wasn’t Named for Luther--and Other Historical Area Trivia

Roscoe, by any other name, would be as traffic-packed.

Likewise, Lankershim, Nordhoff, Mulholland and Reseda--no one much cares what they are called when these byways are clogged during the ever-expanding rush hour. But there is a bit of history behind the naming of these and other streets, as well as communities, of the San Fernando Valley.

Some of the more graceful and distinctive of these names can be traced back to American Indian or Spanish origins, but for the most part, the naming of the major byways and regions was done by the creators of the modern Valley--land developers.

There is probably no better way to clear out a holiday party than to have a long-winded discussion of the origins of place names. But in small doses, it can be illuminating. And who could resist finding out the origin of the name of the street on which one lives? It’s a minor variation on the “Roots” movement.

Following is a sampling of the major names around us, with their histories taken from several source books--including the almost identically named “The San Fernando Valley: Past and Present” by Lawrence Jorgensen and “The San Fernando Valley: Then and Now” by Charles A. Bearchell and Larry D. Fried. Also of great help were “California Place Names” by Erwin G. Gudde and “The Dictionary of California Land Names” by Phil Townsend Hanna.

So next time your car pool is gridlocked at Canoga and Nordhoff, entertain your fellow passengers with a bit of Valley history, as told through area names. After all, they are a captive audience.

Balboa Boulevard: For Vasco Nunez de Balboa, said to be the first Spanish explorer to see the Pacific Ocean.

Burbank and Burbank Boulevard: David Burbank, a dentist from New Hampshire, was a major landowner who knew how to cut a great deal. In 1867, he bought the land that later became much of the city of Burbank for $9,000. He sold it just 16 years later for $250,000.

Calabasas and Calabasas Road: Most sources say the name comes from the Spanish term for the area, “La Canada de las Calabasas,” or “Canyon of the Wild Gourds.” Others claim it was derived from Calahoosa, a Chumash Indian village.

Canoga Park and Canoga Avenue: The area now called Canoga Park was known as Owensmouth because it was near the end of an aqueduct that brought water from the Owens River. But the residents voted for a name change in 1931, partly because the aqueduct developers had fallen into disfavor. The name Canoga was, depending on the source book, either from the Indian word for canoe or borrowed from the town of Canoga, N.Y.

Chatsworth: Settlers in Chatsworth were so enthralled after a visit in the 1880s by the Duke of Devonshire that they named their area after his palatial estate in England.

Encino: In Spanish, it means “live oak.” When members of a 1769 Spanish expedition reached what is now known as the San Fernando Valley, they called the entire region “El Valle de Santa Catalina de Bononia de Los Encinos” because of the many oaks they found. The name Los Encinitos was formally applied to a land grant in the area in 1882. The postal directory of 1892 uses the modern spelling.

Flintridge: Named in 1930 to honor one-term U.S. Sen. Frank P. Flint, who was in office from 1905 to 1911.

Glendale: An 1881 county map identifies this area as Riverdale, but the Post Office refused to recognize the name because there was already a Riverdale in Fresno County. By the time the 1891 map was done, the present name had been accepted.

Granada Hills: Named in 1927 for its similarity to the countryside surrounding Granada, Spain. The Hills was added in 1942.

La Crescenta: Early settler Dr. Benjamin B. Briggs could see three crescent-shaped formations from his house. He dressed up the name to make it sound more romantic and it stuck. The Post Office accepted the name in 1888.

Lankershim Boulevard: Isaac Lankershim teamed with his son-in-law, Isaac Van Nuys, to buy sections of the southern Valley in 1869. After failing at raising sheep and cattle, they converted the fields to farming and were the first to successfully cultivate wheat here on a large scale. The area now called North Hollywood was once known as Lankershim.

Maclay Avenue: The main street in the city of San Fernando is named for Charles Maclay, a onetime state senator who founded the city in 1874. He sold lots there, at first, for $10 to $40 an acre.

Mission Hills: In 1956, during this area’s phenomenal population boom (from 4,000 in 1950 to more than 30,000 in 1960), residents decided on this name by election. The San Fernando Mission is in the area.

Mulholland Drive: For William Mulholland, the engineer behind the construction of the Los Angeles Aqueduct that opened in 1913, bringing water from the Owens Valley.

Nordhoff Street: Charles Nordhoff (1830-1901) was an author who wrote enthusiastically about the West. His grandson and namesake was the co-author of “Mutiny on the Bounty.”

Northridge: An election in 1938 changed this area’s name from North Los Angeles to its current moniker, although residents had been referring to it as North Ridge Village for some time.

Oxnard Street: For Henry T. Oxnard, who established a beet-sugar refinery in 1897 in the city now known as Oxnard.

Pacoima: In the language of the Gabrielino Shoshonean Indians, the word means “rushing water.” The residential area borrowed the name in 1887 from a canyon to its north, which has a river flowing through it.

Panorama City: The first planned community in the Valley was built on land purchased in 1927 from the Panorama Dairy and Sheep Ranch.

Reseda and Reseda Boulevard: Earlier this century, the area was named Marian after the daughter of Gen. Harrison Gray Otis, one of the directors of the association that developed much of the Valley. But the Post Office said the name was too close to the town of Mariana, so the association settled for the botanical name of mignonette flower.

Roscoe Boulevard: In the 1880s, a man named Roscoe was involved in a famous train robbery near what was to become the intersection of Sunland Boulevard and San Fernando Road. Just who he was is in dispute. Some sources say Roscoe was the name of the brakeman, while others say he was the engineer or the robber.

San Fernando, San Fernando Valley, San Fernando Road: On Sept. 8, 1797, Spanish church officials dedicated the Mision San Fernando Rey de Espana in honor of Ferdinand III (1200-1250), a canonized king of Spain who was also a member of the third order of St. Francis.

Saticoy Street: Derived from the name of a Chumash Indian village.

Sepulveda and Sepulveda Boulevard: Francisco Sepulveda settled in Los Angeles in 1815 and was its acting mayor in 1825.

Sherman Oaks and Sherman Way: Gen. M. H. Sherman, railroad builder, major landowner and lover of oak trees, was a director of the Los Angeles Suburban Homes Co., which developed the residential area that now bears his name. Sherman Way was the first major paved street in the Valley.

Studio City: In the teens and 1920s, this part of the Valley served as the location for many silent films, including many of the Keystone Cops episodes. In 1928, Mack Sennett established his studio here, later acquired by CBS Television, near the corner of Laurel Canyon and Ventura boulevards.

Sunland: So named in 1926 to help attract people with asthma and other respiratory conditions. Several sanitariums were located there.

Sylmar: From the Latin for “sea of trees,” named for the acres of olive trees that were cultivated here.

Tarzana: The author of the Tarzan books, Edgar Rice Burroughs, named his Valley estate, bought in 1918, Tarzana Ranch. When he subdivided part of it for homes in 1923, the development was known as Tarzana Tract. In 1930, the Post Office that opened in the area officially called the community Tarzana.

Toluca Lake: Probably named after the Aztec city of Toluca, which is southwest of Mexico City.

Topanga Canyon Boulevard: Topanga is what the Gabrielino Shoshonean Indians called the area that includes what is now Topanga Canyon.

Tujunga and Tujunga Avenue: One source claims the name comes from the Southern Paiute Indian word Ti’nga , meaning “mountain range.” Another says that the name came from the Fernandeno Indian word for “big thunder.”

Universal City: After Universal Studios, which founder Carl Laemmle moved here from Hollywood in 1915.

Van Nuys: For Isaac Newton Van Nuys, who with Isaac Lankershim was the primary backer of an association that bought up much of the southern half of the Valley in 1869.

Vanowen Avenue: Named by developer Gen. Harrison Gray Otis because it connected Van Nuys with Owensmouth, now known as Canoga Park.

Whitsett Avenue: William Paul Whitsett was one of the most successful land salesmen in the history of the Valley. In the teens, he oversaw the sales of plots in Van Nuys and what is now Canoga Park.

Zelzah Avenue: Northridge was known as Zelzah from 1910 to 1929, when the name was changed to North Los Angeles. Zelzah was picked out by Emily Vose Wright, an early settler, because it is a place mentioned in the Bible (1 Samuel 10:2). It means “shade from the heat.”