HUNTINGTON BEACH : City Considers New Name for Old Street

At the request of Councilman Don MacAllister, the City Council next month will consider changing the name of Walnut Avenue, one of the oldest streets in the city.

The council last week) delayed a proposal to formally change the name of a private section of Walnut to Pacific View Avenue, as requested by developers of the massive Waterfront project, while it considers MacAllister’s request to rename the entire street.

Walnut Avenue cuts through downtown--the oldest section of the city--and a new extension slices through the Waterfront property, which includes a 13-story Hilton hotel tower overlooking Pacific Coast Highway at Huntington Street. Waterfront officials favor the name “Pacific View” because they believe that it would better suit the image they hope to project.

MacAllister, however, asked that the city adopt the new name for the entire length of Walnut Avenue.

“I just don’t like the idea of having a single street with two different names,” he said.

But a leading historic preservationist said Friday that he strongly opposes adopting a developer-supplied name for the public section of Walnut.

“It is signed as (Pacific View) for the Hilton project only,” said Jerry Person, chairman of the city’s historic resources board. “I don’t see why the city should change Walnut to that name. To have a public street lead into a private street with the same name is misleading.”

Person also criticized the proposal for historic reasons. Walnut, originally called Philo Avenue, has been known as Walnut Avenue since about 1905, he said.

“For over 85 years people have known it as Walnut, and to rename it now after one little half-block street is wrong,” Person said.

Council members did not speak against MacAllister’s proposal, but City Engineer Robert Eichblatt warned that owners of businesses and residences on Walnut might object to a change in the name.

City officials will poll Walnut property owners before the council considers renaming the street at its next meeting Sept. 3.