The Long, the Short and the Steep

By RICH SIMON

Jan. 30, 1995 12 AM PT

Some of Los Angeles’ famous streets: Sunset Boulevard. Melrose Place. Mulholland Drive.

Bruno Street?

There are dozens of little-known streets in town that are every bit as interesting as the big-name thoroughfares.

Such as Bruno Street, declared a city landmark because it is the “last surviving street in Los Angeles with the original paving of hand-hewn granite blocks.” Or Powers Place, the shortest street in town--just 13 feet. And Fargo Street--the city’s steepest, a favorite for bicyclists seeking to test their endurance.

“Everybody (else) hates that route,” said Ernesto Crisostomo, an indisputably physically fit 44-year-old letter carrier who delivers mail on the steepest street. He was a good choice: He has climbed Mt. Whitney.

Linda Arnold, a cartographer in the Bureau of Engineering, seems to know just about every street in the city--more than 10,000 in all. She should. If you want to name a street in Los Angeles, your choice must be approved by her. If you are stuck, Arnold will name it for you.

Arnold, who supplies trivia to TV game shows, is often called upon to settle arguments. “A couple of guys had a bet on what was the longest street,” she said. The answer: Sepulveda Boulevard--25.4 miles, and that’s just for the Los Angeles city portion. Arnold’s favorite: Dalton Avenue, named after the family of the outlaw Dalton gang. The street is a few blocks from Western Avenue in South Los Angeles--not far from where Wyatt Earp once lived. The Dalton family once owned property where the street is located.

Olympic Boulevard, of course, was named after the Olympics. Less known is that the street originally was 10th Street, and its new name was chosen because Los Angeles hosted the 10th Olympiad in 1932.

The longest street name? Astronaut Ellison S. Onizuka Street in Little Tokyo, named for the Japanese American astronaut killed in the 1986 explosion of the space shuttle Challenger. It should be noted, however, that the street exceeds the city’s 16-letter limit, including spaces.

It is not far from another rule-breaker, Gen. Thaddeus Kosciuszko Way, named after the Polish hero of the Revolutionary War.

Some street names may seem misplaced, such as Ocean View Avenue--in Whittier. It probably was dreamed up by a real estate promoter.

Los Angeles, naturally, is full of street names with a Hollywood connection.

The San Fernando Valley has Trigger Street and Dale Court on Roy Rogers’ old ranch, and Tara and Ashley Oaks on Clark Gable’s former ranch. Edward Everett Horton Lane is the street where the late actor lived, and Marbro Drive is named after the Marx Brothers. South Los Angeles has Rochester Circle, named after Jack Benny’s sidekick, Eddie Anderson, who used to live on the block.

On the list of unofficial streets is Rue de Vallee, in front of the late crooner’s Hollywood Hills home.

“It’s not a public street,” said Arnold. “That’s a private driveway.”

After neighbors protested in the early 1970s, the City Council refused to rename the street.

Asked why a sign is posted reading “Rue de Vallee,” Arnold remarked, “Mr. Vallee was on the Transportation Commission when that street sign was put up.”

No Los Angeles city street may be named after a living person. But an exception was made for George Burns on his 90th birthday; the city last week dedicated Gracie Allen Drive, which intersects with George Burns Road to form Burns and Allen intersection.

Harrison Kimball, who was in charge of street names in the late 1960s and early ‘70s, explained years ago why names of the living are not used. “A person’s a hero one year, but then he vanishes from the public eye or becomes a crumbum in the years beyond. Also, it’s an embarrassing situation if the street is named for a developer and then he ends up in the clink.”

No commercial names are permitted, either, although there are a few around because they were named before the rule went into effect, such as Procter and Gamble streets in Wilmington. Some are not what they seem. Churchill Avenue is not for Winston; it’s for Howard, “one of my former bosses,” Arnold said.

Occasionally, residents petition the City Council to change the name. In the 1880s, residents of Charity Street did not like saying they lived on Charity, so the street became Grand Avenue. In the 1940s, residents did not like living on Alcatraz Street, which became Filion Street; Arnold has no idea who or what Filion was. In the 1960s, an effort to turn Fairfax Avenue into Koufax Avenue, after the Dodger pitcher, struck out.

“I’m surprised people still want to live on Manson Avenue,” Arnold joked. The San Fernando Valley street got its moniker in 1959, but Arnold does not know for whom it was named.

The oldest street in the city is--was--Calle Principal. Now it is Main Street.

While San Francisco has Lombard Street--featured on post cards as the most crooked street in the world--Los Angeles has Fargo Avenue in Silver Lake, featuring a 32% grade.

The lowest street in the city is Seaside Avenue on Terminal Island--10 feet below sea level.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Lyrical Streets

* “I Love L.A.”

by Randy Newman

Rollin’ down the Imperial Highway

* “Blue Jay Way”

by the Beatles

Soon will be the break of day

Sitting here in Blue Jay Way * “Little Old Lady From

Pasadena” by Jan and Dean

She’s the terror of Colorado Boulevard . . .