City Honors Memory of Frank Modugno

The city this week unveiled a new street sign renaming a section of 1st Street inside the city’s limits to Frank Modugno Drive, in honor of the late civic leader.

The city changed the name of the portion of the street that stretches northwest from Hubbard Avenue to the San Fernando / Sylmar MetroLink Station. The City Council voted last June to rename the section of street, following a similar motion made by the Los Angeles City Council.

Modugno, a San Fernando resident who died in an April 1995 automobile accident, was well-known for his involvement in community organizations in the San Fernando Valley, including the Elks Club, the Kiwanis Club, the San Fernando Chamber of Commerce, Boy Scouts of America and DARE--the Los Angeles Police Department’s anti-drug education program.

He sat on various committees and boards, including the UCLA Coaches Round Table, the board of trustees of Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills and the California Olympic Committee.

He also worked to preserve the historic San Fernando Mission and helped guide the growth of Mission College in Sylmar, serving as president of the college’s foundation. In 1966, Modugno was named San Fernando’s Man of the Year.