Spielberg’s Name Now on the Map

Director Steven Spielberg has joined a list of celebrities immortalized on maps of Los Angeles, as the Motion Picture and Television Fund named a private street after him.

A small street connecting the screen foundation’s retirement and hospital complex in Woodland Hills to Mulholland Drive will now be known as Spielberg Drive after the Oscar-winning director of films such as “Schindler’s List” and “Jurassic Park.”

Foundation officials said the naming was a prerequisite to getting a stoplight put in at the entrance of the retirement and hospital complex, and Spielberg seemed an obvious choice.

The street leads directly to the John Ford Chapel, named for another famous director who gave generously to the foundation, officials said.

“It seems such a perfect example of the longevity of the fund, and of the proud tradition of people in the industry contributing to it,” said Ken Scherer, chief executive officer of the foundation.

Foundation officials would not say how much Spielberg donated, noting only that it was a “significant” amount.

The director is out of the country on location this week and unavailable.

Spielberg Drive, which is a few hundred feet long, is primarily the driveway to the complex, which serves hundreds of retirees from the entertainment industry and provides social services to thousands more.

Officials said the new stoplight will allow residents to cross Mulholland Drive safely and help drivers of emergency vehicles find the complex more easily.