The north-south route between downtown Los Angeles and the Harbor roughly follows what is now Avalon Boulevard. Near the harbor in Wilmington, it was called "Canal Street," but just south of L.A., the street was known as South Park.
Matt Roth, historian for the Automobile Club of Southern California, says there was a park, the city's first, at the corner of what is now 51st and Avalon.
"And it was a leisure ground. It had trees. It was an area that was advertised as the lungs of the city. It would be a place of respite and leisure as the city's growth moved south."
South Park the street is gone. But the park remains. It was built with money from an 1890s bond measure and remodeled after World War II by the noted architect Paul Williams.
Meanwhile, the name South Park has been appropriated for the new development near Staples Center.
(Airdate for this story: 7/15/07)
Comments (2)
I was wondering if there is any information regarding a street called San Dimas Canyon Road? The street starts out in San Dimas but eventually winds into the Angeles National Forest. There was a big fire in this area about five years ago and I was wondering, is there anything special about the people who first started building cabins up there?
Posted by Carla Peters | on July 13, 2007 10:10 PM
I live in Inglewood and have often wondered about the street name Warren Lane, there is also an school on 8th Ave with the same name. Is it named after a person or was there originaly a lane named Warren
Thank You,
Sharon Stephens
Posted by Sharon Stephens | on August 13, 2007 4:40 PM