Sometimes, losing your job can be the best thing that ever happened to you. At least it was for Harvey Firestone. Firestone Boulevard runs though Downey, Norwalk, South Gate, and Watts. Local historian Wally Shidler says the street owes its name to the man behind the tire.

"Firestone Boulevard was named for Harvey Firestone, who built the Firestone plant there in South Gate in the late '20s."

Harvey Firestone was an Ohio salesman for the Columbus Buggy Company. The company went bankrupt, and Firestone lost his job. But it gave him time to work on his dream of making buggy rides a bit smoother. He imagined replacing steel-rimmed buggy wheels with rubber tires. When the horseless buggy became big, Firestone became even bigger. The Firestone plant in South Gate was a major regional employer until it closed its doors in 1981.

(Airdate for this story: 11/25/07)