Lankershim Boulevard runs right past the Universal and Warner Brothers Studios. But the man the street is named for had nothing to do with the movie business.

Even after California became part of the United States, our first Californio governor, Pio Pico, still owned parts of the San Fernando Valley. But by 1869, Pico was short of cash. So Bill Roberson says he sold part of the Valley to a group of investors led by Isaac Lankershim.

"They were primarily interested in farming. And Isaac Lankershim created the world's largest wheat growing empire."

Robertson is director of L.A.'s Bureau of Street Services. He says there was one basic flaw with Lankershim's plan.

"At that time, they really had no irrigation; it was pretty much natural rainfall. When you had the rainfall, you had great crops. When you had the scorching droughts, and the heat we have in the Valley, they lost their shirts. But for a number of years they were very, very successful."

So successful, Lankershim even had a town named after him. These days, it's known as North Hollywood, where a number of the inhabitants prefer "wheat-free" diets.

(Airdate: 11/1/2008)