Some people call Brand Boulevard in Glendale the Boulevard of Cars for all the auto dealerships lined up there. But the man for whom the street is named made his money on an electric railway system – and spent some of his money on his own private airfield.

The head of L.A.'s Bureau of Street Services, Bill Robertson, says Brand Avenue is one of the better-known streets in Southern California.

"We all know Brand runs through Glendale and up into the San Fernando area of town. That was actually named after Leslie Brand. He was a street car magnate and developer who lived in the Glendale area."

Brand helped bring the electric railway to Glendale. In 1893, he visited the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago and fell in love with the East Indian Pavilion, full of arches and domes and minarets. He returned to Glendale and, in 1904, built a version he called El Miradero. Today, that building houses the city's library.

(Airdate: 11/30/2008)