When towns like Van Nuys and Lankershim became part of Los Angeles, some street names had to change so they didn’t conflict with L.A. roads. 7th changed its name to Leesdale to match up with a street out in the West Valley beet fields.

But a Valley booster group called the Leesdale Improvement Association had big plans. They envisioned Leesdale as an 80-foot-wide boulevard, and they asked the city to change its name.

Bill Robertson, director of L.A.’s Bureau of Street Services, says the name they chose was “Victory.”

Bill Robertson: “Victory Boulevard was named for the World War I veterans and the victory in that war, and that goes back to about 1924, is when Victory was named.”

Victory Boulevard wasn’t L.A.’s only tribute to the fighting men of the Great War. A week after the fighting stopped in November 1918, a downtown park was renamed in honor of General John “Black Jack” Pershing: Pershing Square.

(Airdate for this story: 12/20/08)