http://www.publicradio.org/columns/kpcc/streetstories/ In Southern California, there are majestic avenues like Imperial Highway or Victory Boulevard. There are also romantic roads like Sunset or Laurel Canyon. For every street, there's a history. This summer, KPCC's Kitty Felde has found some of the stories you can find right under your tires.Are there Southland street names you're curious about? Let us know by leaving a comment on any entry below.Related Features:When the Streets Had No NamesThe Long and Winding Roads of Southern California(Photo: *Checco* on Flickr.com) en Copyright 2008 Fri, 27 Jun 2008 14:35:13 -0800 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss There's a neighborhood in Glendale called Glassell Park and a street in Orange called Glassell Street. They're both named for an L.A. lawyer who specialized in real estate.

Andrew Glassell may be best known as one of the founders of the city of Orange. But Glassell lived and worked near downtown Los Angeles. Phil Brigandi, author of "Orange County Place Names, A-Z," says Glassell viewed Orange as an investment.

"Andrew Glassell was an attorney in Los Angeles who had worked when he first came to California with the federal land commission that reviewed all the old Mexican Rancho grants and so he was very well versed in title land law which next to being an expert in water law was about the best thing you could be in Southern California."

Glassell was the first president of the L.A. Bar Association. He died in his L.A. home in 1901.

(Airdate: 6/29/2008)

]]> http://www.publicradio.org/columns/kpcc/streetstories/2008/06/glassell_park_glassell_street.html http://www.publicradio.org/columns/kpcc/streetstories/2008/06/glassell_park_glassell_street.html Fri, 27 Jun 2008 14:35:13 -0800 There's a Glassell Street in the city of Orange, named for a pair of brothers who created the town. One of those brothers played a role in maritime history.

It was L.A. lawyer Andrew Glassell who bought the property that would become the City of Orange. But Phil Brigandi, author of "Orange County Place Names A-Z," says it was the lawyer's brother, Captain William T. Glassell, who surveyed the land and built the irrigation ditch.

"Captain Glassell, incidentally, a Civil War vet, Confederate, was involved in some of the early experiments for creating not true submarines, but submersibles, or torpedo boats as they used to call them. His was called the David, a little Biblical allusion there, and blew a pretty hole in the side of the new Ironsides in Charleston Harbor in the fall of 1863, which unfortunately then was swamped and Glassell was captured."

Captain Glassell's letters from his POW days in that northern prison camp were recently found in a shoebox. They are now stored at the Orange Public Library and History Center.

(Airdate: 6/28/2008)

]]> http://www.publicradio.org/columns/kpcc/streetstories/2008/06/glassell_street.html http://www.publicradio.org/columns/kpcc/streetstories/2008/06/glassell_street.html Fri, 27 Jun 2008 14:33:37 -0800 There's a Spurgeon Street and a McFadden Avenue in Santa Ana. The streets are named for the two men most responsible for the creation of Orange County.

Politicians and business leaders had tried to carve a new county out of south L.A. County since 1871. Fifteen years of struggle in Sacramento had led to nothing. Phil Brigandi, writer of "Orange County Place Names A-Z," says bipartisanship got the job done.

"Mr. McFadden was in the hardware business in Santa Ana. Was very successful. Was in the 1880s one of, if not the most, prominent Republicans in this area. And joined with certainly the most prominent Democrat in this area who was William Spurgeon, who'd founded Santa Ana. Mr. McFadden and "Uncle Billy" Spurgeon got together and decided to finally put this drive over this top to create an Orange County."

James McFadden's money greased the wheels in Sacramento. In 1889, Orange County was officially recognized, with Santa Ana the county seat. And Uncle Billy Spurgeon became the first chairman of the OC Board of Supervisors.

(Airdate: 6/22/2008)

]]> http://www.publicradio.org/columns/kpcc/streetstories/2008/06/spurgeon_streetmcfadden_avenue.html http://www.publicradio.org/columns/kpcc/streetstories/2008/06/spurgeon_streetmcfadden_avenue.html Mon, 23 Jun 2008 10:47:59 -0800 In the 1860s, James McFadden bought several thousand acres of the old Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana, and started to develop it. Phil Brigandi says he named the main street after his hometown.

"He originally came from a town in New York called Delhi."

Brigandi should know. He wrote "Orange County Place Names A-Z." He says, "it's spelled 'D-e-l-h-i' and so some people see that and say "Delhi." No, that's a town in India. In New York, I called them recently to confirm this, it is Delhi (dell-high), New York."

There was a Delhi school district and a Delhi neighborhood in south Santa Ana. Today, there's even a social service organization called the Delhi Center that offers everything from HIV testing to mariachi classes. But Delhi Street has disappeared. These days, it's known as Warner Avenue.

(Airdate: 6/21/2008)

]]> http://www.publicradio.org/columns/kpcc/streetstories/2008/06/warner_avenuedelhi_street.html http://www.publicradio.org/columns/kpcc/streetstories/2008/06/warner_avenuedelhi_street.html Mon, 23 Jun 2008 10:46:02 -0800 Lots of Southern California places were named by immigrants who longed to be back home. But Newport Beach and Newport Boulevard were not named for that famed summer retreat for the wealthy in Rhode Island.

Newport Boulevard runs from the 405 to the Newport Pier. Phil Brigandi says the name is no mystery.

"It was originally the 'new' port between Los Angeles and San Diego."

Brigandi wrote "Orange County Place Names A-Z." He says, "the first commercial ship into the inner bay was in 1870. Captain S.S. Dunnells showed you could get over the bar."

The sandbar at the mouth of the harbor was difficult to navigate and downright dangerous. So Newport became a "lighter" port.

Brigandi says that's "where the ships could not enter the port except ones with very shallow draft, like Dunnel's little steamer. And so they would anchor off the coast and transfer the loads into little boats which are called 'lighters.'"

Finally, in 1889, a wharf was built on the ocean side, connecting ships with the railroad. But San Pedro to the north quickly became the "go to" port for shipping. Newport Pier was left behind for the tourists.

(Airdate: 6/15/2008)

]]> http://www.publicradio.org/columns/kpcc/streetstories/2008/06/newport.html http://www.publicradio.org/columns/kpcc/streetstories/2008/06/newport.html Fri, 13 Jun 2008 17:22:58 -0800 There's a Eucalyptus Lane and a Eucalyptus Street in Brea, a Eucalyptus Place in Fullerton, even a Eucalyptus Hill Road in Yorba Linda. They're all named for a tree that's become as familiar to the California landscape as the Hollywood sign.

California writer Lawrence Clark Powell said "No tree is more beautiful in the wind or against the sky, and none provides better nesting for the soft-voiced mourning dove."

Phil Brigandi says the eucalyptus tree is an Australian import. Brigandi wrote "Orange County Place Names A-Z." He says Californians were mad for the eucalyptus tree, starting in the late 1800s.

"Though it turned out not to be as useful as they'd hoped for lumber, because it tends to grow with a very twisted grain. But does make pretty good windbreaks for the orange groves, which is why you'll often see lines of eucalyptus trees along some of the old highways."

In recent years, the eucalyptus – or as the Australians call them, "gum trees" – have fallen out of favor because they're not native to Southern California... and because the bark and leaves they shed provide an oily fuel to brush fires.

(Airdate: 6/14/2008)

]]> http://www.publicradio.org/columns/kpcc/streetstories/2008/06/theres_a_eucalyptus_lane_and.html http://www.publicradio.org/columns/kpcc/streetstories/2008/06/theres_a_eucalyptus_lane_and.html Fri, 13 Jun 2008 17:21:16 -0800 There's both a Cypress Street and a Cypress Avenue in the Orange County city of... Cypress. Historian Phil Brigandi says, "Cypress was a little community out along the Pacific Electric tracks out in that area in the early 1900s and eventually became a fairly popular dairy area. Well, in the 1950s as houses were coming in, it was clear that you could have dairies or you could have residential, but the two did not go well together."

So the dairy farmers fought back, forming their own agricultural cities with names like Dairy City, Dairy Valley, and Dairyland. But the region's need for housing trumped its need for milk and cheese. Dairy City became Cypress. Dairy Valley became Artesia and Cerritos. Dairyland held out the longest... until 1965 when it became the city of La Palma.

(Airdate: 6/8/2008)

]]> http://www.publicradio.org/columns/kpcc/streetstories/2008/06/cypress_street_cypress_avenue.html http://www.publicradio.org/columns/kpcc/streetstories/2008/06/cypress_street_cypress_avenue.html Mon, 09 Jun 2008 16:04:11 -0800 Everything seemed to grow well in the fertile soil of Orange County... including the Magnolia tree. Phil Brigandi says the name was borrowed in 1894 by Anaheim's early civic leaders.

"Magnolia was originally a little school district. It wasn't a town really, but when you got enough families, you could have a school district."

Brigandi wrote "Orange County Place Names A-Z." He says if you didn't live in a town, your neighborhood identified with its local school district.

"Sixty years ago, 70 years ago in Orange County, if someone asked you where you lived, Magnolia or the Magnolia District would be an answer they would understand. 'Oh, yeah, I live out in Magnolia.' And even though there was no town, no post office, there was a school, and so everyone knew there was a community."

There's still a Magnolia School District, serving Anaheim and Stanton. Two of its campuses were honored this year as California Distinguished Schools.

(Airdate: 6/1/2008)

]]> http://www.publicradio.org/columns/kpcc/streetstories/2008/05/magnolia_avenue_and_magnolia_v.html http://www.publicradio.org/columns/kpcc/streetstories/2008/05/magnolia_avenue_and_magnolia_v.html Fri, 30 May 2008 15:56:35 -0800 There's a Chavez Ravine Place outside of Dodger Stadium, named after Julian Chavez, a native of New Mexico. Chavez was on the wrong side of a rebellion and escaped to Los Angeles in the 1830s. He received a land grant near what were the banks of the L.A. River. Historian Charlotte Negrete-White says Chavez became a career politician.

"And I think part of the reason that gave him social standing at time when it was really hard for Mexicans to maintain their holdings, he was very active in the city government. He was 'juez de aquas' – Judge of the Waters."

He was also "juez del campos" – Judge of the Plains, settling cattle disputes. He was deputy mayor, a member of the Board of Equalization, he served three terms as county supervisor, and spent many years on the city council. He finally ran out of speeches and died of a heart attack at the age of 70.

(Airdate: 6/7/2008)

]]> http://www.publicradio.org/columns/kpcc/streetstories/2008/05/chavez_ravine_place.html http://www.publicradio.org/columns/kpcc/streetstories/2008/05/chavez_ravine_place.html Fri, 30 May 2008 15:55:19 -0800 These days, community groups usually fight road expansion. But in the early days of automobiles, the opposite was true. One particularly persistent Southern California group had a dream for a road that ran from the desert to the sea.

The idea for Imperial Highway began in 1929 with the founding of the Imperial Highway Association. Phil Brigandi, who wrote "Orange County Place Names A-Z," says this was a private group.

"There were lots of these in those days, that was formed not to build the highway, but to promote it with the different agencies and cities and state and everybody to get a continuous highway built to connect the Los Angeles ports with the rich new farmlands of the Imperial Valley. That's why it's the Imperial Highway."

The road followed part of the old Butterfield Stage Coach route. But it took until 1961 for the last stretch to be paved. And although the road continues into the Imperial Valley, the name "Imperial Highway" doesn't. It stops in Anaheim Hills.

(Airdate: 5/25/2008)

]]> http://www.publicradio.org/columns/kpcc/streetstories/2008/05/imperial_highway.html http://www.publicradio.org/columns/kpcc/streetstories/2008/05/imperial_highway.html Fri, 23 May 2008 15:24:10 -0800 Ortega Highway runs from San Juan Capistrano to Lake Elsinore. It took five years to build and opened in 1934. Phil Brigandi says it got its name from a local priest.

"Father Saint John O'Sullivan, who was the pastor at Mission San Juan Capistrano, had been for years, it was Father O'Sullivan who suggested naming it after Jose Francisco Ortega."

Brigandi wrote "Orange County Place Names A-Z." He says, "Ortega was one of the scouts on the first Spanish overland expedition under Portola that came through this area in 1769. And where the main body of the expedition moved along, Ortega and a couple of the other scouts were half a day or so ahead of them, looking for the route, figuring out where they were going to go, where the water holes were, where the campsites were, and he led the way through this area. So he would have been very likely the first of the Spanish explorers to actually set foot in Orange County."

Ortega didn't stick around, though. He settled in Santa Barbara.

(Airdate: 5/24/2008)

]]> http://www.publicradio.org/columns/kpcc/streetstories/2008/05/oretga_highway.html http://www.publicradio.org/columns/kpcc/streetstories/2008/05/oretga_highway.html Fri, 23 May 2008 14:44:46 -0800 As long as there's been a California, there have been men convinced they could strike it rich in real estate. Many did just that. But just like the current real estate bubble, there are plenty who went bust.

Columbus Tustin was a carriage maker from Petaluma who bought 1,300 acres of the old Yorba rancho. From that land, he created "Tustin City." But Phil Brigandi, who wrote "Orange County Place Names A-Z," says Tustin had competition from two other new towns: Orange and Santa Ana.

"Orange had better water, Santa Ana had the better location. They had kind of the transportation hub. First the stagecoaches, then the railroad came to Santa Ana."

Brigandi says Tustin tried everything to grow his community.

"He would give you land in Tustin City as long as you would build on it."

With his town still struggling, a disappointed Columbus Tustin died in 1883. But today, Tustin, now home to 70,000 people, is the busy city Columbus hoped for. Tustin Avenue, Columbus Tustin Middle School, and appropriately enough, a new real estate development called The Villages of Columbus all pay tribute to the unlucky real estate developer.

(Airdate: 5/18/2008)

]]> http://www.publicradio.org/columns/kpcc/streetstories/2008/05/tustin_avenue.html http://www.publicradio.org/columns/kpcc/streetstories/2008/05/tustin_avenue.html Fri, 16 May 2008 14:24:47 -0800 There was a famous horse race here in Southern California more than a hundred-fifty years ago. The horses didn't run on a track, but on a dirt road that later became known as Alamitos Avenue in Long Beach. The race became something of a local legend.

We don't know all the details, but it happened sometime in the 1840s, when southern California was still part of Mexico. There were two magnificent horses, owned by Abel Stearns and John Temple, the patrons of two neighboring ranchos: Los Alamitos and Los Cerritos.

Theresa Barbee, docent coordinator at present day Rancho Los Alamitos, says, "Alamitos Avenue was the dividing line between the two ranchos."

She says those two horses ran down Alamitos to Signal Hill and back again. There was more than pride at stake. The wager was 1,000 head of cattle. Singer/songwriter Ken Graydon describes the contest:

"With a loud cry of 'vaya' they started. Like shadows, they sped on their way. The dust from their hooves marked their passage toward the pool on the sands of the bay. Becerrero, he dances like lightning. Becerrero, he flies like the clouds. Becerrero, the bay horse of Juan Temple. Becerrero, the champion so proud."

Becerrero's name means "one who tends the young cattle," so it's likely he was a working horse, not just a fancy racing pony. We don't know the name of Abel Stearn's horse. But we do know who won the race, thanks to Ken Graydon's song.

"In a moment, I saw them returning. My heart seemed to swell like the sun. For in the lead was Becerrero, the bay horse of Juan Temple had won. There followed a grand celebration, with an ox roasted all the next day. Juan Temple invited both ranchos, so great was his pride in the bay. Becerrero, he dances like lightning. Becerrero, he flies like the clouds. Becerrero, the bay horse of Juan Temple. Becerrero, the champion so proud."

It's not likely you'll see many horses racing on Alamitos Avenue these days... though the quarter horses still run at Los Alamitos Racetrack.

(Airdate: 5/17/2008)

]]> http://www.publicradio.org/columns/kpcc/streetstories/2008/05/alamitos_avenue.html http://www.publicradio.org/columns/kpcc/streetstories/2008/05/alamitos_avenue.html Fri, 16 May 2008 14:19:08 -0800
Phil Brigandi says, "Jose Antonio Yorba was one of the original Spanish soldiers here in California."

Brigandi wrote "Orange County Place Names A-Z." In 1784, he says Yorba was given land for his military service and became a cattle rancher. After his father-in-law died, he and a nephew petitioned the governor to use that land.

"They were given a concession to use all the land from the Santa Ana River, all the way down to the bay at Newport. So it's 75 thousand acres."

The next generation of Yorbas expanded their land holdings even more, so that by 1850, Brigandi says, "they could ride from he edge of what is Riverside today all the way to Newport Beach and always be on family property the whole way."

In 1868, the main rancho was broken up and sold off to the developers who would later create the cities of Orange, Santa Ana, and Tustin.

(Airdate: 5/11/08)

]]> http://www.publicradio.org/columns/kpcc/streetstories/2008/05/yorba_street_lane_etc.html http://www.publicradio.org/columns/kpcc/streetstories/2008/05/yorba_street_lane_etc.html AirTalk KPCC Newsroom Patt Morrison Fri, 09 May 2008 16:47:42 -0800
Red Hill's first name came from the Native Americans who lived in the area. They called it "Katuktu," meaning a hill of prominence, or place of refuge. Indian legends told of a great flood that forced families to find safety up on that hill. Archeologists have found artifacts proving that early people did spend time on the slopes of Red Hill.

The Spanish gave Red Hill its second name. Phil Brigandi, who wrote "Orange County Place Names A-Z," says the new name was inspired by what was at the bottom of the hill.

Down below was a very marshy area that was full of frogs, which was the Cienega de Las Ranas, the frog swamp. So the hill was called Los Cerritos de Las Ranas - the little hills of the frogs. Later, the gringos called it Rattlesnake Hill, for obvious reasons. It became Red Hill in the 1880's, when the cinnabar which gives the soil its trademark color, was recognized as a source of mercury. The mining on Red Hill continued into the 20th century, finally petering out by the Second World War.

(Airdate: 5/10/08)

]]> http://www.publicradio.org/columns/kpcc/streetstories/2008/05/red_hill_avenue.html http://www.publicradio.org/columns/kpcc/streetstories/2008/05/red_hill_avenue.html Fri, 09 May 2008 16:46:15 -0800