Historic Streets of Redondo Beach

About The Street Themes . . .

Redondo Beach was founded around 1887. The original part of the city was designed by William Hammond Hall Who designed the lay of the roads in San Francisco's famed Golden Gate Park.

Redondo Beach was layed out in ovals which matched the contours of the land and the shoreline. At the center of town was an oval named "El Redondo" which is spanish for "The Round". This street makes the base of the "Chautauqua Lamp of Learning". Chautauqua was a 19th century traveling circuit of cultural events.  These travelling educational shows brought plays and was a forum for the discussion of political and social events of the time.  It was founded in 1874 by businessman Lewis Miller and Methodist minister, later Bishop, John Heyl Vincent.  Vincent street disects the lamp of learning, or what's left of it.

No one is sure exactly where the name "Redondo" came frombut since the beach was round, it was adjacent to the Rancho Sausal Redondo (Round clump of Willows), and the streets were round (in the original part of town) it seem only natural I suppose to call the town Redondo.

South Redondo Street Themes

Redondo Beach has several street naming themes that are classic of the 19th century.

The original part of the city has east-west streets named for valuable stones: Agate, Beryl, Carnelian, Diamond, Emerald, Garnet, Jasper, Opal, Pearl, Ruby, Sapphire and Topaz. Avenues run north and south were Spanish Women's Christian names: Alameda (later Pacific Avenue), Benitia (removed in 1966), Catalina, Dominguez (later Broadway), Elena, Francisca, Gertuda, Guadalupe, Helberta, Irena, Juanita, Lucia, Maria, Marguerita (later South Prospect), Paulina, Prudencia (gone), Ramona (later North Prospect), Rebecca (later Harkness), and Susana (later North Flagler).

After Topaz Street was a county area known as "Clifton" which was annexed to Redondo Beach in 19xx and the remaining portion in 198x where the east-west streets are named Avenue A, Avenue B, etc. up to Avenue I. North-South Avenues continued from the townsite.

North Redondo Street Themes

What is now North Redondo Beach was annexed in 1921 and was layed out in a rectangular grid for the most part. The area is hilly and much like San Francisco with steep hills and small vallies.

Many streets here had different names before Redondo Beach annexed this area, some quite funny like Kruttschmidtt Avenue (renamed to Ford Avenue between 1940 and 1950, probably because people cound not spell it). Another  interesting name was "Stoutenbourough Lane" which was later renamed to "Hill Lane".  Stoutenbourough Lane was host to a February 1940 Fireworks factory explosion that broke windows from Redondo to Long Beach.  One has to wonder how a fireworks factory could operate in an old house in a residential neighborhood?

The current names are of 19th century industrialist from the Los Angeles area to those of national fame.

Maps

1887 Map - North side of town.

1887 Map - South side of town.

1940 Map - Los Angeles County with no freeways

1946 Map - Renie Map Book

1960s Map -