Van Nuys Blvd and Vanowen Street Circa 1950's in Van Nuys Postcard
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Marty Mcfly
Anything and everything about the San Fernando Valley. This blog will take you back in time when the valley was covered with dirt and orange groves to a leader in the space race to its current status as America's suburb. Come along and join me on this adventure, I guarantee you have been influenced/impacted by the San Fernando Valley in one form or another even if you have never visited or heard of the SFV.
I've ridden and driven the length of Vanowen St. for 60 years...and STILL cannot remember for whom it was named! I remember Moe Sherman, and Harry Chandler, and Paul Shoup...all money men of the Valley in the 'teens and '20s. Who's Vanowen? DWP after Mulholland's demise?
ReplyDeleteFrom KPCC: (http://www.publicradio.org/columns/kpcc/streetstories/2008/12/vanowen_street.html)
ReplyDeleteThere's a Vanowen Street in the San Fernando Valley. Bill Robertson says he's always wondered himself about that name.
Robertson is director of L.A.'s Bureau of Street Services. He says, "When you look at the history, you had pretty much two towns: there was Van Nuys, and then out in the far west valley was the town of Owensmouth. And so, Van Owen."
Owensmouth was founded in 1912. It got its name from "L.A. Times" owner Harrison Otis. He was counting on the nearby Owens River Aqueduct to help him sell real estate.
Owensmouth developers threw a big barbeque to help sell town lots, but a big dust storm put a damper on the day. Owensmouth survived, though today it's known as Canoga Park.
The cross street in the above postcard is NOT Vanowen. Vanowen is past the palm trees you see in the postcard. This cross street more than likely is Victory, but could be something else. Definitely not Vanowen though.
ReplyDeleteI would like to make a correction about the location from the picture. The exact streets in that photograph are Van Nuys Blvd and Friar st. And it's actually looking North toward Victory Blvd. About a mile south of Vanowen st. You can tell by the building on the right side of the picture. It still stands with the distinctive design at the top.
ReplyDeleteVan Nuys Blvd and Friar st to be exact. About a mile south of Vanowen st. Facing north toward Victory Blvd. You can tell by the building on the right side of the photograph. The distinctive pattern at the top of the building. That building still stands today.
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