By MICHAEL EDLEN
Special to the Palisades News
(Editor’s note: In 1990 Randy and Betty Lou Young published a limited edition book titled Street Names of Pacific Palisades & Other Tales. This short series of summaries of these names is based on that book.)
The development of the Temescal subdivision began in March 1923, encompassing the land between Temescal Canyon and Muskingum, south of what is now Sunset Boulevard. Most of the streets were wider than the earlier subdivisions, and many were laid out in curves to conform to the irregular terrain.
Spanish and Indian street names were used except for a few which were named after Christian summer assemblies. One unusual feature of this section was the creation of Almar Plaza, a widened intersection intended for small shops and landscaping. Today, the neighborhood enjoys a small triangular plot of land at that intersection.
Aiglon: “Eaglet” in French.
Almar: “To the Sea” in Spanish.
Arbramar: “Grove to the Sea” in Spanish.
Asilomar: “Refuge by the Sea” in Spanish. It was named for the Asilomar conference grounds the Y.W.C.A. established in Pacific Grove in 1913.
El Medio: “The Middle” in Spanish.
Erskine: Named for a Presbyterian college in South Carolina.
Junaluska: Named for a Methodist Church conference grounds in North Carolina.
Miami: Named after Miami University, founded in 1809 in Oxford, Ohio. This was the name of an Indian tribe in the Great Lakes region.
Muskingum: Named after a Presbyterian college in New Concord, Ohio, founded in 1837 and given the Indian name of a river.
Northfield: Named for a woman’s college in Northfield, Massachusetts.
Plaza: “Town Square” in Spanish. This was to be a small commercial square.
Puerto del Mar: “Port of the Sea” in Spanish. Originally this street led down the bluff to the Jones Bowl auto camp, now the site of the Palisades Bowl mobile home park.
Seabec: named after a well-known conference grounds in the state of Washington.
Tahquitz: Named after a mythological Indian brave who lived in the San Jacinto Mountains.
Temecula: Named after a town in Riverside County, and probably derived from an Indian Rancheria near Hemet, called Temeca.
Temescal: “Gathering Place” (literally “a sweat house” in Aztec Indian). Originally it was spelled Temascal, and the name was designated on an 1838 map of the Rancho San Vicente.
Wildomar: A word coined from the names of the owners of a small community in Riverside County, William Collier and Donald and Margaret Graham.
Wynola: Named for a town in San Diego County.
Ysidro: It was believed to be named for Ysidro Reyes, one of the original grantees of the Rancho Boca de Santa Monica.
Michael Edlen has been ranked in the top one percent of all agents in the country with nearly $2 billion in sales. Call: (310) 230-7373 or email: michael@michaeledlen.com.
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