This old ditty to navigate the streets of Downtown L.A. from the early 1920′s was passed over to me by my friend and antiquarian Peter Graser, also a good interior designer who learned it from his great grandmother’s singing of it to her daughter, Peter’s grandmother, who in turn passed it to Peter’s mother who undoubtedly sung it to young Peter on many a shopping trip.

And so it goes: From Main we Spring to Broadway over the Hill to Olive. Wouldn’t it be Grand to Hope to pick a Flower on Figueroa.

I hope it helps you next time you navigate downtown L.A. It got me to the Biltmore Hotel on South Grand Avenue on time for 4 o’clock tea last week. It didn’t hurt to print this article up having it handy ‘in the glove’ either! – Carlo.

P.S. The most common street name in the US is “2nd” or “Second”. “First” streets are less common than “Second” and “Third” because some cities do not have “First” streets—naming them “Main” instead, or renaming them after historical figures.^[1]

Related articles

• City Life: Rediscovering downtown L.A. (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Wilshire Grand Project Approved By L.A. City Council (huffingtonpost.com)
• Downtown Los Angeles Artwalk, April 14 2011 (andrealahue.wordpress.com)

Filed under: Commentary, Humor, LA Area, Visiting LA, VRN