Former President Barack Obama, a student at Los Angeles' Occidental College from 1979 to 1981, will likely see a segment of the CA-134 freeway renamed in his honor following a vote earlier this year by the California State Senate. Not to be outdone, the City of Los Angeles is looking to further memorialize the nation's 44th President and his connections to the region.
City Council President Herb Wesson has put forth a motion which would direct the City Engineer to begin the process of renaming a segment of Rodeo Road - a major east-west corridor in South Los Angeles - as Obama Boulevard. The name change would be applied to an approximately 3.5-mile stretch of Rodeo between Arlington Avenue and Jefferson Boulevard on the Culver City border.
The street passes directly by Rancho Cienega Park, where then Senator Obama held his first Los Angeles campaign rally after announcing his candidacy for President in 2007.
Los Angeles already features a number of streets named for former presidents, including Washington Boulevard, Adams Boulevard and the aforementioned Jefferson Boulevard.
- South Los Angeles Archive (Urbanize LA)