Making Inroads on Fractious L.A. Freeways

Sake and Charlene Sakurai of Montrose write:

Yup, it’s weird, and to us, it will always be the 2 Freeway. We’ve lived in Montrose for 15 years and it was the 2, ‘til about three years ago and it became the Lanterman Freeway.

But another claim to fame for the 2, or Lanterman, freeway is that going north from the 5, or Golden State Freeway, there are two Verdugo offramps. When we give directions to our home, we stress the SECOND Verdugo offramp. Ask your Caltrans contact--”Why?”

I’ll do just that as soon as one of those Caltrans representatives returns my call. And I’ll also be sure to pass on the explanation to my colleague Steve Harvey, scribe of “Only in L.A.”

Steve once drove 30 miles from Long Beach to play a little office softball, exited on the first Verdugo offramp and then spent a maddening hour cruising around southeast Glendale and Eagle Rock. He never did find us up in Montrose.

And that was before part of the Glendale Freeway, or 2, was also christened the Frank Lanterman Freeway, in honor of a local civic leader who served 27 years in the state Assembly and died in 1981. This would be the section north of the 134, which is also known as the Ventura Freeway (at least by Thomas Bros.). And because my purpose here is to reduce freeway confusion, it should thus be noted that the Sakurais are incorrect in stating that there are two Verdugo offramps from the Lanterman. There are indeed two such offramps from the 2, or the Glendale, but only one of those off the Lanterman stretch.

Got that?

At any rate, the Sakurais’ letter reflects the sense of bemusement that emotionally stable residents of our vast metropolis need to develop when contemplating the complexities of L.A.’s famous freeway system.

The Sakurais asked me to ask Caltrans, “Why?,” but surely they know the answer is, “Just because.”

Caltrans spokesman Vince Moreno simply pointed out that, heading north, the first Verdugo offramp is for Verdugo Road and the second, about five or six miles north, is for Verdugo Boulevard.

Incidentally, the two Verdugos intersect up in Montrose, though if I’m reading my Thomas Bros. correctly, Verdugo Road north of Verdugo Boulevard becomes Montrose Avenue. It then heads northwest through unincorporated Montrose until it crosses back into the Glendale community of Verdugo City.

By the way, these Verdugos should not be confused with the Verdugo Avenues you’ll find in Burbank, North Hollywood, La Habra, Glendora and Pomona. Nor should they be confused with the various Verdugo Drives in Glendale and Burbank, nor with Glendale’s Verdugo Circle Drive, Verdugo Court and Verdugo Vista.

Glad to be of assistance.

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Tim Elliot of Burbank writes:

You want it, I got it. I’ve got just the name for the 134 Freeway. Here it is, ready: the Frog Pond Freeway.

Elliot, who also happens to be a charter member of my personal gun lobby, was referring to my suggestion that the 134, otherwise virtually nameless, should be dubbed something like the Toluca Lake Freeway, or maybe the Michael Eisner Freeway.

Yes, Caltrans and Thomas Bros. may call it the Ventura Freeway. In common usage, that name seems only to apply to the 101--the stretch of the 101, that is, that isn’t the Hollywood Freeway. (Aren’t you glad you’re not a tourist?) Oh, some people might call the 134 west of the Golden State Freeway, or 5, the Ventura because there’s a sign that notes the way to Ventura. But east of the Golden State, everybody just calls it the 134. That’s so impersonal.

Why does Elliot suggest Frog Pond Freeway? He writes:

Well, it’s like this. I grew up about four blocks from Disney Studios in Burbank. I guess it was about 1959 or ’60 when I was in junior high school, we used to go down to where the Disney animation building is now located. It was a big area with grass taller than your head and horse trails running by the L.A. River. There was a pond there created by the swamp coolers and air conditioners at the studio, at least that’s the story I heard. At times it was about 2 feet deep and it had frogs in it. Everybody called it (amazingly) the Frog Pond. We did a lot of daredevil bicycle crashing and hunting for dangerous frogs. . . .

So with all that rich history right there next to the 134 Freeway, I think it would be an appropriate name.

Well, maybe. Then again, to the southeast there’s a barrio tucked between the Golden State Freeway and the L.A. River known as “Frog Town.” So that could be confusing too.

It seems odd that a freeway could serve as a kind of Memory Lane. But another reader also was moved to wax nostalgic.

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Kevin Wilkerson of Hollywood Knolls writes:

I’m a person who loves before-and-after pictures. . . . I have been looking for some time now . . . for pictures in a book of this area before and after freeway installation. Hollywood and the Valley are my main focus.

The Los Angeles Public Library is an excellent place to start. But this newspaper’s publisher probably wouldn’t mind if I take the opportunity to plug the work of a colleague, Times researcher Cecelia Rasmussen.

Cecelia, a history buff, collected such photos and wrote stories for The Times’ popular “Then and Now” and “Curbside L.A.” features. The Times has compiled a 32-page booklet titled “L.A. Scene: The Southland Then and Now.” Priced at $9.50, it can be ordered by calling (800) 788-8804.

I forgot to ask Cecelia whether she had any Frog Pond photos.

Scott Harris’ column appears Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Readers may write to Harris at the Times Valley Edition, 20000 Prairie St., Chatsworth 91311. Please include a phone number.