Last week, there was a buzz over the Los Angeles Wheelmen's annual climb up Fargo Street in Echo Park. They claim it to be LA's steepest street. I had to check that fact... For the record, there are neighboring streets like Baxter, Ewing, and Duane that have similar grades; Baxter is actually technically steeper than the rest by a few tenths of a percent. AND in Highland Park, Eldred Street has a 33% grade as well - same as Baxter. But technically, according to the City, the steepest stretch of street in Los Angeles is on 28th Street in San Pedro which, for about 50 feet between Gaffey Street and Peck Avenue, has a grade of 33.3%.
So, what this tells us is that though Fargo Street may not technically be the steepest, it may be the steepest street with a length daunting enough for the Wheelmen's annual event.
(Also, just so you know, since the 1950s, the grade of a street in the City of Los Angeles is not permitted to be greater than about 15%. Baxter was laid out in 1884 and Eldred was graded in 1912, which explains their steepness!)
2 comments:
I would have thought 22nd Street in San Pedro from Gaffey to Cabrillo is steeper than 28th. How steep is 22nd?
San Pedro Nerd
Hey LAC Nerd, thanks for the linkage! I'd read of that San Pedro street before, but my guess is it's nowhere near as long as Fargo.
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