San Vicente Boulevard

San Vicente Boulevard is a major northwest-southeast thoroughfare located in the western portion of the metropolitan area of Los Angeles, CA.

Built in the early 20th century and named for the Rancho San Vicente y Santa Monica that had previously occupied the area, the boulevard originally ran from the Soldiers' Home (Sawtelle Veterans Home) in Los Angeles to Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica. This tree-lined street was 130 feet (40 m) wide, with trolley lines used by the Los Angeles Pacific Electric Railway running down its center. It was oiled and surfaced in 1906 and, when completed, it "made one of the finest drives in the country."

Today the boulevard begins at Venice Boulevard between Crenshaw Boulevard and La Brea Avenue and travels in a northwesterly direction towards Beverly Hills. The roadway splits into two streets past La Cienega Boulevard: the western branch becoming Burton Way, which eventually becomes South Santa Monica Boulevard and connects directly to downtown Beverly Hills. The northern branch remains as San Vicente Blvd. itself, passes Beverly Center, continues north into West Hollywood and becomes N Clark St. at Sunset Boulevard (served by Metro Local lines 30 and 330). A separate stretch of road with the same name runs from Santa Monica to Brentwood.

Locating an address on San Vicente Boulevard can be especially tricky. The easternmost end at Venice Boulevard begins with the number 4600 and increases to the west. By Los Angeles convention, since there is no E. San Vicente Boulevard, i.e. the boulevard does not go east of Main Street, San Vicente Boulevard is not termed W. San Vicente Boulevard. The address numbers continue to increase up to 6600 at Wilshire Boulevard. Two complications begin at this point. First, since San Vicente Boulevard does not follow the overall grid of Los Angeles but rather a slowly arcing curve, the intersection at Wilshire Boulevard is chosen as the point where the numbering switches from east-west numbers to north-south numbers with respect to the city grid. Secondly, between Wilshire Boulevard and La Cienega Boulevard, the median of San Vicente forms a border between Beverly Hills and Los Angeles. The east side of San Vicente is known as S. San Vicente Boulevard, with numbering decreasing between 700 at the Wilshire end and 400 at the La Cienega end—even numbers only. The west side of San Vicente is known as N. San Vicente Boulevard, with numbering increasing between 100 at the Wilshire end and 300 at the La Cienega end—odd numbers only. North of La Cienega, both sides of the street are in Los Angeles. The numbering continues accordingly as 400 S. San Vicente Boulevard. The street becomes N. San Vicente Boulevard at Gracie Allen Drive. As in the rest of Los Angeles, the numbers at the city's grid axis start with 100. Numbers 0-99 are not used. At 300 N. San Vicente Boulevard, the boulevard enters the city of West Hollywood at Beverly Boulevard. The street name and numbering do not change. The street terminates at Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood at the number 1100 N. San Vicente.

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