As a car-first city, the streets of Los Angeles are not just paths we travel but also places where the city’s history comes alive. One of the most unique streets is just five minutes from Downtown L.A., specifically in the Alvarado Terrace Historic District.
Powers Place is officially the shortest street in the entire city, measuring a humble 13 feet long but 35 feet wide. What’s most interesting isn’t the size, but that unlike most streets made of asphalt, it still preserves the bricks (or cobblestones) you’d find in many European cities and old neighborhoods in Latin American capitals.
Powers Place and the adjacent Terrace Park, together form Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monument No. 210, designated on February 21, 1979. This area preserves a unique slice of L.A.’s architectural and cultural history, standing out amid the city’s modern landscape.
One of the most striking homes in the district is the Gilbert House at 1333 Alvarado Terrace, built in 1903 by Ida and Pomeroy Powers, who also built the neighboring Powers House. Combining Victorian, Shingle-Style, and Craftsman elements, it was first owned by Wilbur F. Gilbert, a wealthy Texas oilman. Remarkably, his daughter Carolyn McCulloch lived there well into the 1980s, adding a personal touch to the home’s rich history.