Eldred Street - The Tallest Street in Los Angeles
DETAILS:
Location: Eldred Street, Los Angeles, CA
Hours: 24/7
Parking: Free street parking available. Please observe any posted street signs.
Cost: Free!
Time Commitment: 30 minutes.
At first glance, Eldred Street (located on the eastern edge of Los Angeles in the neighborhood of Mount Washington) might look like any other residential street traversing the rolling hills of Southern California, but it’s the tallest street in Los Angeles… and 3rd tallest street in the United States! While most would assume this distinction would fall upon streets like 22nd Street or Filbert Street in San Francisco, the 33% grade of Eldred Street is 1.5% steeper than anything you’ll find in Northern California and 1% steeper than some other well-known tall streets in Los Angeles like Baxter Street and Fargo Street. (Technically speaking, 28th Street in San Pedro has a 50ft stretch with a 33.3% grade, but just like my 6th grade teacher; Mrs Johnson, I’m not giving out stars for partial credit)
Eldred Street gets away with its absurd ascent due to the fact that it was constructed in 1912 which well-precedes current city regulations mandating an incline no greater than 15%. This means that Eldred Street will hold this peculiar title in perpetuity. What’s more - The Eldred Stairs, a set of wooden stairs that are the oldest in the city, resides at the top of Eldred Street and takes you even higher to Cross Avenue up above. So what does this mean, in a practical sense, for the self-anointed “Eldred Highlanders” that call Eldred Street their home? Well, the city has to use a special miniature garbage truck to pick up trash on every Tuesday because a regular-sized garbage truck would tip over trying to do the same, and the post office won’t deliver directly to any of the houses on behalf of their mail carriers who instead drop-off at a special set of mail boxes at the bottom of the hill.
But no amount of facts & figures, much less pictures, will ever do Eldred Street justice until you attempt the incline in person. That’s when you’ll discover how extreme a 33% grade truly is because your legs and lungs will be on fire as you work your way to the top of this vaulted roadway. Upon visiting, I thought I would kill two birds with one stone and get a little cardio in, thinking I would do a few reps up & down. All it took was one trip to call it quits and head to In-N-Out instead which still made for a fine day as far as I’m concerned.
