La Brea Avenue

La Brea Avenue is a prominent north-south thoroughfare in the City of Los Angeles and in Los Angeles County, California. La Brea is known for having diverse ethnic communities, and many shops and restaurants along its route. History La Brea is the Spanish phrase meaning "the tar." The La Brea Tar Pits, which the 1828 Mexican land grant Rancho La Brea was named for, are to the west of its intersection with Wilshire Boulevard in the Mid-Wilshire area. In its early history, its northern section followed Arroyo La Brea, a former creek fed by springs in the Santa Monica Mountains that flowed south into Ballona Creek. Originally the southern section of La Brea Avenue within Inglewood was named Commercial Street.