Updated at the bottom with what the City Council did. First posted at 8:03 a.m.

One of the quirky and beloved aspects of life in Greater L.A. has to be our road names, oft roasted in the “Saturday Night Live” skit called “The Californians.”

We hardly knew the alliteration of La Cienega or Rancho Cucamonga were funny until we realized the rest of America was watching. Same goes for the bizarre-yet-true name of one of Beverly Hills' more tony streets — “Little” Santa Monica Boulevard:

Officially, it's South Santa Monica Boulevard, which is the name of the street that runs parallel to Santa Monica, south of that boulevard, through downtown Beverly Hills.

But locals call it “Little,” as in, “I said Little Santa Monica Boulevard, Stuart!”

Sadly, the city of Beverly Hills, at the behest of City Councilwoman Nancy Krasne, is considering changing the name of the street to Burton Way, which is what it used to be.


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The council was taking up the matter after resident Fred Barman requested it do so. Because Beverly Hills is a town where residents can get the politicians to do stuff.

For the sake of comedy and quirkiness, we hope the “Little” stays. We'll keep you posted.

[Update at 4:18 p.m.]: “Little” Santa Monica stays for now, but not because the City Council voted that way. No, the body put the matter off until its Sept. 10 meeting, a city official told the Weekly. Keep your fingers crossed.

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