Onizuka

There is almost nothing to suggest the wild, frontier past of Onizuka Street in Little Tokyo.

Nothing to suggest that it once was traversed by racing stagecoaches in the 1850s, "with passengers and drivers yelling, and wheels often locked hub to hub to bring up a cloud of dust," as recounted in the history book "Nuestro Pueblo."

Onizuka, formerly named Weller Street, is now a sedate one-block stretch of road, renamed for Ellison Onizuka, the astronaut who was killed in the 1986 Challenger explosion.

About the only clue to Onizuka Street's colorful role in L.A.'s early history is its unusual configuration -- it runs diagonally from the corner of 2nd and San Pedro streets to 1st Street.

That's because Onizuka Street, as "Nuestro Pueblo" put it, was "the homestretch" of the 21-mile stagecoach route from San Pedro to downtown L.A., a shortcut carved out by rival drivers whose passengers frequently wagered on who would arrive first.