Obed Macy

Obed Macy (December 14, 1801 – July 19, 1857) was an American medical dictor and pioneer in Los Angeles County, California, arriving there by wagon train shortly after California became a part of the United States following the Mexican–American War. He and his son Oscar Macy were members of the Los Angeles Common Council, the governing body of that city, and operated one of Los Angeles's historic hotels.

Personal life Obed Macy was born December 14, 1801, in New Garden, Guilford County, North Carolina, the son of William Macy and Mary Barnard.

Obed and Lucinda had a family of thirteen children, including a boy whom they named Obed and who later also became active in Los Angeles commerce, and another son, Oscar, noted below.

Obed Macy died on July 19, 1857. which, according to an account written more than a century later:

was a magnet for the town's young blades and affluent business leaders. The hotel was one of the few places in Los Angeles with shade trees in front, where idlers would gather on warm afternoons to wait for the Banning stage from San Pedro with passengers and newspapers from the East.

Public service

Obed Macy was elected to the Los Angeles Common Council in a special election on January 5, 1855, his term ending on May 9 of that year.

Legacy

The former Macy Street in Downtown Los Angeles was named to mark the Macy family ranch, and when the city engineer suggested in 1920 that Macy Street and Brooklyn Avenue, which were "practically continuous," should bear the same name, a committee from the Native Sons of the Golden West appeared before the City Council to protest. Spokesman H.O. Lichtenberger said of Obed Macy:

On that occasion the plea was successful, and the Macy Street name was retained, but in May 1993 the City Council unanimously decided to change the name of a portion of Sunset Boulevard and all of Macy Street and Brooklyn Avenue to a new appellation—Cesar Chavez Avenue, in honor of the late labor leader. Nevertheless, a roadway and pedestrian bridge over the Los Angeles River is still often called the "Macy Street Viaduct."