Whittier Boulevard
The El Arco arch sign on Whittier Blvd in East Los Angeles; seen in June 2013. | |
| Part of | |
|---|---|
| Maintained by | Caltrans and local jurisdictions |
| Length | 20.0 mi (32.2 km) |
| West end | 6th Street at the Los Angeles River |
| Major junctions | |
| East end | Puente Street in Brea |
Whittier Boulevard is an arterial street that runs in Los Angeles County, California from the Los Angeles River (where it continues into Downtown Los Angeles as 6th Street) to Brea, California. The street is one of the main thoroughfares in both Whittier and East Los Angeles. At various times, portions of Whittier Boulevard carried the designation of U.S. Route 101. Whittier Boulevard also carries a portion of El Camino Real. Its west section leading from the Sixth Street Viaduct was demolished in 2016; the replacement was officially opened in 2022.
Since 2025, Whittier Boulevard carries the following two Caltrans-controlled state highways. The portions between Interstate 605 and Lockheed Avenue, and Valley Home Avenue and Beach Boulevard officially carries State Route 72. The portion between Beach and Harbor Boulevards carries State Route 39. The State Route 72 designation along Whittier Boulevard was originally longer: the portion of the highway between Downey Road and State Route 19 was deleted in 1992, the segment between State Route 19 and Interstate 605 was relinquished back to Pico Rivera in the early 2000s, and most of the portions between Interstate 605 and Beach Boulevard (except for the aforementioned segments) were relinquished back to Whittier and unincorporated Los Angeles County in 2025.
In Los Angeles, Whittier Boulevard was known as Stephenson Avenue before 1920. The portion in what is now Whittier was known as County Road in Whittier's early days.