It seems that Walter Leimert thought that with all the new bridges over the the LA River, people would start moving east of Main Street, evening out the westward population trend. Apparently after only a few years he gave up on that idea and opened Leimert Park to the southwest, providing a resting place of sorts for Our Lady of Noir. I knew Mr. Leimert was a major developer, but never knew his full story, which is well-told here:
http://www.kcet.org/socal/departures...mert-park.html