People from east of the Mississippi River comprised a significant component of the émigrés that moved to the City of Los Angeles after World War II. These new Los Angelenos brought with them the plants, trees, and landscape ideas they had left back east. For many transplants, the idea of a street bordered by large overhanging trees was something with which they had lived since their childhood.

The 1200 block of Lakme Avenue in Wilmington is reflective of these eastern ideas. Large Camphor trees line the entire block. Year round these large evergreen trees provide a virtual green tunnel to motorists and pedestrians. Although these street trees are not utilized for it, Camphor trees are the source of a long-used medicinal oil, Camphor Oil.

When driving or walking down Lakme Street , one could easily imagine they were in a mid-Atlantic small town. These trees were designated Cultural Historic Monuments in 1990.