Named in 1936 in memory of Isabel de Tononi (1841-1917), who once owned a vineyard here with her son Lorenzo Pelanconi. De Tononi was born María Isabel de la Resurrección Ramírez when Los Angeles was still a Mexican ciudad and grew up on Olvera Street. Back then it was known as Vine (or Wine) Street, and Isabel’s life would indeed revolve around the grape. She married her first husband Antonio Pelanconi, an Italian-born winemaker, in 1866. Times were tough and four of the Pelanconis’ seven children died in childhood – three during a diphtheria outbreak in 1877. (Along with Lorenzo, daughters Petra and Honorine survived.) Antonio himself was felled by asthma in 1879; he was just 46. Two years later, Isabel married her late husband’s friend and partner Giacomo Tononi (1839-1892), a native of Lombardy, Italy. In the Mexican tradition, she added “de” to her married name. They had one surviving daughter, also named Isabel, but Giacomo too died before his time.
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