Louella Irene Sibley (née Bright, 1858-1926) named this street after herself on a 1905 tract she called Walgrove. Born in Wisconsin and raised in Cleveland, Louella and her first husband Dr. Henry Taft moved to St. Louis c. 1879 and had a daughter, Irene Belle. His livelihood sapped by tuberculosis, Henry overdosed on opium in 1883; he was only 28. Louella took Irene to Los Angeles six years later and married the 11-years-younger George Sibley on Christmas Eve 1892. They settled in Lincoln Heights and had another daughter, Louella Marie, but an undisclosed illness afflicting the elder Louella drove the family to Santa Monica in 1900. The ocean air clearly restored her vitality as she soon forged a successful career as a real estate agent – one of the first local women in that field. In 1905, she established the Guaranty Realty Company, appointed herself its president, and constructed offices on the northeast corner of Windward and Pacific (then part of Trolleyway). The building still stands. Ultimately, Louella Sibley prioritized her work over her marriage, and George sued for divorce in 1909 on the grounds of desertion.
Find it on the map:
