Helen Hunt Jackson’s 1884 novel Ramona, the saga of an indigenous couple trying to survive racism and other outrages in the wake of California’s 1850 statehood, was such a runaway bestseller that numerous Southland communities added streets called Ramona in honor of the book’s half-white heroine. (Jackson’s vivid depictions of the bucolic SoCal landscape attracted hordes of tourists and transplants, so town builders were more than happy to play up the connection.) Ramona’s love interest, Alessandro Assis, a loyal and sensitive sheep shearer from the Luiseño tribe in Temecula, has a few tribute streets as well – including this one, named in 1897 by city ordinance. (It had been called Pasadena Boulevard.) But note the misspelling: to judge from old newspapers, folks back then were utterly clueless about whether the character’s name was “Alessandro”, “Allesandro”, or “Allessandro”. It’s not like they couldn’t just check Hunt’s novel for reference!
Find it on the map:
