She was said to be one of the most beautiful women in California. And she married two of the region's richest men. But all most people know about her is the tiny street that shares her name.

Arcadia Street runs right next to the 101 freeway in downtown Los Angeles. Barbara Marinacci says it's named for a woman whose beauty was legendary in the mid-19th century.

"Maria Francisca Paola Arcadia Bandini."

Marinacci, who wrote "California Spanish Place Names," says, "Arcadia is sort of an almost Shangri-La type of place. And it actually existed and maybe still exists in the Peloponnesian area of Greece. Very pastoral and beautiful."

At the age of 14, the beautiful Arcadia married 43-year-old merchant Abel Stearns, the richest man in Southern California. He named his downtown L.A. office building and the street that ran alongside after his wife. But Arcadia was unlucky at love. She was widowed twice and died in 1912, childless, and without a will. Her estate was valued at $7 million.

(Airdate: 5/30/2009)