Tarabella (0)

Not the obscure mythological deity it has been assumed to represent, but the name of city councilor and arbitrageur Albert Koba’s dog. Born 1878, Koba was also a busy real-estate developer, creating and naming streets in Lilleküla (see Endla), Pelgulinn (this one, see below) and Sikupilli (Asunduse), many named after the more bipedal members of his family. Despite the rumors, there seem to be only five (maybe six) ‘Kobaesque’ street names attributed to him in all: the present one, renamed Timuti in 1939; his own: Alberti, now Roo; Olga, his blameless better half (divorced 1927), now Pebre (another Olga once existed, now Vainu, but perhaps a bit far from his usual haunts); Oskari, now Ristiku, and Grigori, now Õie, both after after local alderman Oskar Gregory (friend? business partner? in-law? bear or seal?...). Another street, poss. the sixth, Sambla, now Nabra, named on the same date as Olga, can be seen on the 1922 map of Tallinn, but no information on this found so far.Koba’s name seems to have once been spelled Kooba, a word related to (from?) the Võro* (his parents were from Tartu) kooba, an outdoor, semi-underground cellar for storing potatoes. That’s growth.

* For spelling, see Kõivu.