Surely named for Florence Edith Walters (1881-1944), then-wife of Montrose cofounder John Franklin “J. Frank” Walters (1865-1941). Born Florence Breckwedel in Manhattan, she was the daughter of a well-to-do pawnbroker; her only sibling Harry became a physician and would later move out to SoCal himself. J. Frank Walters was a real estate speculator from Brooklyn who had relocated to San Francisco by 1899, then to Los Angeles in 1906. It’s unclear how the couple met, but when they tied the knot in 1910, Florence was already J. Frank’s third wife: his most recent ex, with whom he had a daughter named Miriam, had accused him of physical abuse and financial fraud. Florence herself would divorce J. Frank in 1924. Presumably their union was still happy in 1913, when Florencita Drive was christened. Florence Walters never remarried and remained in L.A. with her mother. J. Frank Walters disappeared after 1925 – he may have moved elsewhere and/or operated under a different name – but was back in town by 1940.
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