Whitsett Avenue

Named for the same guy who inspired the San Fernando Valley’s much-longer Whitsett Avenue: real estate dealer William Paul Whitsett (1875-1965). This Whitsett Avenue came first: it was named in 1906 on the Walnut Lawn tract, owned by Whitsett himself and announced to the public on January 7th of that year – just one short month after Whitsett and his family arrived in Los Angeles. (They had previously lived in Chicago, IL and Sullivan County, IN, where Whitsett made his money in coal.) Five years later, Whitsett found his true calling when he was hired as sales manager for the brand new town of Van Nuys. The Whitsetts actually lived in Walnut Lawn (on the corner of Florence and Whitsett) until 1913, when they relocated to Van Nuys.