Two different guys were purported to have been Wilton Place’s namesake. The street itself originated in 1901 as just two short blocks between Pico and 16th (now Venice) on a tract named for its co-owner William G. Nevin, a railroad exec. Four “Places” were laid out on the tract, from west to east: Wilton, Gramercy, St Andrews, and Manhattan. The 1923 obituary for Walter James Horne, real estate speculator, claimed that Wilton Place was named after his son Walter Wilton Horne (1890-1975). Sixteen years later, the obituary for Canadian-born paving contractor George R. Wilton (1860-1939) insisted that he was the street’s honoree. Who to believe? I’m going with Horne: He was listed as a co-owner of the W.G. Nevin tract and also controlled property immediately west of Wilton Place, whereas I found no evidence that George Wilton paved the W.G. Nevin tract or had any connection to its developers. As for Walter Wilton Horne, our probable namesake, he was a realty operator and yachtsman who spent most of his life in Long Beach. His middle name was his London-born mother Caroline’s (1858-1933) maiden name, so Wilton Place is arguably for her.
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