The street is one of those in the Portman Estate area with classical names, such as Cato Street, Homer Street, and Virgil Place.[1] According to Gillian Bebbington, all four street names were inspired by Edward Homer who was a friend of John Simon Harcourt who owned the land on which the streets were built.[2]
Crawford Mansions, where the poet T.S. Eliot once lived, is located on the eastern side of the street on the corner with Crawford Street. A green plaque next to the Homer Row entrance to the building notes Eliot's former home. He lived at number 18 with his wife Vivienne from 1916 to 1918. During this time, Eliot was working as a teacher at Highgate School where he taught future Poet Laureate John Betjeman.[4]