Beverly Hills Real Estate
Beverly Hills is an affluent city located within the heart of Los Angeles with its own government and a population over 34,000. Known for its world-class shopping and luxury estates, Beverly Hills has long been home to the rich and famous. With a storied past dating back to pre-Columbian times when the indigenous Tongva people called this place, “the merging of the waters”, Beverly Hills has long been a place valued for its natural resources: water and later on oil.
Today Beverly Hills sits like a jewel in the crown of Los Angeles: verdant parks, winding streets, wide promenades, large estates, luxury retail, famous and wealthy residents. Captain Gaspar de Portola happened on the beautiful setting of what is now Beverly Hills in 1769, on his way north in search of Monterey. By the 1820s Dona Maria Rita Valdez had claimed the land to what is now Beverly Hills, and set up a ranchero estate there. Dona Maria sold this land to founding Angelino Benjamin Wilson for $500 in 1854, who sold off smaller parcels over the coming decades as California real estate transitioned from huge landholdings to smaller estates and developments as masses migrated from the east, following accounts of Californian paradise.
Initially ranch and farmland, Beverly Hills began development as a luxury real estate destination in the late 19th century. By 1906 a group of oil speculators, headed by Burton Green, founded the Rodeo Land and Water Company with the idea of creating the idyllic residential community in the Los Angeles area. Green settled on the name, Beverly Hills, and was the visionary behind its design, layout of community parks, and tree-lined streets. In order to boost lot sales in the new community, the group commissioned the building of the grand and legendary Beverly Hills Hotel. The scheme worked, and soon the wealthy establishment from all over the country was flocking to the up-and-coming Beverly Hills.
Beverly Hills has long forged ties to the entertainment industry, ever since the days of the wildly popular king and queen of Hollywood, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks built their estate, dubbed Pickfair by the press, in the newly minted city of Beverly Hills. Other stars of Hollywood’s early golden years who built in Beverly Hills include Thomas Ince, Gloria Swanson, Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, Jack Warner, Marion Davies, Harry Cohn, Claude Rains and the oil heir, Ned Doheny who commissioned the world-famous Greystone Mansion. This Hollywood connection lasts to this day with many entertainment industry titans including Metro Golden Mayer, William Morris Endeavor Agency, United Talent Agency, Paradigm Agency, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences are all headquartered in Beverly Hills. Numerous other production companies, agencies, and entertainment guilds also call Beverly Hills home.
From the flats to the hills above Sunset Blvd., there are many neighborhoods that provide regal homes on large lots and with privacy maintained by hedges and long driveways. Modern Mediterranean style homes are popular along with Colonial Revival, Spanish, and Modernist Architecture. Ornate home styles and accoutrement are popular with the residents who love luxury at its finest. As one shops along Beverly Hill’s famous Rodeo Drive, you will see the finest cars, clothes, and a celebrity or two walking its fabled streets and perusing the high end shops. Beverly Hills prides itself on its parks and landscaping: the city spends $1.5 million annually on upkeep on its six city parks, and over $150,000 annually watering the city’s 23,000 trees. Beverly Hills’ gorgeous library and city hall draw accolades from across the world for their beauty and vast collection. Beverly Hills’ city government is well run and envied by the rest of the county for its incredible services and maintenance. Beverly Hills’ schools are the highest achieving in LA county. The city’s aura of exclusivity is enhanced by the immaculate city maintenance and services.
Places of Interest:
Beverly Hills Hotel:
The famous hotel and bungalows opened in 1912, before Beverly Hills was even incorporated as a city. This Mediterranean Revival Style building and 23 bungalows that dot the famous gardens have provided a sanctuary for actors and entertainment bigwigs for decades. Famous visitors include Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, The Beatles, Princess Diana, John Wayne and Henry Fonda. Today guests of all kinds (including the rich and famous) enjoy the quintessential Hollywood Glamour embodied by the Beverly Hills Hotel, and you can enjoy a meal or a cocktail there, for business or pleasure, any day of the week.
Greystone Mansion:
Also known as the Doheny Mansion, the home was originally home to the famous oil family and now exists as a public park and event space. The house was rented to movie studios in the 50s and 60s and remains one of the most popular locations in cinema. The mansion became a public park and event space in 1971. A popular film location to this day, the film production There Will Be Blood restored the bowling lanes so they could be used in the climactic scene of the film. Today there are several annual events hosted by Friends of Greystone including The Annual Hollywood Ball benefiting Pure Foundation which helps children around the globe. The park is open most days to the public and is a classic example of Beverly Hills Architecture.
Virginia Robinson Gardens:
Virginia Robinson Gardens is a beautiful example of classic Los Angeles architecture and is known as the first luxury estate of Beverly Hills,. The presence of its former owner and benefactress Virginia Robison is still quite strong in the mission and vision of this public garden and estate. She was an adored hostess and philanthropist in life, and she left her beautiful estate to Los Angeles County upon her death. Open Tuesday-Friday from 10am-1pm to the public, the gardens also host gardening classes, guided tours, lectures, special events, and the Garden Tour party in May each year.
Rodeo Drive:
One of California’s world famous shopping areas, the heart of Rodeo Drive is a 3 block long shopping district with haute couture boutiques and high end luxury goods. Famous brands that have storefronts on Rodeo Drive include Chanel, Dior, Dulce & Gabanna, Fendi, Gucci, Harry Winston, Hermes, Jimmy Choo, Luis Vuitton, Mui Mui, Prada, Roberto Cavalli, Valentino, Versace, and Yves St. Laurent. Bars and lounges also abound on this famous promenade. It is easy to spend the day shopping, window shopping, and people watching on this lively and sheik heart of Beverly Hills.
BEVERLY HILLS RESOURCES:
- City of Beverly Hills
- Beverly Hills School District
- Beverly Hills Events Calendar
- Rodeo Drive Directory
- Greystone Mansion
- Virginia Robinson Gardens
- Beverly Hills Hotel
- The Peninsula Hotel
- The Beverly Wilshire Hotel
- The Montage Hotel
- The Luxe Hotel
- The Four Seasons
- The Hotel Bel Air
- Saks Fifth Avenue
- Barney’s New York
- Neiman Marcus