Beverly Hills
Beverly Hills is the center stage of luxurious lifestyle and the pinnacle of sought-after international design and culture in Southern California. The city reaches from Whittier Drive in the West to San Vicente Blvd in the East with Los Angeles is circumambient.
Originally settled as Rancho Rodeo de las Aguas (of which the famous Rodeo Drive is named), the area was sought after by oil prospectors in the early 1900s. Instead, the developers found an abundance of water. They formed the Rodeo Land and Water Company in 1906. The following year the iconic Beverly Hills Sign & Lily Pond was built, serving as an area landmark and center of Beverly Gardens Park.
Burton Green, a founder of Rodeo Land and Water, bifurcated the large ranch area into parcels. He named the town after Beverly Farms, Massachusetts – before that the name was inspired by a town named Beverley, (Beaver Lake), in England.
Green also began building and opened The Beverly Hills Hotel with architect Elmer Grey in 1912, two years before the city was incorporated. The hotel was a mainstay for encouraging visitors to purchase land in Beverly Hills. It is a central facet of Beverly Hills real estate history.
A resident of Beverly Hills, in the 1930s, Jack Warner requested that Warner Bros Studios art department design the iconic logo shield insignia that is laden across the town and remains the most emblematic and recognized representation of any city across the entire world.
In 1941, studio founder Harry Warner became an owner of The Beverly Hills Hotel, who with others and famed architect Paul Revere Williams, reimagined the style with a glamorized iconic pink, green and banana leaf wallpaper. Visiting businessmen and Hollywood movie stars chose Beverly Hills as their destination to build luxurious mansions.
The historic allure remains to this day with many new developments setting triumphant records while innovating the world of architecture, design, and technology across the globe.
Notable neighborhoods of Beverly Hills include The Flats, Downtown Beverly Hills, South of Wilshire, North of Sunset, and Trousdale.
Holmby Hills
The zenith of the platinum triangle is Holmby Hills. This area adjacent to Bel Air and Beverly Hills was founded by Arthur Letts, who named the location after Holdenby, England in 1919 with a vision to develop grand residences there.
The Letts Estate built by Arthur R. Kelly, later became known as The Playboy Mansion after it was purchased in 1974 and continued on that way until it was sold again in 2016, remaining the most prolific estate in the neighborhood.
The next most emblematic home of the area was built in the late 1980s, enshrined as a sprawling residential jewel dubbed “The Manor.” This French-chateau style mansion is the focus of media enchantment as the largest and most opulent residence of its kind.
The 400-acre neighborhood is primarily split into North of Sunset and South of Sunset. Holmby Park, was dedicated in 1954 by the Daughters of the American Revolution. The bucolic parkland is nestled to the South near the LA Country Club.
Bel Air
Along the Southern border of the neighborhood across from UCLA, the two main entrances to Bel Air are the East Gate at Beverly Glen and the West Gate at Bellagio Way. The Upper Bel Air community extends to Mulholland in the North and Sepulveda in the West. The lavish residential sanctuary is a popular home to the city’s most elite.
At the heart of the community is the Bel-Air Country Club and the Hotel Bel-Air. The hotel was originally built in 1922 as an estate planning office by Alphonzo Bell, an entrepreneur who founded the area. The course was open for golf way back in 1927. The structure was remodeled in 1946 and again in 1982 and is a popular club to the city’s A-listers.
The neighborhood is a part of the coveted, “three Bs,” that also includes Brentwood & Beverly Hills. It is the location of the largest and most expensive homes in Southern California.
Hollywood Hills
The glitz and glamour of the silver screen is immortalized locally by starlets that have called the legendary Hollywoodland home. The famous sign was built in 1923 to advertise housing in the area above Hollywood. The area stretches from the Hollywood sign, across the 101 and West to Beverly Hills, bordering Mulholland to the North and Hollywood Blvd to the South.
Located within the Hollywood Hills region is the famous Runyon Canyon Park and Wisdom Tree hiking areas. At Runyon, “No Man’s Canyon” is the name given to the gorge beginning at Franklin and Fuller. The canyon was the seasonal campsite for the Tongva Indians. The peak boasts circumferential views of the entire city and breezy fresh air. The trails are an enticing terrain for intensive cardio exercise or a relaxing dog walk.
The vast expanse is split into several notable subdivided regions that include Beachwood Canyon, Lake Hollywood, Outpost Estates, Mt Olympus, Laurel Canyon, and The Bird Streets.
Sunset Strip
Sunset Blvd, the name first found in city records from 1888, originated as a small road that was expanded further west. Connecting to other dusty trails between the farms, it was once a haven for avocados groves and poinsettia fields. By 1930 the winding route was known as the “County Strip.” The 1.7 mile legendary expanse of road evolved into an iconic entertainment and real estate mecca that comprises residential ridgeline access boasting infinite views, luxurious shopping, and world-renowned venues.
In the 1920’s, the area attracted a number of casinos and speakeasies. The Sunset Tower Hotel was built by architect Leland A Bryant, opening in 1931 as an exemplary Art Deco development. Other notable landmarks of the Strip include Chateau Marmont, The Players Club, Ciro’s, and the Sunset Plaza.
Throughout the 1970s and 80s the Sunset Strip’s Tower Records became a place where local and visiting musicians would go. Nearby, The Viper Room opened, a popular club for Hollywood’s actors and musicians.
The apex of West Hollywood and Beverly Hills – an area between San Vicente Blvd and Doheny – hosts our new location, The Beverly Hills Estates. Other notable buildings adjacent include the Sierra Towers by architect Jack Charney, The Edition by architect John Pawson, and The London Hotel by architect Kollin Altomare.
The Sunset Strip remains a focus for new developments such as the Pendry Residences and the much-anticipated Frank Gehry building, (the previous site of the famous Garden of Allah).
New private residential architecture adorns the hillside above as architects construct wondrous designs that attract international connoisseurs, collectors, and investors seeking to experience the LA dream. Notable neighborhoods include The Bird Streets, Sunset Plaza, Hollywood Hills West, and Norma Triangle.
Brentwood
In 1887, the founders of Santa Monica donated land to the federal government for US Veterans in an area between Westwood and the East part of Brentwood. The border of the neighborhood begins at Federal and Wilshire, meanders along Wilshire and Montana to Sunset Blvd with 26th street to the West, and stretches up to the Santa Monica Mountains with the Pacific Palisades buffering the area to the ocean.
The heart of Brentwood is San Vicente Blvd, faceted with shops, cafes, and the Brentwood Country Mart est. 1948. The scenic route is a cultivated tree-lined expanse with an array of architectural designs across the verdant hillside community with the Brentwood Country Club set as a key expanse that boasts rolling green fairways.
The neighborhood, along with being an alluring sanctum of the three B’s that include Beverly Hills and Bel-Air, includes several sub-districts: Brentwood Circle, Brentwood Glen, Bundy Canyon, Crestwood Hills, Mandeville Canyon, Sullivan Canyon, the “Polo Fields,” Brentwood Park, and Brentwood Terrace.
Pacific Palisades
Nicknamed “the Palisades” and “Pali” by surfers and locals, the three-mile length of the Palisades coast spans from after Sorrento Beach in Santa Monica to the south ending at Sunset Point Beach with Malibu to the north. Beaches along the Pacific Palisades coast include: Will Rogers State Beach, Sunset Point Beach, and Ginger Rogers Beach. The many parks within the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area lie along the ridges above the community along with local parks that include Will Rogers State Historic Park.
Malibu
Known for its Mediterranean climate and ocean coastline, Malibu is the ultimate California lifestyle at its best. The sandy beaches and clear water attract international surfers and beachgoers from across the globe. The 21 mile stretch of coastline extends south from Tuna Canyon to Point Mugu in the north with Pacific Coast Highway dividing the Malibu Beaches.
‘Humaliwo’ is the word Malibu derives from, a Spanish interpretation of a Cumash Native American phrase that means ‘the surf sounds loudly.’
Frederick Hastings & Rhoda May Knight Rindge acquired the 13,000 acre area in 1891. The Rindges were known as the King & Queen of Malibu. They had several notable homes, in Los Angeles (Harvard & 25th), Santa Monica (Ocean & Wilshire), and Malibu Canyon. Rhoda was an entrepreneur that founded Malibu Potteries in 1926, established a cattle ranch, operated the Malibu Movie Colony – beachfront cottage rentals, and built the since-combusted Rindge Castle on Laudamas Hill.
Rhoda Rindge Adamson, their daughter, built the still-standing historic Spanish-style Adamson House designed by Stiles Clements – a cultural landmark and often referred to as Malibu’s first beach house.
Popular neighborhoods include Malibu Colony, Serra Retreat, Broad Beach, El Matador Beach, Carbon Beach, Malibu Cove, Escondido Beach, Topanga Beach, Point Dume, Malibu Park, Malibu West, and Big Rock Mesa.