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Beverly Hills



  

History of Beverly Hills


Beverly Hills owes its existence to three canyons, Franklin, Coldwater and Benedict which gather scarce water and funnels it down to streams which used to flow freely together at what is now the junction of Beverly Drive and Sunset Blvd.

 The area was originally settled by Tongva Native Americans drawn by the water who hunted wildlife and farmed buckwheat oats, cucumber and prickly pear. They named the place the Gathering of the Waters. After the Spanish arrived in 1769, led by Don Jose Gaspar de Portola, the name of the area became translated as El Rodeo de las Aguas. By 1844 smallpox brought by the Spanish wiped out 2/3 of the Indian population.

California became part of the United States in 1848 through the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which marked the end of the Mexican-American War. The Republic of California was admitted as a U.S. state on September 9, 1850.

Major Henry Hancock, best know for Hancock Park, bought a huge tract in the city. After the Civil War oil men drilled for oil. The Beverly Hills Oil Field is still productive serviced by four slant drilling urban drilling island that suck oil out from under the city’s buildings including its high school.

In 1906, oil man Burton Green and his wife renamed the land Beverly Hills in honor of Beverly Farms, Massachusetts. Green hired landscape architect Wilbur D. Cook to lay out wide sinuous street to curve along the hills. The cities first roads, Canon, Crescent, Carmelita, Elevado, Lomitas and Rodeo, were built in 1907. Influenced by the Boston’s Emerald Necklace, Cook created left space for greenery in his road design.

In 1912 the Beverly Hills Hotel was built at the site where the waters gathered. The hotel also served as the community’s theater, meeting place and church. The elegant hotel attracted movie stars from nearby Hollywood. Beverly Hills was incorporated as a city in 1914. Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford built their mansion, Pickfair, in the city in 1919. A slew of other stars also built homes, including Gloria Swanson, Will Rogers, Charlie Chaplin, and Rudolph Valentino.

During the Roaring 20’s Beverly Hills built a motor speedway which soon hosted radio broadcasts of auto races.  Due to the urging of Will Rogers and Mary Pickford, the city fought off annexation to the city of Los Angeles in 1923. More movie stars moved in bringing elegance and wealth.

After World War II, the city put itself forward as one of the most glamorous locales in the world to live and play. Rodeo Drive became a must-visit center of high end shopping. The city’s image was enhanced by shows and movies including “The Beverly Hillbillies,” “Beverly Hills Cop,” and “Beverly Hills 90210.”

Description of Beverly Hills


Beverly Hills is one of the richest cities in the world, with a median home price of more than $2.3 million in 2008. Beverly Hills is a surrounded on nearly all sides by the City of Los Angeles, with the Eastern section touching the City of West Hollywood. Originally, Beverly Hills real estate was marketed as being halfway between downtown Los Angeles and the beach.

Residents of Beverly Hills


The population is 34,000 people, which are 53% women, 47% men. There is rent control. The median age is 45.3. The median household income is $144,637. Most of the housing is at least 40 years old. The city is 85% White, 7% Asian, 5% Hispanic 2% African American. 20% of the population is Iranian.

Rentals in Beverly Hills


Renters compose 28% of the population. They rent both entire homes in the hills, to more modest duplexes and apartment buildings in the area south of Sunset Boulevard, calling to mind another movie, 1998’s ‘The Slums of Beverly Hills.”
Homes can rent for thousands of dollars a month. Apartments begin around $1700 for a one bedroom and go up depending on the amenities. Beverly Hills does have rent control.

Fun Things to do in Beverly Hills


The city is best known for its fine dining at restaurants like the Belvedere, Ortolan, and Spago, and world famous shopping along Beverly Drive and Rodeo Drive. It’s the best place in Los Angeles County to pick up that Valentine’s Day Gift of $36,000.00 earrings for your honey, according to a recent newspaper ad.


At the other end of the spectrum, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has a succession of free exhibits at its headquarters at 8949 Wilshire Boulevard, where it often offers Hollywood premieres for free to invited guests. It also has a screening series of classic films open to the public for $5 a ticket.