Beverly Hills
“The only reason to have money is to tell any SOB in the world to go to hell.”
– Humphrey Bogart, former Beverly Hills resident
The LA Oasis
Beverly Hills is the crown jewel of Los Angeles’s residential neighborhoods. Most people living outside of its famous zip code are either trying to live there or acting like they already do. Beverly Hills has the privacy of outer-suburban living with its winding, shaded drives, well-watered greenery and sprawling, palace-like mansions, but also provides the convenience of city living with its quaint downtown shopping area and its proximity to the buzzing hives of West Hollywood, Westwood and Century City. Some of the homes in Beverly Hills are among the most extravagant in the world, and tour buses drive through on a daily basis to display the architectural styles and sweeping lawn setups to pop-eyed tourists. Celebrity homes also dot the landscape, at least if you believe what the star-map vendors tell you. Home prices range from $500k to well over $10 million, and with its famous landmarks (like the Beverly Hills Hotel, Greystone Mansion and Park, and Rodeo Drive), plus the view from some of the higher-up streets, the neighborhood isn’t getting more accessible anytime soon.
Beverly Hills Trivia
- Together with Bel Aire and Holmby Hills, Beverly Hills is known as one point of the “Platinum Triangle”
- Rodeo Drive is named after Rancho Rodeo de las Aguas, the area’s original name from the 1700s
- Beverly Hills is home to the famous Playboy Mansion, as well as the homes of George Clooney, Madonna and a legion of other major celebrities
- Beverly Hills High School is built on the site of the 1920s-era Beverly Hills Speedway
- Before it was a renowned affluent neighborhood, Beverly Hills was an agricultural center for lima beans
