Beverly Hills

Beverly Hills, city, western Los Angeles county, California, U.S., completely surrounded by the city of Los Angeles. The original inhabitants of the region, the Tongva (or Gabrielino) people, first made contact with the Spanish in 1769. In 1838 the land was deeded to Maria Rita Valdez Villa, the widow of a Spanish soldier, who there built the Rancho Rodeo de las Aguas. The land was used mostly for cattle and sheep ranching until 1906, when it was organized as a residential area called Beverly, for Beverly Farms, Massachusetts; in 1912 the Beverly Hills Hotel was erected. In 1919 film stars Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks built their estate, Pickfair, there, which began the fashion among Hollywood celebrities and executives to build lavish homes in the city; these are among the city’s most popular tourist attractions. Among the many celebrities who have resided in the city are Fred Astaire, Marlon Brando, George Burns and Gracie Allen, Charlie Chaplin, Cher, Marlene Dietrich, Harrison Ford, Charlton Heston, Rock Hudson, Boris Karloff, Gene Kelly, Groucho Marx, Marilyn Monroe, Paul Newman, Jack Nicholson, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Bruce Springsteen, and Rudolph Valentino.

Beverly Hills is transected east-west by three main boulevards: north of Sunset Boulevard are foothills containing the Beverly Hills Hotel (with its famous Polo Lounge and pink bungalows) and luxurious mansions among the winding drives; south of Sunset Boulevard are the flatlands, containing other expensive homes and, between Santa Monica Boulevard and Wilshire Boulevard, many chic shops, boutiques, and department stores. The most exclusive of these are on the old Rodeo Drive and the newer Two Rodeo Drive, a multilevel shopping street in mock Mediterranean style. The city also has some light manufacturing south of Wilshire Boulevard, though tourism is its economic mainstay. The area of Beverly Hills—5.7 square miles (14.8 square km)—contains several parks and is profusely planted with trees, shrubbery, and lawns. The city is bordered to the southwest by 20th Century Studios, whose lots, however, have now largely been converted into Century City, a shopping mall, office-building centre, and theatre complex. The city contains a branch of the Museum of Television and Radio. Inc. 1914. Pop. (2000) 33,784; (2010) 34,109.