History Of Beverly Hills, CA
Beverly Hills, though not a waterfront city, is one of the most affluent cities in L.A. County. Unlike L.A. city, it is dominated by celebrities and other very popular rich people and despite its small size and high cost of living, Beverly Hills has a relatively fast-growing population of an around 35,000 people. “90210” is the city’s primary zip code which is also used informally to refer to this beautiful city.
When Spanish administrator Gaspar de Portolá arrived in the area that became today’s Beverly Hills in 1769, it was occupied by a Mexican couple who owned around 4,500 acres. The couple, however, started selling parcels of land in 1854 and by early 1810; the entire ranch was subdivided into 70-acre plots, some of which were owned by the Anglos. Denker and Hammel, two businessmen of German ancestry owned most of the land and used it to grow lima beans. Just as they were about to establish a town under the name Morocco on their joint property, their land was bought off by a newly formed Oil Company which was planning on exploring the area for oil.
The company found an insignificant amount of oil which would have been futile to pursue so instead they rebranded their company to a property management company and gave the area a new name “Beverly Hills.” Beverly Hills became the first planned community constituting of all-whites in the area. Non-whites and Jews were not allowed to buy or live in the area unless on an employment basis.
The community developed gradually and by 1920, it had become a popular destination as big hotels and movie stars had moved into the area. A proposed annexation of Beverly Hills to Los Angles in order to solve the local water crisis in the 1920s was strongly rejected. In the 1940s, African American actors started taking up residence in Beverly Hills leading to a court case where the Judge ruled in favor of the Black people being accorded the same privileges as the Whites.
Since then the city flourished and became an important residential community for people of all races. Today, Beverly Hills boasts of being home to the most sophisticated shopping and dining destination in California-Rodeo Drive. It is also home to hundreds of celebrities especially those working in the film and music industry. Despite being overshadowed by Los Angeles city when it comes to attractions and number of yearly visitors, the city has its own fair share of tourist and tourist attractions. It is worth noting that Beverly Hills, together with West Hollywood, is completely encircled by Lost Angeles city.