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Beverly Hills

Beverly Hills, California
General law city
City of Beverly Hills
Beverly Hills at the corner of Rodeo Drive and Via Rodeo in 2012.
Beverly Hills at the corner of Rodeo Drive and Via Rodeo in 2012.
Flag of Beverly Hills, California
Flag
Official seal of Beverly Hills, California
Seal
Coat of arms of Beverly Hills, California
Coat of arms
Nickname(s): "Garden Spot of the World", "B.H.", "Bev Hills", "90210"
Location of Beverly Hills in Los Angeles County, California
Location of Beverly Hills in Los Angeles County, California
Aerial view, 3D computer generated image
Aerial view, 3D computer generated image
Beverly Hills, California is located in the US
Beverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills, California
Location in the United States
Coordinates: 34°4′23″N 118°23′58″W / 34.07306°N 118.39944°W / 34.07306; -118.39944Coordinates: 34°4′23″N 118°23′58″W / 34.07306°N 118.39944°W / 34.07306; -118.39944
Country  United States of America
State  California
County Los Angeles
Incorporated January 28, 1914
Named for Beverly Farms
Government
 • Type Council-manager
 • Mayor John A. Mirisch
 • Vice mayor Nancy H. Krasne
 • City council William W. Brien, M.D.
Lili Bosse
Julian A. Gold, M.D.
 • Interim city manager Mahdi Aluzri
Area
 • Total 5.710 sq mi (14.790 km2)
 • Land 5.708 sq mi (14.784 km2)
 • Water 0.002 sq mi (0.006 km2)  0.04%
Elevation 259 ft (79 m)
Population (April 1, 2010)
 • Total 34,109
 • Estimate (2013) 34,658
 • Density 6,000/sq mi (2,300/km2)
Time zone Pacific (UTC−8)
 • Summer (DST) PDT (UTC−7)
ZIP codes 90209–90213
Area codes 310/424, 323
FIPS code 06-06308
GNIS feature IDs 1652672, 2409840
Website www.beverlyhills.org

Beverly Hills is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, surrounded by the cities of Los Angeles and West Hollywood. Originally a Spanish ranch where lima beans were grown, Beverly Hills was incorporated in 1914 by a group of investors who had failed to find oil, but found water instead and eventually decided to develop it into a town. By 2013, its population had grown to 34,658. Sometimes referred to as "90210", one of its primary ZIP codes, it was home to many actors and celebrities throughout the 20th century. The city includes the Rodeo Drive shopping district and the Beverly Hills Oil Field.

Gaspar de Portolá arrived in the area that would later become Beverly Hills on August 3, 1769, travelling along native trails which followed the present-day route of Wilshire Boulevard.

The area was settled by Maria Rita Quinteros de Valdez and her husband in 1828. They called their 4,500 acres (18 km2) of property the Rancho Rodeo de las Aguas. in 1854, she sold the ranch to Benjamin Davis Wilson (1811–1878) and Henry Hancock (1822–1883). By the 1880s, the ranch had been subdivided into parcels of 75 acres (0.30 km2) and was being rapidly bought up by anglos from Los Angeles and the East coast.

Henry Hammel and Andrew H. Denker acquired most of it and used it for farming lima beans. At this point, the area was known as the Hammel and Denker Ranch. By 1888, Denker and Hammel were planning to build a town called Morocco on their holdings.

In 1900, Burton E. Green, Charles A. Canfield, Max Whittier, Frank H. Buck, Henry E. Huntington, William G. Kerckhoff, William F. Herrin, W.S. Porter, and Frank H. Balch, formed the Amalgamated Oil Company, bought the Hammel and Denker ranch, and began looking for oil. They did not find enough to exploit commercially by the standards of the time, though. In 1906, therefore, they reorganized as the Rodeo Land and Water Company, renamed the property "Beverly Hills," subdivided it, and began selling lots. The development was named "Beverly Hills" after Beverly Farms in Beverly, Massachusetts and because of the hills in the area. The first house in the subdivision was built in 1907, although sales remained slow.


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