Water and Power Associates Informing the Public about Critical Water and Energy Issues facing Los Angeles and California

Historical Background

In 1838, the Mexican governor of California deeded the land grant El Rodeo de las Aguas to Maria Rita Valdez Villa, the Afro Latina widow of a Spanish soldier. Maria Rita, an early California feminist icon, built an adobe ranch house near the intersection of present day Sunset Boulevard and Alpine Drive. She employed a vast posse of cowboys and proceeded to raise cattle and horses.

As was the custom of a time, Maria Rita permitted her livestock to wander freely, but once a year a festive roundup, another kind of rodeo, was held beneath a huge eucalyptus tree at the corner of Pico and Robertson boulevards.

In 1852, three Native Americans ambushed Maria Rita's rancho. A shoot-out and siege followed in a grove of walnut trees at Benedict Canyon and Chevy Chase Drive. Maria Rita survived, but the battle may have influenced her decision just two years later to sell the ranch to Benjamin D. Wilson and Henry Hancock for $4000. However, the legendary waters deserted the new owners; a drought decimated their crops and their cattle died in parched stream beds. However, their names live on today in nearby Mt. Wilson and Hancock Park.

After the Civil War wildcatters and roughnecks drilled oil wells. Cattle gave way to herds of sheep. Edward Preuss bought the ranch in 1868 with the intention of establishing a colony for German immigrant farmers. Preuss dubbed his civic speculation the "City of Santa Maria." He subdivided the soil into five-acre lots and put them up for sale for $10 a parcel. Another drought ruined these plans and the land reverted to sheep and cattle ranching.

Historical Notes

Shortly after the drought, the rancho passed into the hands of two Los Angeles hoteliers who proceeded to grow lima beans on the property. Their first land purchase was made in 1881, and was later added to parcel by parcel. Henry Hammel and Charles Denker, managers of the U.S. Hotel in Los Angeles, proposed their own townsite, to be called Morocco, for the area. Morocco was subdivided in 1888 during the big land boom of 1887-88, the era which saw the start of so many Southern California communities, both successful and unsuccessful. Hammel and Denker’s settlement was centered around the train station at the then junction of Burton Way and Santa Monica Boulevard (in the vicinity of Canon and Beverly Drives today) on the Santa Monica-Los Angeles line, which ran along Santa Monica Boulevard, which had also been named Morocco.

Plans for Morocco were never realized, and the next activities on the ranch centered around a syndicate of investors, known as the Amalgamated Oil Company.

Historical Notes

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. However, they did not find enough to exploit commercially by the standards of the time.

Historical Notes

In 1906, Burton Green and the Amalgamated Oil Company 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.

Historical Notes

The elite northern portion of the new city was divided from the southern portion by the railroad tracks and a commercial triangle between Santa Monica and Wilshire Boulevards. This triangle was originally known as “Beverly” while the rest of the City, located north of Santa Monica Boulevard, was known as “Beverly Hills.”

Historical Notes

The area was created as a real estate attraction, hoping to entice people traveling from Los Angeles to buy parcels of land for development, and could be seen from passer byers on the train that came through town on Santa Monica Boulevard, or as it was once known, as Railway Avenue.

Historical Notes

As in so many of the boom towns of the 1880s, Beverly Hills needed a large resort hotel to give it prominence and establish its reputation. It got that hotel in 1911, when the Rodeo Land and Water Company, in conjunction with Margaret J. Anderson, commissioned Elmer Grey to build his Craftsman/Mission Revival design.

Historical Notes

In September, 1911, Burton Green began construction on The Beverly Hills Hotel. It was opened on May 12, 1912 by Margaret J. Anderson and her son, Stanley S. Anderson, who had been managing the Hollywood Hotel.  The visitors drawn by the hotel were inclined to purchase land in Beverly Hills, and by 1914 the subdivision had a high enough population to incorporate as an independent city.*^

Historical Notes

In 1914, the Rodeo Land and Water Company decided to separate its water business from its real estate business. The Beverly Hills Utility Commission was split off from the land company and incorporated in September, 1914, buying all of the utilities-related assets from the Rodeo Land and Water Company.*^

Historical Notes

A one-trolley car system known as the “Dinky” conveyed guests from a Pacific Electric station at the southwest corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and Canon Drive up Rodeo Drive to the Hotel.

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Two years before Beverly Hills became an incorporated city, the Beverly Hills Hotel opened on May 12, 1912; the hotel initially included the main building and twenty-three separate bungalows in the Mediterranean Revival style, designed by Elmer Grey.*

Historical Notes

Green hired the landscape architect Wilbur D. Cook who, influenced by landscape designer Frederick Law Olmstead, created wide curving streets that hugged the hills. The City's first streets: Rodeo, Canon, Crescent, Carmelita, Elevado and Lomitas were constructed in 1907. Cook also created an emerald necklace for his garden city, with a three-block greensward called Santa Monica Park.+++

Some of Cook’s other Southern California projects include Exposition Park, the Palos Verdes Estates, Los Angeles Civic Center, and portions of Griffith Park. 

Historical Notes

In 1919, Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford bought land on Summit Drive and built a mansion, finished in 1921 and nicknamed "Pickfair" by the press. The glamor associated with Fairbanks and Pickford as well as other movie stars who built mansions in the city contributed to its growing appeal.*^

Historical Notes

Beverly Hills was one of many all-white planned communities started in the Los Angeles area around this time.  Restrictive covenants prohibited non-whites from owning or renting property unless they were employed as servants by white residents. It was also forbidden to sell or rent property to Jews in Beverly Hills.*^

Historical Notes

Originally belonging to the Beverly Hills Hotel, this five acre park adjoining the property across Sunset Boulevard was donated to the City of Beverly Hills by owners Margaret and Stanley Anderson.

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Sunset Municipal Park opened in 1915 as the first municipal park in the Beverly Hills. In 1926, entertainer Will Rogers was appointed first "Honorary Mayor" of Beverly Hills and, in 1952, the City renamed the Park, Will Rogers Memorial Park.

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At one point the “Golden Triangle was nothing more than a modest residential neighborhood containing dozens of bungalow style homes accommodating city occupants of limited monetary means.  A handful of these humble structures remained until the post war era when the city's shopping and financial center enjoyed robust growth, paving the way to the development of a successful commercial district.

Historical Notes

The Beverly Hills Speedway (also called the Los Angeles Speedway) was a 1.25-mile wooden board track for automobile and motorcycle racing in Beverly Hills. It was built in 1919 on 275 acres of land that includes the site of today's Beverly Wilshire Hotel, just outside of the "Golden Triangle". The site was bounded by Wilshire Boulevard, South Beverly Drive, Olympic Boulevard and Lasky Drive.*^

Historical Notes

The new Speedway was built by Jack Prince and Art Pillsbury and was financed by a group of racers and businessmen that called itself the Beverly Hills Speedway Association. The track was the first in the United States to be designed with banked turns incorporating an engineering solution known as a spiral easement.*^

Historical Notes

At the time, the wooden racetrack was ranked second in race quality only to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.^*^*

Historical Notes

Many race cars had paint jobs that read Durant Racing on the sides. Durant was an American race car driver, the son of William C. Durant, a founder of General Motors who was also the co-owner and president of the Beverly Hills Speedway.

Durant Drive in the City of Beverly HIlls was named after these Durants.^*^*

Historical Notes

The Speedway was a great success, not only for racing but also for events. In fact, sometimes the space was so well attended, the parking lots overflowed with cars.

Historical Notes

The Speedway operated for four years and attracted many historically significant competitors including Ralph DePalma, Jimmy Murphy, and Tommy Milton. It was also the site of a racing accident that killed National Champion and Indianapolis 500 winner Gaston Chevrolet in 1920.

Gaston Chevrolet was the younger brother of Louis Chevrolet, who in 1911 co-founded the Chevrolet Motor Company.

Historical Notes

The gigantic eucalyptus trees in the distance ran the length of what today would be Charleville Blvd., a street named for developer Walter G. McCarty's Irish roots. The trees created a natural wind and sound barrier for residential neighborhood north of Wilshire Boulevard, which within five years, would start to become the city's commercial triangle.

Historical Notes

Motorcycle board track racing took place at the short lived Beverly Hills Speedway between 1920 and 1924.

Historical Notes

There is no doubt that board track racing was an incredibly exciting event to witness.  The motorcycles were capable of speeds over 100 mph and represented all the marques of the day.  Manufacturers such as Harley-Davidson, Indian and Excelsior all had factory racing teams with custom built factory race bikes.

Historical Notes

Because the turns were severely banked, it allowed riders to reach speeds of more than 100 miles an hour. Crashes were frequent and horrific—riders who went down faced being impaled by splinters—and often fatal.

Historical Notes

By the mid-‘20s, the sport began to lose its appeal. Perhaps the novelty wore off; certainly the carnage was appalling. Newspapers began referring to motordromes as “murderdromes,” and local governments closed some tracks. Race officials and the motorcycle manufacturers that sponsored racing teams tried to implement measures to slow down the bikes, but that went nowhere. By the early 1930s, board-track motorcycle racing had become a footnote in motorsport history. *#*

Historical Notes

It would soon become apparent that the racetrack wasn't as valuable as the land it was on.  By the mid-twenties the track was dismantled to make way for new developments.

Historical Notes

Coldwater Canyon is a canyon running perpendicular to the Santa Monica Mountains. The canyon is traversed by Coldwater Canyon Drive and Coldwater Canyon Avenue (linked by a short section of Mulholland Drive), which connect the city of Beverly Hills with the community of Studio City in the San Fernando Valley.*

Historical Notes

The Rodeo Land and Water Company later developed the canyon as one of the prime residential areas in Beverly Hills north of Sunset Boulevard.

The legacy of the Rodeo Land and Water Company is intertwined with the history of Beverly Hills. The successful development and promotion of the area helped establish Beverly Hills as a premier residential destination, known for its affluence and celebrity residents.

Historical Notes

In the early 20th century, the area underwent significant development, and Coldwater Canyon became a prominent route. The expansion of Los Angeles and the development of Beverly Hills as an upscale residential area contributed to the importance of Coldwater Canyon as a transportation artery.

Historical Notes

From the early 1920s through the 1960s, pathways dedicated to horse travel ran down the center of several Beverly Hills streets. One stretched from the city's eastern to western boundary, meandering through town down the center of Sunset Boulevard. Another occupied the median of Rodeo Drive, where it replaced an abandoned Pacific Electric trolley line that once connected Santa Monica Boulevard with the Beverly Hills Hotel. Two more snaked their way up Coldwater and Benedict canyons.

The bridle paths served several purposes. They satisfied the recreational urges of the city's many equine enthusiasts. They reinforced the image of Beverly Hills as a place of wealth and privilege. They preserved the rustic feel of a city that was fervently carving itself out of the open countryside of Rancho Rodeo de las Aguas. And lastly, though saddle horses were never as common on city streets as draft horses, they nostalgically recalled that dying breed -- the urban horse. ^*^

Historical Notes

For a time, Beverly Hills' bridle paths teemed with horseback riders and the occasional tally-ho. A grand pageant marked the completion of the city's bridle path network on January 10, 1925. The Bridle Path Association placed signs at the paths' entrances proclaiming that they led from "Beverly Hills to the Sea and the Mountains" -- a reference to the organization's ambitious plans to lace the Santa Monica Mountains with equestrian trails. ^*^

Historical Notes

The city's enthusiasm for horses soon waned and eventually its bridle paths fell into disuse. Another recreational craze briefly gave the paths new life in 1938, when, in the midst of a nationwide bicycle fever, the city opened them up to bicycles -- transforming the old bridle paths into some of the region's finest cycling infrastructure. But after World War II brought an abrupt end to the nation's obsession with biking, the city slowly dismantled the aging paths. By 1965, grassy medians occupied the space where horses once trod. ^*^

Historical Notes

The last race on the track was held in 1924; it wasn't as valuable as the land it was on, and was shuttered and dismantled to make way for new developments, like the 1928 Beverly Wilshire Hotel, which was erected on part of the former racetrack property.

The Speedway was relocated just a few miles away to Culver City (1924), near the intersection of Culver and Overland boulevards (across the street from MGM Studios).

Click HERE see more on the Culver City Speedway.

Historical Notes

In 1923, the 193 acres known as the Beverly Hills Speedway tract owned by Silsby Spalding, Cliff Durant, and Jake Dansinger was sold to Walter G. McCarty at about $10,000 per acre.  By 1924, the entire Speedway property bounded by Wilshire Boulevard, South Beverly Drive, Olympic Boulevard, and Lasky Drive was developed into a proposed residential and business district. #*

Historical Notes

He’s a forgotten name today, but, in the 1920s, there was no more successful real estate developer in a booming greater Los Angeles than Frank L. Meline.  Simultaneously, Meline’s powerhouse firm developed such prominent places as Bel-Air, Brentwood, Beverly Hills, and a host of others in the region.  He expanded his enterprise to form The Meline Bond and Mortgage Company, an unusual move for a residential developer in that he could issue his own mortgages for projects developed by his realty company.*

At the time of this photo 10th Street (now Olympic Boulevard) had not yet been cut through to the west. It was originally named 10th Street, but was renamed Olympic Boulevard for the 1932 Summer Olympics, as that was the occasion of the tenth modern event.

Historical Notes

At the time of this photo 10th Street (now Olympic Boulevard) had not yet been cut through to the west. It was originally named 10th Street, but was renamed Olympic Boulevard for the 1932 Summer Olympics, as that was the occasion of the tenth modern event.

Historical Notes

There are still giant eucalyptus trees that once lined the boundaries of the Beverly Hills Speedway to the north behind the Walter McCarty retail development. Those trees would soon be cut down to make way for Charleville Blvd. To the left you can see El Camino Drive is beginning to make its way south and in the upper left hand corner of the photo you will find the "Beverly Crest" real estate sign on the mountain, very much like its sister sign, "Hollywoodland" only a handful of miles away. The area from where the photo was taken was known as Beverly Heights. ##++

Historical Notes

Frank Meline was an architect and the first sales agent in Bel-Air for developer Alphonzo Bell (1875-1947).  Meline subdivided Pacific Palisades’ California Riviera neighborhood, where some streets also bear the Claude Fisher Company seen in Monte-Mar Vista.  Meline was a prominent developer "who in 1912 formed his hown Los Angeles construction company, which he expanded in 1919 to a full-service real-estate development and sales opertion with (by 1924) eighteen branch offices throughout the Los Angeles basin.  As a broker, Meline sold half the homes purchased in Beverly Hills before 1930.^

Historical Notes

The street called Preuss Road in the picture is now called Robertson Blvd. The Preuss Road name survives on a street south of Pico.

Historical Notes

Sunset Boulevard stretches from Figueroa Street in Downtown Los Angeles to the Pacific Coast Highway at the Pacific Ocean in the Pacific Palisades. Approximately 22 miles in length, the famous boulevard roughly mimics the arc of the mountains that form the northern boundary of the Los Angeles Basin, following the path of a 1780s cattle trail from the Pueblo de Los Angeles to the ocean.

The portion of Sunset Boulevard that passes through Beverly Hills was once named Beverly Boulevard.^*

Historical Notes

In 1930, land was purchased from the Pacific Electric to build the city hall. Construction lasted from 1931 to 1932. The building was designed by architects William J. Gage and Harry G. Koerner in the California Churrigueresque style, a type of Spanish Revival Architecture. The building was constructed by the Herbert M. Baruch Corporation. When the city hall opened in 1932, it was called by the Los Angeles Times the "largest and most expensive City Hall of any municipality its size in the country."*

Click HERE to see more Early Views of Beverly Hills City Hall.

Historical Notes

William Penn Adair "Will" Rogers, in addition to being a cowboy, vaudeville performer, humorist, newspaper columnist, social commentator, and stage and motion picture actor, was the honorary Mayor of Beverly Hills (1926 – 1928). After the city was incorporated it was run by an appointed city manager. The "mayor's office" was merely a ceremonial one that enabled Will to make more jokes about do-nothing politicians such as himself.

Historical Notes

The first City Hall building faced south at the end of Crescent Drive, right before Santa Monica Boulevard. It was demolished when the new City Hall was erected in 1932 and its demise made way for South Santa Monica Boulevard to the east and west and Crescent Drive to go all the way through to the South.

Historical Notes

In 1930, land was purchased from the Pacific Electric to build the new city hall. Construction lasted from 1931 to 1932.  The building was designed by architects William J. Gage and Harry G. Koerner in the Spanish Revival architectural style (though sometimes also characterized Churrigueresque). When the city hall opened in 1932, it was called by The Los Angeles Times the "largest and most expensive City Hall of any municipality its size in the country."

Historical Notes

Beverly Hills City Hall is surrounded by North Santa Monica Boulevard, North Rexford Drive, South Santa Monica Boulevard, and North Crescent Drive.  Its main entrance is at 455 North Rexford Drive.

Historical Notes

Beverly Hills City Hall is surrounded by North Santa Monica Boulevard, North Rexford Drive, South Santa Monica Boulevard, and North Crescent Drive.  Its main entrance is at 455 North Rexford Drive.

Click HERE to see more Early Views of Beverly Hills City Hall.

Historical Notes

Architects Ralph C. Flewellin and Allison and Allison built the Beverly Hills Post Office in 1932-1933 in the Italian Renaissance Revival style, with building in terra cotta and brick.

Historical Notes

The Beverly Hills Post Office (also known as the Crescent Drive Post Office) was part of the original civic center built for the growing young city. Legendary humorist and honorary mayor Will Rogers was credited with securing funding for the building from the federal government, after sending a typically folksy-yet-biting letter to Secretary of the Treasury Andrew Mellon.

Ralph C. Flewelling designed the building with consulting architects Allison and Allison. The building’s stately Italian Renaissance Revival exterior leads into a double-height, marble-clad grand lobby. Artist Charles Kassler adorned the upper walls of the lobby with eight WPA fresco murals depicting the creation of the mail service and views of modern life during the Depression.

Historical Notes

When the U.S. Postal Service’s needs outgrew the building, USPS declared it as “surplus property” and offered it for sale to federal, state, and local governments. The nonprofit Beverly Hills Cultural Center Foundation was formed to find a new use for the building as a cultural venue, and the City of Beverly Hills bought the building in 1999.

To transform the site for use as a performing arts center, the project team restored historic elements of the post office building and added a modern annex, connected via tunnel, to house the main 500-seat theatre. The original building received a meticulous repair and restoration, from re-roofing, to restoring the WPA murals, to refurbishing all historic features inside and out.

Historical Notes

The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts includes a new 500-seat state-of-the-art theater adjacent to the landmark Italian Renaissance Revival building, and three classrooms, a 150-seat flexible studio space, a donor lounge, production support services and administrative offices within the historic post office building itself.

Historical Notes

*The discontinuance was west of the station - service continued on the east side until the mid-1950s. PE/MTA provided service further to the west via buses.

Historical Notes

The Beverly Hills Fire Department's origins can be traced back to the city's incorporation in 1914, initially operating as a combined service with the police department. In the early years, the first deputy, Jack Munson, uniquely used his home as headquarters for both fire and police services. A significant change occurred in 1919 when a City Marshal was appointed to lead both departments. This combined leadership structure continued until 1925, marking a pivotal moment when the decision was made to separate the Fire and Police Departments. This separation allowed each department to develop independently, setting the foundation for the modern, specialized emergency services that Beverly Hills residents rely on today.

Historical Notes

In 1925, the Beverly Hills Fire Department (originally a unit of the Beverly HIlls Police) came into its own entity as a separate organization.  When the new city hall was built in 1932, a new and separate fire station building was added adjacent to the civic center.

Historical Notes

The Beverly Hills Fire Department Headquarters, built in 1932, was designed by the noted architect William J. Gage, in partnership with Harry G. Koerner. Known for designing several prominent buildings in Beverly Hills, Gage and Koerner created the Fire Department Headquarters in the distinctive Mediterranean Revival style, incorporating elements like stucco walls, tiled roofing, and arched windows. This style complemented the nearby Beverly Hills City Hall, also designed by Gage and Koerner, enhancing the architectural cohesion of the civic center.

Historical Notes

The station was built on a portion of the original Sun Lumber Company that once dominated the area. Today, the site is the south wing of the Beverly Hills Public Library. Click HERE for contemporary view.

Historical Notes

One of the most significant buildings on Wilshire Boulevard in the 1920s was that of Walter G. McCarty's Beverly Wilshire Hotel and Apartment Homes. Designed by the prestigious Los Angeles architectural firm of Walker and Eisen in the Renaissance Revival style, it became the city's second large-scale hotel in 1928. McCarty and his investment syndicate were equally as committed to the promotion and growth of the city as the Rodeo Land and Water Company had been, and the hotel was a fitting anchor to their residential developments south of Wilshire Boulevard.

Historical Notes

The Beverly Wilshire Hotel was constructed by real estate developer Walter G. McCarty on the site of the former Beverly Hills Speedway. It was completed in 1928 (when the city had fewer than 18,000 residents), and was then known as the "Beverly Wilshire Apartment Hotel".  

Historical Notes

Originally named the "Beverly Wilshire Apartment Hotel” when opened (1928), it was renamed the Beverly Wilshire Hotel by its new owners in the 1940s when it was renovated with a ballroom to accommodate the popular big bands of the day. An Olympic-sized swimming pool was built and championship tennis courts were added, with tennis champion Pancho Gonzalez as tennis director.

Historical Notes

The E-shaped structure is built of a Tuscan stone and Carrara marble in the Italian Renaissance architecture style.

Historical Notes

Today, you will still find the diamond shaped sidewalk when you arrive and individual awning on the tops of each window at the front and the sides of the hotel.

Historical Notes

Four of the six columns are still there today but are just covered up. The ceiling was dropped. Unfortunately that beautiful ornate balcony cover is gone.

Historical Notes

Commissioned by Walker G. McCarty, it was designed by Walker and Eisen and built in the Italian Renaissance revival style. The photo shows the arcade work on the street level.

Historical Notes

Cord was the brand name of an American automobile company from Connersville, Indiana, manufactured by the Auburn Automobile Company from 1929 through 1932 and again in 1936 and 1937.

Historical Notes

The Beverly Wilshire Hotel changed hands in 1958 and again in 1961, when it was purchased by a group of investors headed by Hernando Courtright.

The singer Elvis Presley and later the actor Warren Beatty lived several years in the hotel. It was also the home of John Lennon, when he was separated for several months from his wife Yoko Ono. The American socialite and Woolworth department store heiress Barbara Hutton spent her last years in near poverty and poor health in the hotel and died there in May 1979.

Acquired by Regent International Hotels in 1985, the 395-room luxury hotel has been managed by the Four Seasons Hotel since 1992.

Historical Notes

The intersection of Wilshire and Beverly Drive has always been the heart of the commercial triangle of Beverly Hills.  On the northeast corner was the Beverly Theater, built in 1925. It was the cities first theater. On the northwest corner was the parking lot of Adrian's Costume building which was originally the Victor Hugo Restaurant in the 1930s.

Historical Notes

Designed by L.A. Smith, this was the first vaudeville and movie theater to be built in Beverly Hills.

Historical Notes

In 1925, real estate pioneer, Dan M. Quinlan constructed the theater, the first to be built with East Indian decor. The businesses in the theater building included Sally's Homemade Candies.

Historical Notes

The first building on the west side of the road (left) began as the Victor Hugo Restaurant. It was next occupied by the salon of Adrian (as pictured), the movie costumer and designer of couture gowns for the discerning (and very wealthy) woman. It later became a Lane Bryant store. The building was eventually razed. The parking lot is where the Chase Bank building (originally Bank of America) now stands. The Adrian lot is the site of an office building where MGM is headquartered.

Historical Notes

After many years of housing a bank, the Beverly Theater was sadly demolished in August of 2005 to make way for new development.

The onion dome ... brings to mind Beverly Hills' temporary original name, "Morocco".

Click HERE to see more in Early Views of the Beverly Theatre.

Historical Notes

Completed in 1929, just before the stock market crash, the California Bank Building stands seven stories tall and was designed by the Los Angeles Father/Son architect team of John and Donald Parkinson. Its classic Art Deco era stair-step design is quintessentially Mesoamerican Revival in style and retains most of its architectural integrity from its period of significance. ##++

Louis B. Mayer, the head of MGM, owned the building for some time. 

In the 1990s, the building was acquired by Donald Sterling.  As a result, it was renamed the Sterling Plaza.

Historical Notes

The bottom portion of the building's façade was changed around 1951 to create a modernized, uniform appearance with the small corner building to the west. Around the same time, head of MGM Louis B. Mayer acquired the property and it's rumored there's a theatre on the top floor building. In the 90s, real estate investor/developer Donald Sterling purchased the property and renamed it Sterling Plaza. ##++

Historical Notes

The Original Brown Derby on Wilshire and the Hollywood Brown Derby on Vine Street got most of the attention but there were two others. This one opened in 1931 at 9537 Wilshire at the corner of Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. Apparently it was busiest on Thursday nights because that was the traditional maid’s night off. +#

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