The Beverly Hills City Hall has gracefully presided over the city’s civic life since 1932. Architect William Gage created the Spanish Renaissance building in typical government style of that era. The low classical base, which symbolizes government, is dominated by an eight-story tower, which represents commerce. But the beauty of the building, with its tiled dome and gilded cupola, soon transcended the typical government building and has become a beloved local landmark.After 50 years of service, City Hall showed signs of age. The building did not meet new safety and earthquake codes and was too small to serve the city’s growing population. A renovation project began in 1982 that increased office space from 49,000 to 67,000 square feet and brought the building up to code.Throughout the project, the rich architectural details were carefully maintained. Inside, the terrazzo floors, marble walls and intricate ceilings were cleaned and restored. Outdoors, grime was meticulously removed from the blue, green and gold tile on the dome and gilded cupola. At the same time that the City Hall was under renovation, the architecture was used as the inspiration for rebuilding the new Civic Center, which was completed in 1990.
History of Beverly Hills City Hall
From the date of the settlement at Sydney Cove until 1810, the district was left to the aborigines and the kangaroos, with an occasional visit from escaped convicts or hunters employed by the government. It was dense forest, broken only here and there by small settlers’ homes – mostly market gardeners, dairies, timber getters and charcoal burners. Captain John Connell and Dr. Robert Townson were the first grantees of the area. In 1830, Dr. Townson’s grant came into the hands of John Connell – the area being known as Connell’s Bush. Dumbleton (now Beverly Hills) seems to have been included in this grant. It’s name was taken from Dumbleton Farm, which according to an old account in “The Echo” was still standing in the 1890’s.
Another early settler in the area was James Oatley who received his grant from Governor Brisbane in 1833. He was a watch and clockmaker whose premises stood in George Street, opposite the Town Hall, where Kerr & Co., jewellers, were later located. It is interesting to note that some of the clocks made by this early pioneer are still in existance today and in working order. In 1925, Mr W. Silversten of Bexley found Oatley’s tomestone lying in some vacant land on the Moorefields Estate, and made a sketch of its position. The land was on the southern side of Ponyara Road between Pallamana Parade and Kooemba Road and the tombstone was about 433 feet from Pallamana Parade.The earliest known Inn in the district was the “Robin Hood and Little John”. Inns in those days took the part now played by clubs, schools of art and other meeting places, and it was in them local problems and needs were discussed.Beverly Hills City Hall is a Great Place For Vacations.
Geography of Beverly Hills
Beverly Hills is nearly entirely surrounded by the city of Los Angeles, sharing only a portion of its eastern border, primarily along Doheny Drive, with West Hollywood. The precise limits of Beverly Hills are complex, and therefore hard to describe; however, the city limits can be roughly described as the area surrounded by the Los Angeles Country Club and Century Park Drive to the Southwest, Whitworth Drive to the South, at various points Doheny Drive/Robertson Blvd/San Vicente Blvd to the East, and the Hollywood Hills to the North.Major east-west thoroughfares in Beverly Hills include Wilshire Boulevard, Santa Monica Boulevard, and Sunset Boulevard. Shopping is prevalent along Beverly Drive and the world-famous Rodeo Drive. Coldwater Canyon Drive is the main road out of Beverly Hills to the north into the San Fernando Valley. Beverly Drive and Roberston Blvd are the primary roads exiting the city to the south. Beverly Hills is one of the few cities in the Los Angeles area that is not directly served by a freeway.
In spite of the city’s name, most residents live in the “flats” of Beverly Hills which is a relatively flat land that includes all of Beverly Hills itself. The houses situated in the hills north of Sunset Boulevard have a much higher value then the average house price for the rest of the city. Some of the most exclusive and most expensive homes in Beverly Hills are all situated high up in the hills. Santa Monica Boulevard divides the “flats” into two areas, locally known as “North or South of the tracks,” referring to the train tracks that were once used by the old Pacific Electricstreetcar line that traversed Beverly Hills along Santa Monica Blvd. Houses south of Wilshire have more urban square and rectangular lots, in general smaller than those to the north. There are also more apartment buildings south of Wilshire Blvd than anywhere else in Beverly Hills, and the average house value south of Wilshire is the lowest in Beverly Hills.Nearly all businesses and government offices in Beverly Hills are located south of Santa Monica Boulevard, two notable exceptions being the Beverly Hills Hotel and the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Just outside the city limits to the west lies the Los Angeles Country Club. Other locations commonly associated with Beverly Hills include the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and the Beverly Center, just outside city limits to the east.
Economy of Beverly Hills
Beverly Hills is home to one Fortune 500 company, Live Nation Entertainment; other companies based in Beverly Hills include Platinum Equity, John Paul Mitchell Systems and Spark Networks. Since August 22, 2011, the headquarters of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer have been located in Beverly Hills.At one point, Hilton Hotels Corporation had its corporate headquarters in Beverly Hills. The original headquarters of GeoCities (at first Beverly Hills Internet) was at 9401 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills.Underneath the city is the large and still-productive Beverly Hills Oil Field, serviced by four urban drilling islands, which drill diagonally into the earth underneath the city USA cultural tours. The most notorious of these drilling islands occasioned a 2003 lawsuit representing former attendees of Beverly Hills High School, approximately 280 of which having suffered from cancers allegedly tied to the drilling operations.
Climate of Beverly Hills
Beverly Hills has a warm and moderate Mediterranean climate, with an average high of 85 degrees Fahrenheit in August, and an average high of 64 degrees Fahrenheit in January. Beverly Hills also receives an average 18 inches (460 mm) of rain per year. Summers are marked by warm to hot temperatures with very little wind, while winters are moderate to cool with occasional rain alternating with periods of Santa Ana winds. During Santa Ana events, gusts up to 40 mph (64 km/h) are common. Snow has been witnessed only in 1882,1922,1932 and 1949.