Ralphs Grocery was the first supermarket chain established in Southern California, and this Westwood neighborhood store with its white cylindrical rotunda has stood over the corner since 1929. The story is one of the original buildings in Westwood Village and in November 1929, just a couple of months after students arrived at the new U.C.L.A. campus nearby. The building held a Ralphs supermarket until the mid-1960s and was the sixteenth Ralphs opened in the Southern California grocery chain. Ralphs Grocery Store was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1992. The building now contains several tenants including Alfred Coffee and Sweetfin (a Japanese/ Hawaiian restaurant).
Founded in 1990, the Hammer Museum is an art museum and cultural center known for its artist-centric and progressive array of exhibitions and public programs. It is associated with the University of California Los Angeles and is dedicated to diversity and inclusion. It is the only institution to devote 50% of its exhibition programming to female artists. Its mission statement is: "The Hammer Museum at UCLA believes in the promise of art and ideas to illuminate our lives and build a more just world."
The Los Angeles Temple was the 10th operating temple and the first one to be constructed in California back in 1956, although it was announced back in 1937. Other CA temples include: Fresno, San Diego, Redlands, Sacramento, Newport Beach and Oakland. At the time, this was the LDS church's second largest temple and was the second temple to have an Angel Moroni capstone following the one in Salt Lake City. On temple grounds is also a visitor center for the public to visit.
The castle-like building in Westwood on Willshire Boulevard near Devon Avenue is Chateau Colline, a 1935 apartment building. Dwarfed by the neighboring highrise condominiums, the two-story building peeks out from behind trees that hide its turrets and leaded-glass windows from the street. In need of upgrades, the owner requested permission in 2001 to tear down the apartment building and rebuild multi-story condominiums on the property. Within months, local government and concerned citizens helped to have the building declared a Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monument. In 2003, Chateau Colline became a National Register of Historic Places listing. The building contains eight one- and two-bedroom condominium residences.
When the Century Plaza Hotel opened in 1966, the curved hotel was a centerpiece in newly established Century City. Designed by renowned architect Minoru Yamasaki, the mid-century modern hotel evokes the optimism of the 1960s. The Century Plaza Hotel went on to host the Emmys, Grammys, and, in 1969, the first state dinner held outside of the White House. President Ronald Reagan stayed at the hotel so frequently that it became known as the "Western White House." In 2021, the hotel reopened as the Fairmont Century Plaza after an extensive $2.5 billion renovation, and it remains a leading luxury hotel in Los Angeles.
Founded in 2009, the Annenberg Space For Photography is the first cultural destination in Los Angeles dedicated to photography. It was established by the Annenberg Foundation, which supports non-profit organizations in the city, country and around the world that strive to improve the communication of knowledge and ideas so as to create a better society. The Space presents digital and print photography exhibitions and hosts a number of public programs throughout the year including workshops, lectures, portfolio reviews, and panels. Many of the best photographers around the world have presented and given lectures about their work here.
This location was the site of a violent clash by police against peaceful protestors who were part of the Justice for Janitors union and police on June 15, 1990. Thanks to media footage of the event, the city was forced to pay out over $2.2 million for the victims of police brutality. However, at the time of the protest, the event also led to an end to protests by a largely immigrant workforce in the face of low wages, unsafe working conditions, and the lack of health insurance or paid sick days for janitorial employees. Most of the protesters were working for minimum wage, then $4.50 an hour. To publicize their cause Justice for Janitors mobilized by holding rallies in the Century City area, and after a few weeks of small scuffles with law enforcement, police officers were alerted to a planned peaceful march from Roxbury Park in Beverly Hills to office buildings in Century City. The police responded with force. Protestors, mostly consisting of immigrant women, were shoved back to Olympic Boulevard by officers trying to prevent their progression to Century Park East. Media attention led to a new contract that included a small raise and health insurance.
The Church of The Good Shepherd was established just nine years after the city of Beverly Hills was incorporated and is the oldest church sanctuary in the city. The congregation was founded in 1923 and this Mission Revival Style church was dedicated by John Joseph Cantwell on February 1, 1925. The original stained glass windows that depict numerous saints were shipped to California from France, Germany, the British Islands, and other states. The Church of The Good Shepherd has been the venue for numerous Hollywood events. Bing Crosby was a regular worshiper, stars such as Elizabeth Taylor and Mark Wahlberg married here, and the funerals of Rudolph Valentino, Gary Cooper, Alfred Hitchcock, Rita Hayworth, and Frank Sinatra took place at the Church of The Good Shepherd. The Church was also the setting of a scene in Judy Garland's "A Star is Born" (1954). The parish continues to serve the needs of Catholic parishioners in Beverly Hills and welcomes visitors.
The Anderton Court Shops building at 332 N. Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills is the last building in the L.A. area designed by famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The building dates to 1952 and is Usonian style. The three-story-plus-penthouse building is one of only three retail buildings designed by Wright. A concrete mixture (gunite) was sprayed over a steel frame to create the structure's walls, which were then covered in plaster. Floors were conventional poured concrete. The building has some unusual features, including a lighted spire, a curving ramp surrounding an octagonal light well, and a V-shaped plan. In 2006, the Anderton Court Shops became a National Register of Historic Places listing for its architectural significance. It continues to hold six retail shops in the exclusive shopping district, including Beladora, a jewelry store.
Located in the heart of downtown Beverly Hills, the Beverly Wilshire Hotel has served as a staple in the city since 1928 and has become known to people all over the world thanks to it being a prime film location for movies and television. The Italian Renaissance structure built of Tuscan stone and Carrara marble was first called the Beverly Wilshire Apartment Hotel. Under new ownership in the 1940s, the name was changed to the Beverly Wilshire Hotel and an elaborate renovation took place, adding a grand ballroom to host big bands as well as tennis courts and an Olympic sized swimming pool. The next renovation to take place occurred under the ownership of Hernando Courtright, who doubled the size of the hotel in the early 1970s by adding a new wing. Notable entertainers who called the Beverly Wilshire Hotel home for a period of time were Elvis Presley, John Lennon, and Warren Beatty. Notable guests include the Dalai Lama, President Barack Obama, Al Pacino, and Elton John. The 1990 movie "Pretty Woman" starring Julia Roberts was primarily based at the Beverly Wilshire, earning it a prestigious place in hotel history.
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1985, the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts opened its doors in 2013 in the building that was once the Beverly Hills Post Office. Originally opening in 1936 during the New Deal, the Post Office featured eight fresco murals painted by a Works Progress Administration (WPA) artist and is now one of two remaining sites in California's Federal building system featuring New Deal art. After the building was outgrown, the Beverly Hills Post Office moved to a larger facility and the original building was named surplus property. Finally, the Italian Renaissance Revival style building was once again put to use when the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts opened at the location. In addition to the old Post Office, The Wallis consists of a new 150-seat Lovelace Studio Theater and a 500-seat Bram Goldsmith Theater. Due to its location and design, The Wallis is a unique mix of history and futurism, making it a distinctive experience for locals and visitors.
Located across the street from the historic and legendary Beverly Hills Hotel, the Will Rogers Memorial Park, named for the late actor, humorist, cowboy, and philosopher, dates back to 1915. Originally part of the front lawn of the Beverly Hills Hotel, the owner deeded five acres of land to the city in 1915 for the establishment of a local park. In 1926, Will Rogers, who owned a ranch in Beverly Hills, was named the Honorary Mayor of the city of Beverly Hills and held the title for two years. In 1952, 17 years after Rogers' tragic and sudden death in a plane crash, Sunset Park was renamed in his honor. The park features a historic fountain, a lily pond, beautiful gardens, and space for entertainment. The Will Rogers Memorial Park has offered pristine beauty and peace to the people of Beverly Hills and visitors for over one hundred years, and it pays homage to one of the kindest, most humble men to grace the city, Will Rogers.
The Beverly Hills Hotel opened to the public in 1912, two years before the city of Beverly Hills was incorporated. For over a century the "Pink Palace" has served as a key attraction to Beverly Hills' visitors. Designed to lure the wealthy away from neighboring cities such as Pasadena, the Beverly Hills Hotel has attracted everyone from the most prominent businessmen/women to presidents, and countless celebrities. During the 1940s, the Hotel boasted the most premier restaurant in the Los Angeles area, the Polo Lounge. It was not uncommon to see Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Humphrey Bogart, or Judy Garland enjoying lunch and, often, too much alcohol. The Fountain Room was added in 1948, showcasing famed designer Don Loper's banana leaf wallpaper, the signature print of the Beverly Hills Hotel. Tourists still flock to both the Fountain Room and Polo Lounge to enjoy a first-class meal suitable for the likes of Sinatra and Elizabeth Taylor. To celebrate the Beverly Hills Hotel's 100th anniversary in 2012, it was named the first historic landmark in Beverly Hills. While the shops on nearby Rodeo Drive may be constantly evolving, the Beverly Hills Hotel will remain a showcase of history in Beverly Hills.
This historic estate is the first mansion built in Beverly Hills for Virginia Robinson. The residence was completed in 1911 and was the home of Virginia and her husband, Harry, the son of the founder of J.W. Robinson Department Store. Harry died in 1932, but Virginia continued to reside in the home, where she became known for throwing lavish parties, until age 99 in 1977. The property was bequeathed to Los Angeles County in 1977, and today, guided tours are offered with advance reservations. The Beaux Arts style house has become a museum from the 1940s/1950s era and features landscaped gardens and a 1924 playhouse pavilion/ pool house. The Virginia Robinson Estate became a National Register of Historic Places listing in 1978 and is a Beverly Hills as well as a California Historical Landmark.
Edward Laurence Doheny, a millionaire oil tycoon, gifted a sizable tract of land in Beverly Hills to his son, Ned, as a gift in 1927. Construction soon began on Greystone Mansion, marking the beginning of a three-year undertaking that would cost $4 million. The name “Greystone” came from the estate’s abundant use of Indiana limestone, which was grey in appearance. Greystone is 46, 000 sq. ft., consists of 55 rooms, and has stables, kennels, tennis courts, a firestone, greenhouse, and swimming pool and pavilion on the property. Greystone is now owned by the City of Beverly Hills and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Numerous movies and television shows have been filmed at Greystone Mansion, and it is only open for special events.
This Tour is a Driving or Biking Tour.
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Begin driving in Beverly Hills and get a glimpse of some of its historic mansions, hotels, performing arts centers, and shops before driving to the Westwood area of Los Angeles. Check out more historic buildings, including an LDS Church, an art museum, and a Ralphs grocery store.
