The neighborhood was developed in the early 20th century by theJanss Investment Company, which developed the rest ofWestwood, Los Angeles as well as other "LA" neighborhoods. With the expansion ofSunset Boulevard, Holmby Hills was split into northern and southern sections, each lying within a different community plan area designated by the City of Los Angeles: The portion south of Sunset Boulevard extends south to Club View Dr and east toBeverly Glen Boulevard and west of theLos Angeles Country Club; it is located within theWestwood Community Plan Area, but certain characteristics such as the absence of sidewalks and the presence of historic street lamps that are unique to Holmby Hills help to distinguish it from the remainder of Westwood.[2] The portion north of Sunset is the area east of Beverly Glen Boulevard and west of the city limits ofBeverly Hills, with Greendale Drive and Brooklawn Drive as its northernmost streets; it is located within theBel Air–Beverly Crest Community Plan Area, though it is historically distinct from the neighborhoods of both Bel Air and Beverly Crest,[3][4] as it was developed concurrently with Westwood.[5]
The development of Holmby Hills began whenArthur Letts Sr., purchased 400 acres (1.6 km2) of the original Wolfskill ranch at $100 an acre.[6][11][12] He called the development "Holmby Hills," which was loosely derived from the name of his birthplace, a small hamlet in England calledHoldenby, and it was also the name of his estate inHollywood.[11][12] Letts died suddenly in 1923, before he could realize his vision.[11] His son-in-law,Harold Janss, took over the project.[6][11]
Zoning for the community, which straddles Sunset Boulevard, was designed to accommodate lot sizes up to 4 acres (16,000 m2).[6] The streets were named after places inGreat Britain: Devon Avenue afterDevon, the county in southwestern England; Charing Cross Road afterCharing Cross junction inLondon; Conway Avenue afterConwy inWales, etc.[12] In the 1920s, English-style streetlamps were added specifically for the neighborhood.[6][11] After theWall Street Crash of 1929, grand mansions were constructed.[6]
In 2012, residents tried to be annexed into the city ofBeverly Hills, to make sure their potholes would be repaired, but this was rejected byJohn A. Mirisch, then Beverly Hills city councilor and later mayor.[13]
According to the Holmby Hills Homeowners Association website: "In the 1920s, Sunset Boulevard was a two-lane country road, known as Beverly Boulevard. It was renamed when it was opened through to the Pacific Ocean. When Sunset Boulevard was expanded into a four-lane thoroughfare, Holmby Hills was, for all practical purposes, split into north and south sections."[11] The northern section is served by theHolmby Hills Homeowners Association, while the southern section is served by theHolmby Westwood Property Owners Association,[13] which it shares with the rest of the northern Westwood area east of UCLA. However, "[i]n 2013, the Holmby Hills Homeowners Association Board has decided to reach out to the homeowners south of Sunset (and east of Beverly Glen) to grow the Association with new members also residing in Holmby Hills having similar interests."[11]
In 2000, Holmby Hills was ranked by Higley 1000 as the richest urban neighborhood in the United States. The 2017 report, however, redrew and expanded the neighborhood's boundaries, causing its ranking to slip.[14]
The neighborhood is home to two parks:Holmby Park andDe Neve Square Park.[6] The former, Holmby Park, includes two playgrounds, a nine-hole putting green called theArmand Hammer Golf Course, and a classic lawn bowling, home to the Holmby Park Lawn Bowling Club started in 1927.[6][15] It is located next to theLos Angeles Country Club.[15]
TheFrederick R. Weisman Art Foundation, an art gallery named afterFrederick R. Weisman, is located on North Carolwood Street. It includes works by many noted artists, including impressionists, post-impressionist, surrealist, and many more, up through today.[16]
The only school located within Holmby Hills is the Middle School (grades 7–9) component of the independentHarvard-Westlake School. The campus was originally occupied by Westlake School for Girls, which moved from its original site near downtown L.A. to the Holmby Hills campus in 1927. Harvard-Westlake was created in 1989 when Westlake merged with the Harvard School for Boys.[citation needed]
Fanny Brice (1891–1951) resided in a house built in 1938 on North Faring Road, designed by architectJohn Elgin Woolf (1908–1980).[20] Richard and Lauren King later purchased it for $15 million, and they set out to renovate it.[20] Instead, they demolished it and rebuilt a Georgian-style mansion in its place in 2006.[20] They listed the new property in 2013.[20]
Walt Disney (1901–1966) lived on North Carolwood Street.[22] In 2001, his house was demolished because of the presence ofasbestos and replaced by The Carolwood Estate, owned by investor Gabriel Brener.[22][23] The Carolwood Estate has eight bedrooms, seventeen bathrooms, a wine cellar, a custom movie room, three bars, a library, a gym, two safe rooms, a pool with a pool house, a tennis court, and a putting green.[22][23]
Jack Benny (1894–1974) and his wifeMary Livingstone (1905–1983) lived at 10231 Charing Cross Road.[12][25] It was then sold to two businessmen consecutively and listed again in 2011.[25]
Gary Cooper (1901–1961) lived in a 5,721 square-foot, four-bedroom, four-and-a-half-bathroom house designed by architectA. Quincy Jones in 1955.[26] It was later owned byDavid Bohnett, co-founder ofGeoCities, who listed it in 2010.[26]
Alan Ladd (1913–1964) lived in a 9,200-square-foot, one-story, five-bedroom, seven-bathroom house designed by architectWallace Neff. It was later owned by businessman Gerard Sullivan from 1990 to 2012.[29]
Sean Combs (born 1969), founder of Bad Boy Entertainment, as well as rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, record executive, actor and entrepreneur
Frank Sinatra (1915–1998) lived on North Carolwood Drive in the late 1940s.[12][34] His house was later owned byBrad Grey, CEO ofParamount Pictures, who demolished it in August 2012 to sell it as an empty lot for a new construction.[34]
In 1989,Casey Kasem purchased a home built in 1954 and located at 138 North Mapleton Drive, previously owned by developerAbraham M. Lurie, as a birthday present for his wife,Jean Kasem.[35][36] In 2013, he listed it for $43 million.[35][36]
In 2009,Michael Jackson (b. 1958)died in a rented mansion in Holmby Hills.[19][37][38] The house, designed by architectRichard Landry, belonged to Hubert Guez, CEO of the clothing lineEd Hardy and his wife Roxane.[38] Steven Mayer, a senior managing director at Cerberus Capital Management, purchased it for $18.1 million in 2012.[38]
W. Howard Lester, former CEO ofWilliams-Sonoma, Inc., lived in an 18,000-square-foot seven-bedroom, thirteen bathroom mansion with a wine cellar, a billiards room and a gym in Holmby Hills from 2004 to his death in 2010; the house was listed for sale in 2012.[39]
Jon Feltheimer lived in a 6,400-square-foot, five-bedroom, five-and-a-half-bathroom house built in 1927 in Holmby Hills from 2009 to 2011.[40]
David I. Saperstein and his ex-wife Suzanne Saperstein builtFleur de Lys in 2002. It was designed by architect Richardson Robertson III. After their divorce, the mansion spent many years on the market, with many rumors floating regarding its sale. The property eventually sold in March 2014 for $88.3 million to an anonymous buyer[41]
Jeremy Renner and Kristoffer Winters purchased an art deco-style mansion called The Reserve in Holmby Hills for US$7 million in 2010 and renovated it with the help of architect Phillip Vertoch.[42] They then sold it for US$24 million in 2013.[42]
Kylie Jenner bought a $36.5 million mansion in Holmby Hills.[43]
Eva Gabor, actress and socialite lived at 100 Delfern Drive from 1974 to 1995.[44]
United States
California
