Trousdale Estates

Trousdale Estates Real Estate

Trousdale Estates is a community within the City of Beverly Hills, carved out of the hillside from what was once the Doheny Ranch. Most of the properties within the development were built during the 1960s and feature mid-century modern homes sited on terraced lots. Trousdale Estates real estate consists of a high concentration of homes designed by notable architects and the neighborhood has a reputation as an enclave for mid-century modern chic.

 

Other architectural styles represented within the neighborhood range from the more traditional to ultra-modern glass jewel boxes. The community is home to many high-profile residents, who value the privacy afforded by lush landscaping, gated lots, and a private security firm with armed guards patrolling the neighborhood around the clock. For additional local inventory, view all homes in Beverly Hills.

 

About Trousdale Estates

 

Trousdale Estates is located in the 90210 zip code and is bordered by the Bird Streets, Doheny Estates, and Laurel Canyon neighborhoods of the Hollywood Hills to the east; Beverly Crest to the north and west; and Beverly Hills to the south. Entrances to Trousdale Estates are found at the intersections of Doheny Road and Loma Vista Drive, Doheny Road and Hillcrest Road, Schuyler Road and Carla Ridge, Cherokee Lane and Loma Vista Drive, and on Alto Cedro Drive.

 

When Lucy Doheny decided to relocate to a newly-built nearby mansion called "The Knoll" at 1130 Schuyler Road, she sold off pieces of her family estate (including Greystone Mansion). In 1955, Paul Trousdale, who was once Bank of America's biggest home construction client, purchased 410 acres of land, where orange groves once grew on the Doheny ranch, for $6 million. Trousdale spent another $400,000 in fees to get the City of Beverly Hills annex the land, which increased the value of the land and satisfied a condition of the sale. At this point, he began parceling off the land and grading it into 535 lots, the development financed in part with $6.7 million of pension money from the Teamsters.

 

Print ads for Trousdale Estates touted "A life above it all." The opportunity to build on a flat pad within a new hillside development in the most desirable city in the country drew celebrities and socialites, as they jockeyed for the best lots and commissioned the best architects and interior designers. Groucho Marx was one of the first to buy in Trousdale Estates and he quickly commissioned Wallace Neff to build a low-lying modern home. Most of the homes were built in the 1960s and many were designed in the modernist style. Many noted architects of the time built in the neighborhood with Lloyd Wright; Richard Neutra; A. Quincy Jones; Wallace Neff; Harold Levitt; Buff, Straub & Hensman; Richard Dorman; John Elgin Woolf; Paul Williams; James Dolena; William Sutherland Beckett; Cliff May; Robert F. Skinner; George MacLean; Rex Lotery; and Lundberg, Armet & Davis all represented.

 

At one point in the 1960's, with sales slower than desired and grading on the western edge of the development nearing completion, the marketing team launched a campaign centered around a plan for ten model homes, two homes each by architects A. Quincy Jones, Edward Fickett, Richard Dorman, William Stephenson, and Rex Lotery. Only five of the ten were ever built.

 

An Architectural Committee established standards for homes built within the Trousdale Estates neighborhood with the intention of maintaining views, consistency, and privacy within the community. Among other restrictions, covenants required 3000 square foot minimums and dictated single-story construction where views might be obstructed. The code was strictly enforced; one instance concerned a roof that had to be removed because it had been built two inches higher than permitted. While Allen Siple served as supervising architect of the design review board, architect Ed Fickett was a personal friend of Paul Trousdale and had influence on the initial development of houses in this area. The Architectural Committee was disbanded once the original homes were constructed.

 

For a short amount of time, Richard Nixon lived in a home sold to him at a "celebrity discount" after he lost his first bid for president and returned to Los Angeles in 1961. The resulting story of how much he paid for his home drew national interest. Of particular irony is the development being partially funded by Nixon's nemeses, the Teamsters.

 

After a rash of renovations, additions, and new construction altered the neighborhood aesthetic and blatantly obstructed the views of neighbors, the Trousdale Estates Homeowners Association and the City of Beverly Hills enacted the Trousdale Ordinance to preserve the neighborhood's character and value. As a result, building height is being strictly enforced to preserve views and review periods have been lengthened and a committee was formed to nominate landmark status, with homes by certain architects automatically protected from demolition. Mills Act tax credits are available within the neighborhood due to its historic significance.

 

Among the architects to build estates within Trousdale in recent years are Marmol-Radziner, Howard Backen, and Steven Shortridge.

 

The streets within Trousdale Estates are Loma Vista Drive, Robert Lane, N Hillcrest Road, Drury Lane, Wallace Ridge, Carla Ridge, Carla Lane, Dabney Lane, Barrie Drive, Maytor Place, Chris Place, Usher Place, Leslie Lane, Trousdale Place, Alexis Place, Haynes Avenue, Arkell Drive, Martin Lane, Vick Place, Charlette Drive, Williams Lane, Endrino Place, Cole Place, Burk Place, Clinton Place, Evelyn Place, Walker Drive, Castle Place, and Alto Cedro Drive.

 

Famous Trousdale Estates Homes and Estates:

• 924 North Hillcrest Road (aka: The Skouras Residence): 1956 mid-century modern architectural home. Architect: Harold Levitt
• 1004 North Hillcrest Road (aka: Ohana estate): Former home of Jennifer Aniston. Featured on the cover of Architectural Digest in 2010. Architect: Hal Levitt
• 1083 North Hillcrest Road: Former home of Groucho Marx. Architect: Wallace Neff
• 1157 North Hillcrest Road: Architect: George MacLean. Renovation Architects: Marmol+Radziner. Interior Designer: Brad Dunning
• 1174 North Hillcrest Road: Former home of Elvis and Pricilla Presley. Architect: Rex Lotery
• 1181 North Hillcrest Road: Highest sale price for a home in Beverly Hills when billionaire Markus "Notch" Persson paid $70 million in 2014
• 1865 Carla Ridge (aka: The Varnum Residence): 1969 mid-century architectural home. Architects: Benton & Park
• 1935 Carla Ridge: Featured in Architectural Digest in 1963. Architect: Robert L. Earl
• 1484 Carla Ridge (aka: Hershberger Residence): Former home of Sally Hershberger. Architect: William Stephenson. Interior Designer: Carole Katleman. Renovation Architects: Swift Lee Office Architects
• Carla Ridge: Former home of Burt Reynolds and home of Vera Wang. Renovation Architect: Steve Hermann
• 1320 Carla Lane (aka: Rose House and Katleman Residence): Former home of Helen Rose. Architects: Buff, Straub, & Hensman. Renovation Architects: Marmol-Radziner
• 917 Loma Vista Drive: Former home of Simon Cowell. Architect: Richard Landry
• 1007 Loma Vista Drive: Architects: Lundberg, Armet and Davis
• 1030 Loma Vista Drive (aka: Joseph Beber House): Architect: Richard Dorman
• 1042 Loma Vista Drive (aka: The Kert Family Residence): 1957 mid-century modern home. Designer: Thomas A. Carter
• 1910 Loma Vista Drive: 1962 mid-century modern home. Former home of Sid Caesar
• 425 Martin Lane: Former rental of Jennifer Aniston. Architect: Hal Levitt
• 535 Haynes Avenue: 1960 mid-century modern architectural home. Former home of Howard Hughes. Architect: Samuel Wacht
• 624 Cole Place: 1970 modern architectural home. Architect: Harry Gesner
• 370 Trousdale Place: Architect: Hal Levitt
• 1012 Wallace Ridge: Former Home of Courtney Cox and David Arquette. Featured in Architectural Digest in 1974. Architect: A. Quincy Jones. Renovation Architect: Cory Buckner
• 1120 Maytor Place: 1961 mid-century modern home. Architect: Rex Lotery
• 630 Clinton Place: 1973 modern architectural home. Former home of Matthew Perry. Architect: Amir Farr
• 400 Castle Place: 1962 mid-century modern architectural home. Architect: Robert Skinner
• 410 Castle Place: 1965 mid-century modern architectural home. Architect: A. Quincy Jones.