DIGS is the premiere luxury real estate lifestyle magazine serving the most affluent neighborhoods in the South Bay and Westside of Los Angeles, California.
Issue link: https://www.southbaydiggs.com/i/763176
W R I T T E N BY J E N N T H O R N TO N Above, In the annals of legendary Los Angeles architecture, ultra-exclusive Trousdale Estates is still the pinnacle of elevated living and Beyond! W ith 535 homes scattered across some of the most storied sites in Beverly Hills, tony Trousdale Estates is as bright a star as the luminaries who have famously called it home. And what homes—imperious places with square footage and city views to spare. Featuring museum-quality architecture from some of the most celebrated names of their day—from Wallace Neff and A. Quincy Jones to Cliff May and Lloyd Wright— Trousdale Estates represents social prestige on an unprecedented scale. To own a trophy home here was—and still is today—to arrive in the most glamorous fashion one could possibly conceive. The one who actually did, though, was Paul Whitney Trousdale, a prolific developer steeped in Southern California real estate, whose outsize ambitions resulted in an ever-increasing number of aspiring projects all the way to Hawaii. He saw the promise, envisioned the place where he, too, would eventually commission a home. Although in some ways obsessed with his place in the establishment, Trousdale was progressive in matters of business, which he proved in 1954, negotiating a deal for 410 acres of Doheny Ranch land above Beverly Hills that, with a miracle of engineering, he would help transform into the dream development that bears his name and his imprint. Trousdale Estates did not just proclaim exclusivity—it enforced it. Building codes were strict (home plans had to be approved by a master architect) and residents were high-powered. Its tagline promising "life above it all" was more shout than insinuation: Trousdale is the place for the elite went the thinking. Dinah Shore and Groucho Marx bought lots. Moguls moved in. By the 1960s, Trousdale's roster of residents included Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley and Richard Nixon. With pedigree nonpareil, Trousdale homes were starchitected showpieces where everything was bigger, grander—the marble gleamed, front doors stretched to the heavens, pools had sex appeal. Still synonymous with the city's rich and powerful, the Trousdale Estates of today signifies more than mere flash—no longer is it just that brash social experiment lording over all in Beverly Hills. Despite a number of teardowns in recent years, the development is getting its due as a significant architectural record via the forthcoming new book, Trousdale Estates: Midcentury to Modern in Beverly Hills, which details the enclave's history down to the studs and is certain to appeal to the whole new generation of midcentury enthusiasts recognizing Trousdale as incubating some of the finest of architecture from the period. On the eve of the book's release this January, author and preservation consultant Steven M. Price reflects on the most exclusive luxury community in Los Angeles. P H OTO S F R O M T R O U S DA L E ES TAT ES BY S T E V E N M . P R I C E ( R EG A N A R T S ) . © 2 0 1 6 BY S T E V E N M . P R I C E . Hunter Residence, 1964. Harold Levitt, Architect. Built for producer director Ross Hunter. Currently owned by Simon Cowell, his third Trousdale property. Photo by Erik Neldner.