Holmby Hills

Climate

The wonderful subtropical climate of Holmby Hills makes it one of the more pleasant places to live in Southern California. There are approximately 284 sunny days to enjoy outdoor activities and only around 16 inches of rainfall in a year on average. Winter brings slightly cooler temperatures without snow.

Long before Holmby Hills became the venue for L.A. ‘s prime luxury real estate, the land on which it was built was a witness to centuries of history.

The first group of settlers in the area was the Tongva-Gabrieliño group of Native Americans who stayed here for thousands of years.

The arrival of Spanish explorers and settlers on the West Coast during the 1500s gave this region a Hispanic face. Cities, natural landmarks, and buildings were eventually given Spanish names.

When Spain ceded California to newly independent Mexico in 1821, a certain Maximo Alanis – widely considered as the first-ever property owner in Los Angeles County – was able to obtain ownership of a land grant for the approximately 4.4-acre Rancho San José de Buenos Ayres from former governor Manuel Micheltorena.

The Wolfskill Ranch

Rancho San Jose de Buenos Ayres was still under Alanis even after California joined the United States. But he would eventually sell around half of it to businessman and politician Benjamin Davis Wilson in 1858. Nearly 30 years later, a land dispute involving a railroad construction’s right of way saw this portion of the ranch go under the ownership of John Wolfskill, who would rename it to Wolfskill Ranch.

Around 400 acres from the Wolfskill Ranch would then be sold to Arthur Letts, Sr. of renowned department stores like The Broadway and Bullock’s. It was he who developed the land in 1919 and gave it the name, Holmby Hills — after Holdenby, his birthplace in England.

After Letts passed away in 1923, Harold Janss — his son-in-law — fulfilled his vision for a master-planned neighborhood.

From underutilized land to prime property

Toward the late 1920s and beyond — and owing to its proximity to Beverly Hills — Holmby Hills became home to the wealthiest business people and Hollywood’s darlings from its Golden Age.

Zoning rules were formed to provide large estate lots (up to four acres) to potential property owners. And, unlike many places throughout Los Angeles and California, street names in Holmby Hills were derived from places in Letts’s home country (e.g., Conway Avenue from Conwy, Wales and Mapleton Drive from Mapleton in Derbyshire, England).

The Englishman’s touch reflected even the neighborhood’s street lamps. These lighting fixtures from the 1920s still exist and uniquely distinguish Holmby Hills from its counterparts in the Platinum Triangle.

Star-studded

With Holmby Hills’ long history and connections to Hollywood, it’s unsurprising that the neighborhood is home to properties that boast distinguished provenance.

The Manor, so far the largest home in Los Angeles and formerly custom-built and owned by legendary TV producer Aaron Spelling, was sold a number of times. Spelling had the home rebuilt from the ground up after razing crooner Bing Crosby’s original 1932 home. This massive mansion now belongs to an anonymous owner after Petra Ecclestone (Formula One heiress) sold the estate in 2019.

And of course, who doesn’t know about the notorious Playboy Mansion, the erstwhile residence of the magazine’s founder, Hugh Hefner? This home was his property for over 40 years up to 2016 when he sold it to Greek-American billionaire Daren Metropoulos for $100 million. Hefner had one condition for the sale, though — that he be allowed to rent the home indefinitely until he passed away in 2017.