By Elizabeth Nickelaid
History of the Beverly Hills Hotel
The Beverly Hills Hotel has played host to generations of the wealthy and famous since it was built in 1912. The Mission Revival hotel has 204 rooms and suites, including 21 bungalows.
The Founder
Before there was a Beverly Hills, California, developer Burton Green bought 12 acres of open fields north of Los Angeles to build what he hoped would lure wealthy retirees. He named the hotel after his home in Massachusetts.
Pickfair
In 1920, movie stars Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford built a home near the hotel, and other stars followed. Soon, the Beverly Hills Hotel became part of a swanky neighborhood indeed.
The "Pink Palace"
The hotel underwent its first big refurbishment toward the end of the 1940s and gained its pink exterior color, a distinctive feature that remains today.
Bungalow Dwellers
Hollywood denizens have long favored the privacy of the hotel's bungalows. Among them are Elizabeth Taylor and six of her eight husbands, Marilyn Monroe and John Lennon and Yoko Ono.
Sultan of Brunei
After several more changes of ownership, the Beverly Hills Hotel finally came to rest in the holdings of the Sultan of Brunei, who then spent $100 million and 2½ years to restore the hotel. It reopened in 1995.
Resources
About the Author:
Elizabeth Nickelaid is an editor and writer with more than 20 years' experience in the newspaper industry. She has won state and national awards for headline writing and has collaborated with Pulitzer Prize-winning reporters. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Wake Forest University.
Photo Credits:
Alan Light/Flickr.com
