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Bel-Air, Los Angeles, California
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Bel-Air is a district in the west side of the city of Los Angeles, California, United States. The faux-gated community was founded by Alphonzo E. Bell, Sr. in 1923 and is part of the so-called "Platinum Triangle" of Bel-Air, Beverly Hills and Holmby Hills. About 12 miles (19 km) west of downtown, Bel-Air is known as an exclusive residential community that includes some of the foothills of the Santa Monica Mountains and borders the north side of UCLA.
Residences in Bel-Air range from modest ranch and story-and-half configurations to grand mansions. Many homes in Bel-Air seem quite modest from the outside, often lying only six feet from the street; however, they tend to have large grounds and an estate feeling. In general, the higher up the mountain, the smaller the building lot and more modest the homes; however, those residences along roads such as Stradella Road have magnificent views of the Los Angeles basin and Catalina Island. The most desirable homes are right off the main entrances of Bel-Air and the country club entrance for these homes have both the views of the Bel-Air Country Club and the rest of Los Angeles. Lower Bel-Air homes can sell for over $20 million. Many families prefer lower Bel-Air because of its proximity to Sunset Boulevard, a major thoroughfare.
President Ronald Reagan lived at 668 St. Cloud Road in Bel-Air (formerly 666 St. Cloud, but changed because of Satanic overtones of the address) from his retirement as President in 1989 until his death in 2004, and former First Lady Nancy Reagan continues to live there.
The quaint Hotel Bel-Air is home to many celebrity weddings. The hotel does not share the views most of the homes share, but it does have extensive gardens and keeps swans in its pond.
Popular television shows and movies have been filmed in Bel-Air, or are said to take place in the community. Exterior shots for the Beverly Hillbillies were shot in and around the 1938 French neoclassical-style mansion at 750 Bel Air Road, built by Lynn Atkinson (and later sold to hotelier Arnold Kirkeby after Atkinson's wife refused to move into a house she thought too ostentatious). Exterior scenes from movies such as Get Shorty have also been filmed in the area. Several television films of The Rockford Files were filmed in Bel Air. The popular television sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air was set in the neighborhood at 805 St. Cloud Road.
In 1961, a construction crew working in Sherman Oaks noticed the smoke and flames in a nearby pile of rubbish. Within minutes, Santa Ana winds gusting up to 60 mph (97 km/h). would send burning brush aloft and ultimately sear Nov. 6, 1961, into Los Angeles' civic memory.
Life Magazine called it "A Tragedy Trimmed in Mink," and glittering stars of stage and screen scrambled to do battle with the blaze that swept through Bel-Air and Brentwood that day. Flaming embers danced from roof to wood-shingled roof, spreading the fire across the Santa Monica Mountains to the south and into the affluent Westside enclaves.
In Bel-Air, some film stars stood their ground against the encroaching flames. Maureen O'Hara risked her life to remain at her home and hose down her wooden roof. Fred MacMurray battled the flames and contained damage to just a portion of his home. But comedian Joe E. Brown saw his home burn to the ground. Burt Lancaster and Zsa Zsa Gabor also lost their homes.
Former Vice President Richard M. Nixon and his chief researcher, Al Moscow, were working on a draft of Nixon's "Six Crises" when the flames threatened his rented house on North Bundy Drive. Nixon and Moscow took to the roof to water down the wood shingles, saving the home.
More than 300 police officers helped evacuate 3,500 residents during the 12-hour fire, and more than 2,500 firefighters battled the blaze, pumping water from neighborhood swimming pools to douse flames in some areas. Pockets of the fire smoldered for several days. Even as firefighters battled what was to become the Bel-Air disaster, a separate fire had erupted simultaneously in Santa Ynez Canyon to the west, further straining local firefighting resources. That blaze was contained the next day after consuming nearly 10,000 acres (40 km²) and nine structures and burning to within a mile of the inferno raging in Bel-Air and Brentwood.
At least 200 firefighters were injured but no one was killed and 78% of the homes were saved. Still, the fires were the fifth worst conflagration in the nation's history at the time, burning 16,090 acres (65.1 km²), destroying more than 484 homes and 190 other structures and causing an estimated $30 million in damage.
As of the census of 2000, there are 7,928 people in the neighborhood. The racial makeup of the neighborhood is 86.24% White, 1.93% Black, 0.06% Native American, 6.84% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 1.30% from other races, and 3.59% from two or more races, while 4.65% of the population are Hispanic.
It lies within the 5th city council district, represented (as of 2007) by Jack Weiss. It is located in the 90077 (Bel-Air Estates & Beverly Glen) Zip Code, both of which are part of the city of Los Angeles. Of several entrances, there are two main ones: The East Gate at Beverly Glen and Sunset Boulevards, and the West Gate at Bellagio Road and Sunset Boulevard, opposite an entrance for UCLA.
Los Angeles Fire Department Station 71 is in the area.
Los Angeles Police Department operates the West Los Angeles Community Police Station at 1663 Butler Avenue, 90025, serving the neighborhood [1].
Residents are zoned to the following Los Angeles Unified School District schools [2]: Warner Avenue Elementary School, Emerson Middle School, and University High School.
Some Bel-Air area homes are zoned to Roscomare Road Elementary School instead of Warner. Some homes are jointly zoned to Roscomare Road and Warner.
In addition, an LAUSD magnet school named Community Magnet School is near the area.
Private schools in Bel-Air include The John Thomas Dye School (K–6), The Westland School (K-6), Berkeley Hall (K-8), and Stephen S. Wise Temple Elementary, The Mirman School (K-8) & Milken Community High School (Jewish; K-12).
The American Jewish University is a small private university located within the Bel-Air Casiano neighborhood.
- Bel-Air, Los Angeles, California is at coordinates Coordinates:
- [3]
- "Bel-Air: A part of the city, yet apart from it too" (6 Mar 2005) Los Angeles Times, Real Estate section, Neighborly Advice column.
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| Topics | History · Transportation · Culture · Landmarks · Maps · Notable people · Mayors · Other elected officials |  |
| Regions | Downtown · Eastside · Harbor Area · Greater Hollywood · Westlake/Silver Lake/Los Feliz · San Fernando and Crescenta Valleys · South Los Angeles · Westside · Wilshire |
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| Districts and neighborhoods |
Bel-Air · Benedict Canyon · Beverly Glen · Beverly Hills Post Office · Beverlywood · Brentwood · Brentwood Circle · Brentwood Glen · Century City · Cheviot Hills · Crestview · Del Rey · Holmby Hills · Kenter Canyon · Mandeville Canyon · Marina Peninsula · Mar Vista · Palisades Highlands · Pacific Palisades · Palms · Playa del Rey · Playa Vista · Rancho Park · Rustic Canyon · Sawtelle · South Robertson · Venice · West Los Angeles · Westchester · Westdale · Westside Village · Westwood |  |
| Points of interest |
Getty Center · LAX · Loyola Marymount University · UCLA | |
| See also | Beverly Hills · Culver City · Marina del Rey · Platinum Triangle · Santa Monica | |
| Downtown · Eastside · Harbor Area · Greater Hollywood · Westlake & Silver Lake/Los Feliz · San Fernando and Crescenta Valleys · South Los Angeles · Westside · Wilshire | ||