| One longtime resident of Beverly Hills made an interesting observation once. He said, "Hollywood isn't a real place. It's a state of mind. When people are envisioning Hollywood and movie stars and beautiful homes and surroundings, they are really envisioning the City of Beverly Hills." But then I have to quickly add that there really is a Hollywood, it was just not opulent or glamorous. My new friend and fellow blogger, Melody Young tells me (below) that it has undergone an enormous transformation. It's now the place to be. But in the recent past, it was far more seedy than New York's Times Square ever was. And if you wanted to see seedy, Times Square was certainly the place! Beverly Hills is where the legendary hotels, The Beverly Hills Hotel and The Beverly Wilshire provide the palaces and the courts for the stars and the wealthy visitors. And it's where Chasen's was, and The Grill and Jimmy's and Spago restaurants are. And it's where Rodeo Drive is, a three block shopping district that immediately thereafter transforms itself into the most beautiful boulevard of splendid mansions and architecture in the United States. And with palm trees, one after another, that are as tall as many buildings, down the most beautifully landscaped boulevard in the world. The whole shebang is only a bit more than five square miles. It has positive things like churches, schools, a hospital and a cemetery. But it has no industry, billboards, smoke stacks or homeless people or noticeable eyesores. The massive lawns, the landscaping and the homes must be kept sparkling, less the city ordinances grab you. Residents aren't keen on visitors walking their streets because they abhor crime. In fact for all practical purposes there isn't any. Thank the only police department in the world that has an average response time of just over one minute. All gardeners and their crews must be registered with the city because it takes a license to do landscaping. One of the main reasons for the licensing is to have a way to stop crews from blowing clippings into the streets and storm sewers and wasting water. If they catch you, there goes your license. And real estate signs have to conform to one size about no bigger that a piece of stationery, painted with a white background, and with a simple font and paint color approved by the city. If you're looking for a home in Beverly Hills, you know to look near the house entrances for the small signs. If you aren't, your eyes aren't scrambled by a series of those massive obtrusions juxtaposed down the streets. You see the For Sale signs must be only a few feet from the façade of the house, must be parallel to the street and only one per yard. Interestingly, Beverly Hills is only eighty-one years old, and I can't help but tell you that its first mayor was Will Rogers, the famous raconteur of the day. All of this to say that Beverly Hills should be the poster child for how to build and manage a city. And it is a place that everyone who has an interest in home sales, landscaping, home and store design, and store decorating and inventorying should visit and study. On Rodeo Drive, here are some of the stores you should see and study: Anthropologie, Bottega Veneta, Carroll & Co., Chanel, David Orgell, Escada, Georgette Klinger, Jimmy Choo, Jose Eber, Lladro, Taschen Brooks, Decret and Bijan. And don't overlook Guess? Ranch or Pierre Deu. Again, let me say that it's definitely the prototype that cities and city governments should strive for. And the marketing genius that is displayed there is worthy of being copied by every merchant nationwide. Product sales would zoom to the rafters. For twenty years, I spent a great deal of time doing real estate business in Los Angeles. My camp grounds was always the Beverly Wilshire. I can't think of a more charming place on the planet. And in a former life, I was the pianist in the hotel's Blvd Lounge for one six-week engagement. Years later when I came back for the first time as the Real Estate Man, I was apparently in their computer because within moments of my check in, the manager called to ask if I would honor the guests by sitting in for a set in the Blvd that evening. I did. The only star I recognized who stopped in and heard me was Polly Bergan. She obviously wasn't impressed. She didn't palm me a 5 spot or send me a note. But that whole scenario by the manager just reeked of good manners and impeccable marketing. Why don't other fine hotels do that? I'm here to tell you that I love the Beverly Wilshire and I love the City of Beverly Hills. And I want you to know that I am a far superior real estate professional as a result of the lessons they taught me. You should consider going to study in that cultural laboratory, too. |
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