Trousdale Estates is a neighborhood of Beverly Hills, California, located in the foothills of the Santa Monica Mountains. It was developed in the 1950s and 1960s and is named after Paul Trousdale, a real estate developer.
, the average sale price of a home in Trousdale Estates was over $11 million. According to Bloomberg L.P. it is one of the 12 most expensive neighborhoods in the USA.
History Trousdale Estates was built on the grounds of the Doheny Estate, home to Greystone Mansion, a 1928 gift from Los Angeles oil magnate Edward L. Doheny to his son Edward L. Doheny, Jr., and family.Myrna Oliver, Lucy Doheny Battson, 100; Family Made Fortune in Oil, Los Angeles Times, June 22, 1993William Alexander Mcclung, Landscapes of Desire: Anglo Mythologies of Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California: University of California Press, 2002, p. 132 Mary Ann Bonino, The Doheny Mansion: A Biography of a Home, 2008, p. 65 Don Sloper, Los Angeles's Chester Place, Arcadia Publishing, 2007, p. 65
In 1954, Paul Trousdale purchased the estate from Doheny, Jr.’s widow, Mrs. Lucy Smith Doheny Battson. The mansion was acquired by industrialist Henry Crown, who later sought to demolish it and subdivide the property; this was forestalled by its purchase by the city of Los Angeles in 1965. Today it is a public park and listed as a United States Historical Site.Erika Riggs, Elvis' Beverly Hills home goes on the market, NBCMarc Wanamaker, Early Beverly Hills, Arcadia Publishing, 2005, p. 51 Ann Herold, Trousdale Estates, Los Angeles, January 09, 2012
Shortly after purchasing the estate, sometimes known as the Doheny Ranch, Trousdale convinced the Beverly Hills City Council to add his planned neighborhood to the city, which it accepted, and he renamed Trousdale Estates.Marc Wanamaker, Beverly Hills, (Ca): 1930-2005, Arcadia Publishing, 2006, p. 39
Trousdale subdivided the property into 532 lots, all subject to strict regulations devised by the Architectural Committee, including how high roofs could be. Early houses were designed by renowned architects Wallace Neff (1895–1982), Paul R. Williams (1894–1980), A. Quincy Jones (1913–1979), Frank Lloyd Wright (1867–1959) and Harold Levitt (1922–2003). Allen Siple (1900–1973) acted as the supervising architect.Alan Hess, Forgotten modern: California houses 1940–1970, Layton, Utah: Gibbs Smith, 2007, pp. 262–264
By 1981, some houses had been remodeled, blocking their neighbors' views. As a result, after some consultation in 1987 the Trousdale Estates Homeowners Association, a non-profit organization, and the City of Beverly Hills implemented the Trousdale Ordinance to preserve the neighborhood.Jeff Burbank, Development Dispute in Trousdale Estates: Homeowners Split on Proposed Limits, Los Angeles Times, February 15, 1987 There are also "view protections" that protect a resident's view from neighboring trees, outlined in the Trousdale Ordinance.Trousdale Ordinance, beverlyhills.org , The City of Beverly Hills now enforces these building codes and view protections.
The neighborhood has 24/7 security patrol cars with armed guards. In addition, the Beverly Hills Police Department has increased its day and night rounds in the neighborhood with dedicated patrols.
Loma Vista is the main thoroughfare in Trousdale Estates.
Notable residents Celebrity residents have included Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Tony Curtis, Ray Charles, Howard Hughes, and Groucho Marx. Max Feeney, Nixon at the Movies: A Book about Belief, Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press, 2012, p. 38 Tiffany Hsu, Elvis Presley's Beverly Hills estate for sale at $13 million, Los Angeles Times, October 11, 2012 President Richard Nixon lived in the neighborhood from 1962 to 1963. When Nixon, who had just been Vice President from 1953 to 1961 under President Dwight D. Eisenhower, purchased his residence, Frank McCullogh of the Los Angeles Times reported that he had paid only $90,000 for a $300,000 home, as the developers believed his name would add prestige to the neighborhood.David Halberstam, The Powers That Be, Champaign, Illinois: University of Illinois Press, 1975, p. 344
More recently, Jennifer Aniston, Elton John, David Spade, Vera Wang, Billy Dee Williams, John Rich, Jane Fonda, Richard Perry, Markus Persson, Ringo Starr, Simon Cowell, and Charlie Puth have lived in the neighborhood.Lauren Beale, Hot Property: TV and film director John Rich lists Trousdale Estates home at $11.9 million, Los Angeles Times, June 06, 2011Hot Property: Jane Fonda, Richard Perry, Los Angeles Times
Jeffrey Katzenberg, who co-founded DreamWorks, bought a $35 million, mansion in Trousdale Estates from Simon Ramo, an American physicist, engineer, and business leader. Katzenberg hosted fundraisers for President Barack Obama at this mansion.
In July 2019, Uber co-founder Garrett Camp and his wife Eliza Nguyen bought an mansion for $72.5 million in Trousdale Estates.
In August 2021, Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber sold their home in Trousdale Estates for a reported $13.5 million.
In February 2022, David Spade sold his home in Trousdale Estates for a reported $19.5 million.
In popular culture Trousdale Estates plays a role in Seasons Two and Three of the Showtime TV series Ray Donovan, whose namesake attempts to buy a $4 million house there to "move up" from nearby Calabasas.
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