Trousdale Estate Nominated for Landmark Status

BY MICHAEL WITTNER

1010 Hillcrest Road Photo courtesy Berlyn Photography for Hilton & Hyland

The Cultural Heritage Commission voted on July 14 to initiate nomination proceedings to designate the Paul Trousdale Estate as a local landmark on the Beverly Hills Register of Historic Properties. The 5,592-square-foot Hollywood Regency property is located at 1010 Hillcrest Road.

Now that nomination proceedings can begin, Director of Community Development Ryan Gohlich will complete a preliminary evaluation by July 28. The Cultural Heritage Commission will meet before Aug. 27 to conduct a preliminary hearing on whether to make a formal recommendation to the City Council, who will then make the fi nal decision whether to place the home on the list.

If accepted, the property will be the fi rst home in Trousdale Estates to join a venerable list of 43 properties that include Beverly Hills City Hall, the Beverly Hills Hotel, Beverly Wilshire Hotel, Greystone Mansion, and Beverly Gardens Park.

“I can’t say enough about how much I feel this house needs to be on our Registry of Historic Places, so I would like to move forward with the nomination proceedings – I’m totally on board with this in all aspects of the house: the architect, the meaning behind Paul Trousdale picking this specifi c place to put his house, the landscaping, everything meets the criteria for me,” Commissioner Jill Collins said during a short deliberation.

The three-bedroom, seven-bathroom property was designed in 1959 by John Elgin Woolf, an architect included on the City of Beverly Hills List of Master Architects. Woolf typified the mid-century decor of the Hollywood Golden Age known as “Hollywood Regency”— defi ned by bold colors, shapes, metals, and glasses— and designed the homes of a veritable who’s-who of 1950s and 60s Hollywood A-listers. Two other Woolf properties – the Vance residence at 805 Hillcrest Road and the PendletonEvans Resident at 1033 Woodland Drive — are already designated as city landmarks.

Woolf designed 1010 Hillcrest Road for real estate developer Paul W. Trousdale, known for purchasing the undeveloped hillside land that now constitutes the eponymous Trousdale Estates from Lucy Smith Doheny Battson, daughter-in-law of Edward Doheny, for $400,000 (approximately $4 million in today’s money) in 1955. Trousdale converted the former Doheny Ranch into an estimated 544 single-family residential lots over 14 subdivided tracts. According to a city staff report, this became one of the last major land additions to Beverly Hills. Trousdale chose the lot he believed had the best views and lived there with his wife Jean for 30 years until his death in 1990.

To qualify for the Registry, a building must meet several criteria listed in the 2012 Beverly Hills Historic Preservation Ordinance. Criteria are split into Section A, and Section B. A building must fulfi ll all the criteria in Section A and at least one criterion from Section B to be considered. (Trousdale Estate continues on page 9)