History of Rodeo Drive a very colorful past...
History of Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, California
RODEO DRIVE (pronounced Roh-DAY-oh) of Beverly Hills, California is a shopping district famous for designer label and haute couture fashion. The name generally refers to a three-block long stretch of boutiques and shops but the street stretches further north and south.
Back when California was part of Mexico, on August 3, 1769, Don José Gaspar de Portolà, the first governor of provincial California, and his entourage, the Portola expedition, became the first Europeans known to arrive in the area, having traveled an existing Indian trail (present-day Wilshire Boulevard) to the present-day site of La Cienega Park, named for a large swamp — “ciénega” in Spanish — and namesake of adjacent La Cienega Boulevard. The Tongva (“Gabrieleño”) people living there considered it to be a holy site because of its precious commodity, water, and the abundant food supply it provided. Their name for the site, “the Gathering of the Waters”, translates to Spanish as “El Rodeo de las Aguas.”
While Portolà fell somewhat short of reaching Cíbola, the expedition’s chaplain, Friar Juan Crespí, wrote in his journal of a large vineyard of wild grapes and an infinity of rose bushes. After traveling about half a league we came to a village of this region. People came into the road, greeted us and offered seeds.
Following the death of her Spanish soldier husband, Afro-Latina and early California feminist icon Doña Maria Rita Valdez de Villa was granted the deed to the area in 1838. She operated the Rancho Rodeo de las Aguas there until its sale in 1854 to Benjamin D. Wilson and Henry Hancock for $4000. “Hotel California,” the Beverly Hills Hotel, now stands where her adobe home once stood, about a half-mile north of the present-day Rodeo Drive shopping district.
Modern Development
In 1906, Burton E. Green and other investors purchased the property with plans for a mixed-use subdivision. With a nod to the region’s heritage, they named their company the Rodeo Land and Water Company and the development’s main street Rodeo Drive. However, the main force to Beverly Hills as the exclusive shopping area it is today was the star stud boutique, Giorgios. The shopping district as presently constituted developed in the 1970s. The business district, which extends from Wilshire Boulevard to Santa Monica Boulevard, is at once an exclusive shopping district, but also a major tourist attraction. The Rodeo Drive business district also includes those businesses on the streets that lie for a few blocks in either direction. Some of the more famous retailers include Giorgio Armani, Bang & Olufsen, Bally, Bottega Veneta, Bijan, Brioni, Bulgari, Buccellati, Burberry, Brooks Brothers, Cartier, Chanel, Dior, Coach, David Yurman, Dior Homme, Dolce & Gabbana, Domenico Vacca, Ermenegildo Zegna, Etro, Fendi, Frette, Gucci, Guess, Harry Winston, Hermès, Hugo Boss, Jimmy Choo, Lacoste, Louis Vuitton, Max Mara, Michael Kors, Prada, Ralph Lauren, Roberto Cavalli, Salvatore Ferragamo, Stuart Weitzman, Tiffany & Co., Tod’s, Valentino, Van Cleef & Arpels, Versace, Westime, Yves Saint-Laurent and more.
Books with History about the Melrose Avenue Area
Early Paramount Studios
For over 100 years, Paramount Pictures has been captivating movie and television audiences worldwide with its alluring imagery and compelling stories. Arising from the collective genius of Adolph Zukor, Jesse L. Lasky, and Cecil B. DeMille during the 1910s, Paramount Pictures is home to such enduring classics as Wings, Sunset Boulevard, The Ten Commandments, Love Story, The Godfather, the Indiana Jones series, Chinatown, Forrest Gump, Braveheart, Titanic, and Star Trek. Early Paramount Studios chronicles Paramount’s origins, culminating in the creation and expansion of the lot at 5555 Melrose Avenue, the last major motion picture studio still in Hollywood.
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Melrose Mayhem: L.A. Street Art
For over 100 years, Paramount Pictures has been captivating movie and television audiences worldwide with its alluring imagery and compelling stories. Arising from the collective genius of Adolph Zukor, Jesse L. Lasky, and Cecil B. DeMille during the 1910s, Paramount Pictures is home to such enduring classics as Wings, Sunset Boulevard, The Ten Commandments, Love Story, The Godfather, the Indiana Jones series, Chinatown, Forrest Gump, Braveheart, Titanic, and Star Trek. Early Paramount Studios chronicles Paramount’s origins, culminating in the creation and expansion of the lot at 5555 Melrose Avenue, the last major motion picture studio still in Hollywood.
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Paramount Studios: 1940-2000
The fascinating tale of Hollywood powerhouse Paramount Picturesbeginning with its birth in the 1910s through the turbulent decade of the 1930swas told in Early Paramount Studios by Marc Wanamaker, Michael Christaldi, and E.J. Stephens. Now the same authors are back to tell the next 60 years of the studio saga in Paramount Studios: 19402000, with a foreword by former Paramount head of production Robert Evans. This book picks up the story during the time of World War IIa successful era for the studiowhich was followed by a decade of decline due to the upstart medium of television. By the 1960s, the studio teetered on the brink of bankruptcy before rebounding, thanks to several 1970s blockbusters, such as Love Story, The Godfather, and Chinatown. The tale continues through the final decades of the 20th century when Paramount showcased some of the greatest hits in its history.
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