Legendary Estates of Beverly Hills

Jeffrey Hyland is president of Hilton & Hyland, the pre-eminent real estate brokerage firm in Beverly Hills. He is frequently quoted in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and the Los Angeles Times as an authority on Southern California real estate, architecture, and history.

"...a meticulously researched and lavishly illustrated history of fifty magnificent estates..." — Upscale Living"The elites of Edwardian-era Los Angeles liked building their mansions in Pasadena and Hancock Park but would soon be looking west. The grand homes that rose out of the boom of the 1920s are at the heart of the opulent book The Legendary Estates of Beverly Hills, out Sept. 2 from Rizzoli. Author Jeff Hyland, the late cofounder of luxury real estate firm Hilton & Hyland, spent years researching the book and created a personal library of Beverly Hills historical items. His widow, Lori, is now CEO of the company and penned the introduction to this expanded edition." — Los Angeles Magazine"Judging this book by its cover photo and author credit (the late president of Hilton & Hyland real estate brokerage), one might think it would contain over-the-top lavish residential palaces rife with realtor-speak. However, you’d be only half right. Yes, the estates are lavish, but the prose is seriously researched (evidenced in the sources section) and informative. Well-illustrated histories of how Beverly Hills, Homby Hills, and Bel Air became the tony homes of the rich and famous begin each section. Home portraits follow featuring historic and contemporary photos (most by Randolph Harrison and Tim Street-Porter) along with stories of the famous residents and visitors—primarily from 1920s and ’30s Hollywood. The lives of the architects and designers are highlighted as well for the full story of the homes. Like almost any other book on the history of LA single-family residences, there’s a last elegiac section on homes that have been lost." — Society of Architectural Historians