Ranking Hospitality
The Beverly Hills Hotel was built in 1912 by developer Burton Green for only $500,000. Green was president of the Rodeo Land and Water Company. He hoped that by building the hotel he would inspire visitors to buy land.
The Mission Revival-styled hotel featured the height of hospitality, welcoming wealthy Easterners to buy land in Greene’s 12-acres of bean fields. By 1914, the hotel was joined by Pickfair, the home of Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford. Soon other stars joined the medley, including Charlie Chaplin, John Barrymore, Harold Lloyd, Will Rogers and Buster Keaton, to name a few. It was the beginning of a theme that continues to this day. The city was incorporated under the name of Beverly Hills, after Greene’s Massachusetts home called Beverly Farms.