Bel Air

Alphonzo Bell subdivided Bel-Air in 1923 on his ranch north of Sunset Boulevard, with large lots, winding roads and the two gates on Sunset and Bellagio that still mark the entrances. The Bel-Air Country Club and the Hotel Bel-Air followed, and the Bel-Air Association has enforced the residential character ever since.

The neighborhood climbs from Sunset Boulevard up Stone Canyon, Bel Air Road and the ridges toward Mulholland Drive. Lower Bel-Air, closest to Sunset, has the original estates on flatter ground; upper Bel-Air along the canyon roads has hillside and view properties built through the twentieth century, and the Getty Center sits on the western edge above the 405.

Bel-Air is an estate market. Lower Bel-Air and the streets near the country club carry period mansions on acre-plus lots that trade rarely and at the top of the Los Angeles market. Upper Bel-Air along Stone Canyon, Bel Air Road and Roscomare Road has mid-century and contemporary homes on hillside lots with views, at a wide range of prices depending on lot, view and construction.

Many properties are behind private gates or within gated enclaves such as Bel Air Crest near Mulholland. Hillside grading, fire-hazard zoning, private road maintenance and geologic reports are standard parts of due diligence. The few condos are along Wilshire Boulevard on the neighborhood’s southern boundary with Westwood.

Los Angeles Unified School District serves the neighborhood, with Roscomare Road Elementary inside Bel-Air and middle and high school assignments in the surrounding Westside. The area also has several private schools nearby. Boundaries follow streets, so check a specific address with the district.

Sunset Boulevard runs along the southern edge to Beverly Hills and Brentwood, the 405 borders the west side through the Sepulveda Pass with an exit at Getty Center Drive, and Beverly Glen crosses the hills to Sherman Oaks. Westwood Village and UCLA are just south of the Sunset gates.