Brentwood

Deliver flowers to Brentwood California with Jennys Flowers & Gifts

Brentwood

Brentwood is an upscale district on the west side of the City of Los Angeles.
Annexed in 1916, Brentwood is bordered by Santa Monica, West Los Angeles, Bel Air, UCLA and Westwood Village. Major thoroughfares are San Vicente Boulevard, which is the "Main Street" of Brentwood, Barrington Avenue and Sunset Boulevard.
The Early Years
At the turn of the century, these undulating hills and canyons of the upper Westside were still a part of the original land grant titled Rancho San Vincente y Santa Monica. The rolling, grassy land swept upward into the Santa Monica Mountains and it provided some of the most spectacular scenery in California.

Lying between the city of Santa Monica (at 26th Street) and the Pacific Branch of the National Soldiers Home (gifted to the federal movement in 1888, now the VA), subdivision of the land was accomplished in the usual way in Los Angeles: along streetcar lines.

According to a 1907 advertisement in the Los Angeles Times
"To live in Brentwood Park means to have the conveniences of city life brought to the doors of your country estate. Mail and fresh eggs are brought to your home twice each day. Garbage is removed three times a week. Streetlights twinkle at night. There is a kindergarten in the Park and an autobus takes children to and from grammar school and Sunday school."

Brentwood Park had once been part of the Rancho San Vicente y Santa Monica, a grant of over 30,000 acres of "mountains, mesa and shore land" given in 1839 to the Sepulveda family by Governor Juan B. Alvarado. After the Sepulveda heirs sold their holdings in 1872 - for less than $2.00 an acre - the property changed hands several times. The portion that eventually became Brentwood Park was bought by the Western Pacific Development Company, which created the subdivision in 1906.

The following year Western Pacific Development placed advertisements in local papers, heralding the selection of John McLaren, superintendent of Golden Gate Park, to supervise the layout of Brentwood Park. No evidence has been found to vali-date the claim of McLaren's role in the design of Brentwood Park, but the image of a residential development laid out along the lines of that renowned wooded refuge in San Francisco must have been an attractive selling point.

Brentwood Park was one of the first subdivisions along San Vicente Boulevard. The developers boasted the investment of "a cool half million for improvements." They appear to have been quite serious in their attempt to create a woodland atmosphere, for they established guidelines to insure a natural and pastoral setting. "Everything that savors of a formal city street effect will be avoided and cement curbs and walks will be conspicuously absent." The streets were wide, graveled and oiled, and they wound about, following the graceful, natural contours of the land.

In 1906, the elegant Westgate line was laid out in what is now the coral tree median along San Vincente Boulevard from the Veterans Administration to the sea. Interurban service promised easy and direct transportation to downtown Los Angeles and Santa Monica.

The Middle Years
By the eve of World War I, much of lower Brentwood, near San Vincente, had been laid out. The area was without commercial activity except at the eastern end of San Vincente Boulevard. Adding to the recognized ambiance of the area was the new Brentwood Country Club on the south side of the electric car line. Begun as a cooperative venture by many of the prominent real estate promoters, the club quickly became a focal point for the area.

Styles changed after the war. Craftsman homes with their wide eaves, porches and steeply sloped roofs soon sat beside tiled Spanish Colonial Revival, timbered English Tudor and French Country houses. Much of the empty look was filled in and the automobile became the primary mode of transportation. A city to sea highway was paved along the foothills and in 1926, Beverly Boulevard (now Sunset) was opened. Homes began appearing in the hills on the "Tiger's Tail" and in Boca de Canon (Mandeville Canyon).

Most of the upper Brentwood, with its steep hillsides and wonderful views, developed in the canyons after World War II. Barbecues, patios and walls of sliding glass were trademarks of these homes, which were built to take full advantage of the outdoor lifestyle, which is the hallmark of Southern California.

The latest addition to the area was the community of Mountain Gate in the 1970's. The latter was a planned neighborhood high in the hills Sepulveda Boulevard. Attached and detached homes of traditional style were built around a country club in a beautiful setting of rolling hills and great views.

Brentwood Today
Brentwood today continues to be the sophisticated community that it was destined to be when it was laid out 90 years ago. The successful shopping districts along San Vincente Boulevard and the low-density housing have combined to create a wonderful place to live and to play. It is certainly a large jewel in the crown of Los Angeles.

The population of Brentwood is approximately 38,000. There are close to 18,000 residences, made up half of single family dwellings (mostly north of San Vincente) and half apartments or condominiums (mostly south of San Vincente).

Brentwood is called home by many of the area's most prominent business, political and academic leaders--and of course, movie stars, screen writers, directors and others "in the business."

Despite Brentwood's higher profile in recent years, the locals consider themselves to be "just plain folks" who cherish their community and their privacy.

San Vincente Boulevard is the "Main Street" of Brentwood. Its median strip is lined with Coral Trees whose oddly twisting branches appear almost ancient in a land where all is new.

Some of LA's best shopping and dining locations are found along San Vincente; the Country Mart (at 26th and San Vincente) and Brentwood Village (where Barrington and Sunset intersect) also offer anything you might be looking for.

The opening of the new Getty Museum on a majestic hilltop north of Sunset, just west of the 405, will provide a home for one of the world's greatest art collections. The Getty is expected to attract over a million visitors each year.

Though Brentwood has lost its anonymity in recent years, it has lost none of its charm. People who live here can think of nowhere else they'd rather be.
There is a city called Brentwood, in Northern California. This causes occasional confusion for local postmasters.

Flower Arrangements
Browse / Order

Member of the Teleflora
U.S.A. top 2000 florists

We Sell Flowers but Deliver Feelings