LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / September 21, 2018 / According to Neil Shekhter, Brentwood is one of the few elegant and fashionable residential areas in Los Angeles. With a population of about 235,000 people, this neighborhood has attracted the high and mighty in the society. It is crawling with wealthy businessmen, professional sports athletes, political figures and the who's who in the entertainment circles. Some of the notable individuals who live or have lived in this neighborhood include Steve McQueen, Gwyneth Paltrow, Cindy Crawford, Harrison Ford, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Marilyn Monroe.
The Lost Glory
Brentwood is surrounded by four other neighborhoods. There is Wilshire Boulevard to the south; Bel-Air to the east; the popular Mulholland Drive to the north; and Mandeville Canyon to the west. All these neighborhoods are packed with single-family homes and apartments which have negatively affected the aesthetic nature of Brentwood.
One notable name pops up when we talk about Brentwood; it is that of O.J. Simpson. In 1994, most Americans were aghast by the coverage of the Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman murder trials. O.J. Simpson had been accused of killing the two. The viewers were treated to a lurid scene of a bizarre car chase between O.J. Simpson and the police that culminated at his home in Brentwood. In addition, there were recorded conversations between Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman, her alleged lover, in O.J. Simpson's Brentwood home and the once famous Brentwood Restaurant. These recordings were presented as evidence in court. Although O.J. Simpson was later acquitted, these events shone a negative light on Brentwood, and it made people question its security.
A Preservation of History
In 1848, right after Mexico's defeat in the Mexican-American war, the Rancho San Vicente and Santa Monica land-grant was sold off as land parcels. Brentwood was part of this land-grant. However, it wasn't until the late 19th century that Brentwood was established. It was one of the small communities of Westgate. Today's Westgate Avenue serves as a reminder to the people of Los Angeles of this history. Many streets in Brentwood are named after different English towns despite the fact that the town has no known ties to Brentwood, England.
In 1961, there was a huge wildfire that swept across Brentwood. The fire destroyed close to 500 hundred homes and burned 16,090 acres of land. It is estimated that Brentwood suffered huge losses totaling $30 million. Luckily for the town, no life had been lost in the devastating ordeal.