Brentwood

Brentwood is one of the wealthiest areas of Los Angeles, populated by affluent professionals, political figures and celebrities. Brentwood real estate is known for its Spanish-style homes, condos and traditional single family homes for sale. Brentwood has prosperous commercial districts along each of its major east-west thoroughfares, Wilshire Boulevard, San Vicente Boulevard and Sunset Boulevard. The Spanish-style and traditional-style homes as well as the condos of Brentwood are located at the base of the Santa Monica Mountains. Brentwood was once part of the Rancho San Vicente y Santa Monica, a Mexican land-grant ranch sold off in pieces by the Sepulveda family after the Mexican-American War. Development began following the establishment of the large 600-acre Pacific Branch of the National Home for Disabled Soldiers and Sailors in the 1880s. A small community sprang up outside that facility's west gate, taking on the name Westgate. Annexed by the City of Los Angeles on June 14, 1916, Westgate included large parts of what are now the Pacific Palisades and a small portion of today's Bel Air. Westgate Avenue is one of the last reminders of the area's former namesake. The Sunset Fields Golf Club, known as the Brentwood Country Club since 1941, hosted the running part of the modern pentathlon event at the 1932 Summer Olympics. Local traditions include the annual decoration of San Vicente Boulevard's historic coral trees with holiday lights and a Maypole erected each year on the lawn of the Archer School for Girls, carrying on the tradition set by the Eastern Star Home that was previously housed there. Classic film lovers are familiar with this building as the exterior establishing shot for the Mar Vista Rest Home, which provides a key scene in the 1974 film Chinatown. Inspired by the community of veterans resident at the former Soldiers and Sailors Home, now a United States Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Brentwood once regularly hosted a Memorial Day parade, complete with a string of classic cars and an elephant named Tiny.