- nbhd -
beverly hills + century city
The cynic in me wants to say that these neighborhoods are just taking up space, creating a couple added miles of traffic to sit through between West Hollywood and Westwood. A tourist destination and corporate hub adding little value to the culture and communities of Los Angeles. But even if they are merely taking up space, even a cynic must admit they do at least contribute to the city in important, if annoying, ways.
On Beverly Hills. For people not familiar with LA, Beverly Hills looms large. But for many people from LA, Beverly Hills is a drive-through neighborhood that you rarely think about unless you are physically in it, likely waiting at a string of red lights on Santa Monica or Wilshire. And when you do think about it, you might realize just how strange Beverly Hills is. At surface level it is meant to be glamorous and luxurious but it looks a little too new. It feels like it’s trying to evoke the shopping streets of Milan but ends up giving The Venetian in Vegas. That said, they do check off the boxes of luxury retail, all the designer brands are there. Fancy restaurants with buttoned up staff and valets out front. Cars more expensive than most of America’s mortgages casually parked on the side of the street. Rodeo Drive being the exact postcard version of what it is meant to be. Bizarrely, dozens of suited up people at every hour just wandering around the sidewalks at 3pm on a Tuesday. Why do the humans of Beverly Hills feel like paid actors? Why does it feel about as authentic as the back lot of a studio filled with gawking tourists? What is the point of this neighborhood again?
Beneath the shallow glamor there is some substance. Storied establishments that have seen generations of Hollywood stars. Some shops that are quite convincing in making Beverly Hills feel like any other LA neighborhood. And even a few places that are actually gems. Not to mention some of the most iconic landmarks of the city: the recognizable Beverly Hills sign… and the six-way stop sign intersection that haunts all Angelenos.
On Century City. Ok I know I drag on Hollywood and Weho plenty, but here me out, Century City is actually the worst place in LA. Yes, the one of Barbie movie fame (one of the best inside jokes in the film) It’s the one part of LA I genuinely hate. No amount of shiny mall can redeem it. It’s my dark spot on this sunny place. Century City is the real “Hollywood” the real “Beverly Hills” that we don’t tell you about. It’s the suits that run this city. It’s all work, no play. Shiny, new, grand in a corporate way. The death star CAA building looming large.
But seriously, unless you’re here for a meeting, you’re probably just here for the Century City Mall, which admittedly has improved over the years with some of LA’s best popping up in its made-over footprint. But even a Din Tai Fung and Eataly can’t redeem the fact it is infested with talent agents and you’re bound to run into a professional acquaintance and feel obligated to make small talk.
