Bel Air is an affluent residential community in the hills of the Westside of the city of Los Angeles, California. Together with Beverly Hills and Holmby Hills it forms the Platinum Triangle of Los Angeles neighborhoods.
Bel Air is situated about 12 miles (19 km) west of downtown Los Angeles and includes some of the foothills of the Santa Monica Mountains. It borders the north side of UCLA along Sunset Boulevard. At the heart of the community sits the Bel Air Country Club and the Hotel Bel Air. The community was founded in 1923 by Alphonzo E. Bell, Sr.
It is bordered by Brentwood on the west and southwest, Westwood on the south, Beverly Hills Post Office on the east, and Sherman Oaks on the north. Bel Air is home to numerous Hollywood celebrities and high-profile corporate executives. The Bel Air Association has been operational since 1942, dedicated to preserving the life-style and property-values of their residential community. The Bel Air Association is located at the entrance of the East Gate of Bel Air at 100 Bel Air Road.
Residences in Bel Air tend to be private and hidden, by dense foliage and gates, from the winding roads of the community. Residences range from relatively modest ranch-style houses, to lavish mansions on magnificent estates. While some houses in Bel Air seem quite modest from the outside, often lying mere feet from the street, they still have large grounds. In general, the higher up the mountain, the smaller the building lots, and more modest the houses. However, those residences along roads such as Stradella Road and Linda Flora Drive provide panoramic views of the Los Angeles basin and Catalina Island. The most desirable houses are near the main entrances of the Bel Air Country Club, because they boast views of both the country club and much of Los Angeles. Lower Bel Air boasts many of the most expensive homes in the community, largely because of their proximity to Sunset Boulevard, a major thoroughfare.
