DOWN AND HAUTE IN BEVERLY HILLS

Renown as the city of celebrity and millionaire residents, palm tree-lined avenues, grand mansions and one of the world's most chic shopping avenues, Beverly Hills is one of the most famous areas in greater Los Angeles.

Beverly Hills is surrounded by the cities of Los Angeles and West Hollywood. Since the early 20th century it has been a neighborhood of the rich and famous. But its roots go back to a less grand pedigree.

At the turn of the century, the area on which present-day Beverly Hills sits was known as Rancho Rodeo de las Aguas (Meeting of the Waters). Lima beans were the chief crop and only a few dozen farm workers lived in shacks along the unpaved roads near the fields.

Agriculture gave way to petroleum speculation in 1905 when an oil syndicate headed by Charles Canfield, Burton Green and Max Whittier bought the entire Rancho for $670,000.

The gentlemen's hopes for wealth were dashed when after about a year their 30 wells failed to yield appreciable amounts of oil. The trio realized they had paid too much to continue to raise beans, so they decided to turn the ranch into a real estate development. The 1.5-by-2-mile area was bounded by Wilshire Boulevard on the south, Whittier Drive on the west, the hills above Sunset Boulevard on the north and Doheny Drive on the east.

The name Beverly Hills, so the story goes, was created by Green. An admirer of President William Howard Taft, Green created the name after reading that Taft had vacationed in the Massachusetts town of Beverly Farms.

The present city was designed in 1907 by Wilbur Cook for the Rodeo Land and Water Company, which was formed to sell lots to families willing to pay between $300 and $1,000 for a parcel of up to one acre. Coupled with a housing boom in neighboring Los Angeles and such logistical pluses as a 20-minute trolley ride to the beach, Beverly Hills soon took on an upscale suburban look with dozens of large, comfortable homes and more and more newly opened streets.

The Beverly Hills Hotel was among the town's first commercial buildings.

Sprawling across 12 lushly landscaped acres, the hotel, with its Spanish colonial revival architecture and soft pastel exterior, today is as much a physical focus of the community as when it opened in 1912.

By 1914, the city claimed 250 residents and thus qualified for incorporation. In that same year a neighborhood shopping district was also established. One of Beverly Hills' first commercial thoroughfares was Rodeo Drive which from the beginning was lined with boutiques and restaurants. Today it is one of the world's most famous and luxurious shopping districts.

In 1920, the population of Beverly Hills reached 634, not an historically significant number except that it included two residents who would change the face of the city forever: Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks. Unarguably the era's most famous couple, Pickford and Fairbanks became the toast of the town in 1920 when they married and set up housekeeping on 14 gorgeous acres behind the Beverly Hills Hotel.

The press promptly named the estate Pickfair and the publicity surrounding the couple and their home started a wave of celebrity move-ins which included Charlie Chaplin, Will Rogers and Gloria Swanson. The Beverly Hills Hotel became the "in" spot. Stars such as Greta Garbo, Clark Gable, Carole Lombard and Howard Hughes could often be found sipping drinks in the fabled Polo Lounge or taking a dip in the hillside pool.

Overnight, the presence of these internationally acclaimed stars gave Beverly Hills a cachet of glamour and wealth. Its close proximity to the bustling Hollywood studios lured even more movie stars, followed by producers, directors and wealthy businessmen. By the 1930 census, Beverly Hills' population had swelled to nearly 17,500.

Today, as one of the nation's most elegant communities, Beverly Hills boasts some 33,000 residents -- and millions of visitors. Some of the favorite Beverly Hills attractions, which are enjoyed by locals and visitors alike, include the designer boutiques along Rodeo Drive, the elegant restaurants and certainly the many superb mansions north of Santa Mortica Boulevard.

The city's prestigious hotels range from the new French Renaissance-style Peninsula Beverly Hills, to the 1928-vintage Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel (most recently famous for its starring role in the film Pretty Woman) and the legendary Beverly Hills Hotel (closed until 1995 for extensive renovation). Beverly Hills, it seems, is a city that will never go out of style.