This aerial photograph affords us a bird’s-eye view of what Beverly Hills looked like in 1920. Its reputation as a desirable address for movie people started in 1919, when Douglas Fairbanks bought Pickfair in 1919 for his bride-to-be, Mary Pickford. That’s the top house just slightly left of center. Also visible are the homes of Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, and director Victor Fleming, so obviously it didn’t take long for the Beverly Hills gold rush to kick into high gear. That winding road leading up into the hills is Coldwater Canyon, now one of the main ways of getting between Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley.

This satellite photo from 2021 shows us how all that vacant land is now completely filled in.