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Beverly
Hills: The Master Suburb |
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| Title | Beverly Hills: The Master Suburb |
| Alt. Title | Beverly Hills |
| Identifier | http://toto.lib.unca.edu/findingaids/books/booklets/beverly_hills/default_beverly_hills.htm |
| Creator | |
| Subject Keyword | Beverly Hills ; suburbs ; suburbia ; planned community ; real estate ; Asheville, NC ; |
| Subject LCSH | Beverly Hills,
N.C Photography (Asheville, N.C.) North Carolina -- Social life and customs -- Pictorial works |
| Date original | 1902 [?] |
| Date digital | 2008-03-25 |
| Publisher |
Inland Press, Asheville, North Carolina |
| Contributor |
n/a |
| Type | Booklet: illustration, photographs, text |
| Format | [digital] image/jpeg/text ; [8] p. : ill. ; 16 x 17 cm [original] |
| Source | Virtual copy only. Privately held. |
| Language | English |
| Relation | Frank Presbrey, The Southland: An Exposition Of The Present Resources And Development Of The South, Washington, D. C. Southern Railway Co., 1898, UNCA Special Collections, HC107.A13 P74 1898 ; E.M. Ball Photographic Collection, UNCA ; Documenting the American South, Chapel Hill: Asheville -- the Ideal Autumn and Winter Resort City: Electronic Edition. Washington: Southern Railway (U.S.) Passenger Traffic Dept., 1900?. Documenting the American South, UNC Chapel Hill: Autumn and Winter in the Land of the Sky: Electronic Edition. Washington: Southern Railway (U.S.) Passenger Traffic Dept., 1915? ; Western North Carolina Railroad Scenery "Land of the Sky" (1880's), UNCA Special Collections ; The Sunny South: drawings by E.H. Suydam (1924) ; Southern Summer Resorts and Camps in the Mountains - Southern Railway System (1922) New York: Rand McNally & Co. Special Collections F262.A16 S68 1922 ; A Motor Trip Veritably to Nature's Heart in "The Land of the Sky" (1920's?) A Motor Trip Veritably to Nature's Heart in "The Land of the Sky" UNCA Special Collections ; Land of the Sky (1913) : Southern Railway, Premier Carrier of the South (1913?), UNCA Special Collections ; The Land of the Sky (1920's) ; Special Collections F261 .G7x ; Community Life in Western North Carolina (early 1900's) Special Collections F264.A8 P92 1895. |
| Coverage temporal | early 1900's [?] |
| Rights | Any display,
publication or public use must credit D. H. Ramsey Library, Special
Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville. Copyright retained by the authors of certain items in the collection, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law. |
| Donor | Private |
| Description | A small un-paginated booklet prepared by the Inland Press of Asheville that describes the newly developed suburb of Beverly Hills. It includes descriptions of the planned community and the homes in the area and includes some local history of the immediate area of Azalea and Beverly Hills. . |
| Acquisition | Privately owned. |
| Citation | Beverly Hills, D. H. Ramsey Library, Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville 28804 |
| Processed by | Special Collections staff, 2009-03-12 |
| Last update | 2009-03-12 |
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| Page | I.D. # | Description | Thumbnail |
| bev_001 | [Cover] Beverly Hills: The Master Suburb |
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| bev_002 |
What is
that call that grips my heart And fills my throat with pain? It beckons me and I must start Toward my hills again. I'm tired of pavements, sick of din, The jostle of the mob; I'm weary of lines that hem me in The city's sickening throb. It is a call that shuntles down The city's raillery, - ~ And fills the air with pleasing sound— My hills are calling me. |
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| bev_003 | BEVERLY
HILLS has been named "The
Master
Suburb," and
in
this name there is
incorporated no amazing superlatives and no subtle phrase of deception. To
those who have the capacity to
distinguish the
personality of a place, and the proper
appreciation
for
a
proudly planned motif that
is to endure and maintain
its prestige among the many
valuable attractions yet to be formed, Beverly
Hills
will prove to be as
distinctive, as enduring and as fascinating a place as any person, seeking
solitude or practical pleasure, could desire. The site of Beverly Hills was once within the borders of a vast and mighty Indian empire. Rising in majestic beauty above the Swannanoa river it has been for centuries one of the playgrounds of the children of nature. The Indians had no particular name for the Swannanoa river. Sometimes it is said to have originated from a Cherokee word meaning "beautiful." Other legends have it that it is another Cherokee expression meaning "nymph of beauty." From these early appreciations the history of the Beverly Hills section can be traced on down to one of the first white settlers of Western North Carolina, Samuel Davidson. Samuel Davidson, his wife and child, and one female negro slave, settled near the site of Beverly Hills, a short distance from Azalea, the present nearby station on the Southern railroad. John C. Calhoun also in his day picked this site as his favorite summer resort, and it was he, merely by examination of the map and by inductive reasoning, reached the conclusion, long before facts had been demonstrated by measurement, that in the Black Mountains, near Beverly Hills, was the highest land in the United States east of the Rocky Mountains. The little
paths that wind away
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| bev_004 |
Beverly
Hills has been painted by artists,
trained in the interpretation of
beauty and subtle
expression, but there are
things in connection with this
masterpiece of
nature that they have been
unable to catch and transmit to
canvas. These
things are the natural and
economic benefits of the situation
and the myriad
conveniences that have been
supplied by man. Only four
miles from
Asheville proper, on
the
Asheville-Black Mountain-New York
paved
highway, this human paradise
is planned in accord with the
natural
endowments of nature. Beverly Hills is
not patted here and there and
prettified
to please the unseeing and
incurious eye, but
is a glorified
development of primeval gifts. There are four entrances to Beverly Hills. One of these entrances is at the western section of the Municipal Golf Course and another is near the main entrance of the Municipal Recreation Park. The Golf Course is practically surrounded by the Beverly Hills plot and it is one of the best courses in Western North Carolina, having been planned by Donald Ross. The Recreation Park, just across the Swannanoa river from Beverly Hills, has become in the last few years one of the most attractive and efficiently equipped parks in the country. It is, in addition to being a place for recreation, a* leisure place that attracts hundreds every summer day. A good zoo, with many fine specimens of the animal kingdom, is one of the features. Children find in a special portion of the park, built and equipped especially for them, a wonderful and a safe place in which to play. |
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| bev_005 |
This is only one of
the
many improvements
that the city of Asheville and private corporations and individuals are
bringing to the Beverly Hills section. To those who do
not
cater to public
amusements, however, Beverly Hills is so situated
as
to be
a
secluded spot of
silence. Across the Swan-nanoa river from the
Recreation
Park, and flanked
by the Golf Course, it remains only a matter of
inclination for
the resident to
participate in these activities or
be
absolutely
segregated
from such
amusements. The third and fourth entrances to Beverly Hills from the main highway are to the east of the Recreation Park. In this park, for those not caring to maintain private grounds for physical recreation, its every form may be found at the park across the Swannanoa, or either to the right or left, in the mountains or in the Golf Course. This Golf Course is practically adjacent to 500 home sites of Beverly Hills, and rising or dropping away in every direction are hills and valleys of rest or recreation. Motor busses, operated by private companies and two new de luxe passenger cars of the Beverly Hills organization form a connecting link between Asheville and this "Master Suburb." Beverly Hills has been selected for its home sites and with an acknowledged view to its mounting values. Naturally artistic and distinctive in its location and environs, Beverly Hills lends a blending background to better homes, homes that are to be lived in and enjoyed as a permanent tribute to posterity. Logical in location, genuine in its increasing value, it is indeed a master of suburbs around Asheville. The beaten
path no romance holds; |
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| bev_006 | There is in
most people
a responding thrill to the
stories of
pioneer life, yet in these
days there has come into cognizance
a call for the
happy medium. The hurry and
rush of time surrounds the
people
of
today, and
it is no longer
necessary
that life be
regarded as purely
a matter of existence. It is
a positive necessity, however, that the
centers of commerce
be easily accessible and
that homes be
both efficient and
cynocures of beauty. There
still clings, nevertheless,
that
love and
admiration of
nature in the nude and the
primitive
loveliness of natural
life and ledge. It
is with this urge
of
human nature
kept constantly in
mind that the Master Suburb
has been brought
to its present
state of loveliness and efficiency. Beverly Hills is in the midst of wild, untouched forests and hills that offer a chance to explore and adventure among the many forms of wild life. Added to this is the flavor of its traditions and its future. On the other side of the question, keeping in mind the change in man's circumstances and the requirements of his present modes of living, Beverly Hills has made the necessary additions and supplied the various improvements to meet every need, and they are the best obtainable. Among these attributes that man has added to nature are avenues and highways, paved with enduring concrete, wide and well planned. There is no purer nor more bountiful supply of water in any section on earth. The facilities of sanitation are perfect in detail and the finest lighting system to be had is now being installed. The wiring for all White Way appliances will be through underground conduits. The landscape work is in charge of men who are noted for their work and their artistic appreciation and application to various environments.
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| bev_007 |
The Beverly Hills
organization has maintained its
own
corps of
engineers
in the construction
of its streets, building sites, landscape gardening and every detail of
installation of all facilities that
constitute
this "Master
Suburb." The Beverly Hills organization knew the type of development that
Asheville would require and these men, skilled
in
various lines of
development work, have made this spot
to
the liking of
those
who have
discrimnating tastes, as the list of sales attest. At the Recreation Park are facilities for the developing of all kinds of sporting tendencies and the Beverly Hills basketball team is a good representative of the organization and the opportunities presented for physical recreation. In connection with the natural beauties of Beverly Hills over 3,000 spruce pines, perfect in contour and proportionate in their placings, are being planted along the streets, avenue garden plots and other points of vantage. Everything has been done, or is in the process of being done to make Beverly Hills the distinctive sanctum of perfect homes and happiness. Offices are being built on the property, and this building will carry out the general distinctive motif of all other arrangements throughout the place, and will be turned into another wonderful residence as soon as all business matters have been finished on the development. The by-way calls
my gypsy heart
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| bev_008 | Beverly Hills
is an embellishment of
nature and its site
was chosen with an
appreciation of the natural gifts that it affords.
The gifts of nature
add more to the real joy of
living than
all the
artifices of
civilization and it was with
this happy thought in mind that the
developers of
Beverly Hills have known
when and where to place their
improvements to
nature. Rather have they
accentuated the glorious high lights
of an old painting,
bringing it out into sharp
relief, adding here, taking
from there, and
with the finishing touches
of modern conveniences
inserted into the
picture, conveniences that
far surpass the ones that
are bought without
scientific study and
application, there is brought before
the eyes a perfect
picture of Beverly Hills. It
is a development with an
ideal, etched into
the eternal matrix of the
hills, among natural resources
and supplied
luxuries that make life and
daily living sweet and beautiful. There are so many different points of view and vantage connected with the responsibility of choosing a site for a permanent home that one cannot rest alone on description, but must investigate for oneself. It is also necessary that in this day a thing be accepted for its value as well as its beauty, with an appraising eye ever turned to its possible increase. Beverly Hills makes no claim to please every home-seeker on earth, nor does it desire to clothe itself with stilted and gilded description. Beverly Hills is Beverly Hills, and it is only through one's actual presence on the grounds that a worthy appreciation and appraisal of the place may be made. / wandered down
a
valley
path,
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| bev_009 |
Beverly Hills is
only a
few minutes ride
from Asheville. To launch into a description of Asheville, one of the
best-known and oldest year-round
resorts in America, is to
unconsciously filch from the many books
of
praise on this
famous place. Every conceivable form of amusement, the very best of shops,
schools and
churches may be
found in Asheville. Beverly Hills is the hub of a small circle that
encompasses Mount
Mitchell, Mount
Pisgah and its
ancient Rat,
Chimney Rock, the National Forests and Game Preserves, and innumerable
other points of interest and historical prominence, all within a radius of
40 miles, and all easily reached over paved highways within an hour or
two. Rising to a height of one-half mile above sea level, Beverly Hills escapes that damp chill so common to the lower lands and maintains a healthy temperature, devoid of germ and insect plague, that is conducive to longevity and happiness. Beverly Hills has been so designed and developed as to offer the best of earth's gifts in this "Land of the Sky." It is composed of over 570 lots, and all conveniences, such as water mains, drainage systems and light cables, which will be well under construction by the date for the official opening about the middle of April. The region around Asheville is far-famed for its health resorts. The altitude is high and the climate very dry, and to this section every year throng thousands of visitors from all parts of the country in search of health and beautiful scenery. The summer climate of Western North Carolina is one of its greatest attractions, and although it is in the south, contrary to what might be thought by those who are unfamiliar with this section of the country, it is really cooler than northern resorts. Warm and pleasant days are followed by cool nights, the average temperature for July being 72.5 and for August 70.6. Then through the brush it wound around
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| bev_010 | The water of
Western North Carolina has been given official credit
for being 100 per
cent pure, this water
being used
for
most
any
purpose
without being put through the usual
processes of
distillation so common a necessity in most
quarters. Pure, crystal clear water, that filters through the cleansing rock strata of the mountains and flows down the streams from thousands of springs is the kind of water that is found in this section without a single exception. Many people have had the plain spring water of this county shipped long distances for drinking purposes. In the various swimming places along the rivers at any point the water will be found clear and pure, with a possible exception of dirt stains after a heavy rain. In Western North Carolina the inhabitants bathe in water that is much better than that to be had in many sections for drinking and medicinal purposes. The sanitation and water supply of Beverly Hills has been featured as one of its principal attributes. The water supply comes from pure mountain springs and adequate pressure for all purposes is consistently maintained. Beverly Hills has been designed to live in and not for investment purposes alone. This fact, however, is proving to be the main reason that property values in this section are on a gradual and consistent ascent. It was a vagrant, gypsy trail
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| bev_011 | Beverly Hills,
as pictured
here, is
an exact replica of
the original painting which
may be
seen at the
Asheville offices, 16 Patton avenue.
This painting
is a Gibson
Catlett* reproduction of the Beverly Hills
property, showing
its relative
location with Asheville and its various scenic
and recreative
attributes. In this particular impression of Beverly Hills may be seen the locations of the various hard-surfaced highways and avenues that interlace the entire section, the Recreation Park, the Golf Course, the Swannanoa river and the majestic sweep of the entire plot of desirable home-sites. Practically all of the general features of location may be seen in this painting, but as skillfully as this picture presents Beverly Hills and its environs of beauty and recreation it cannot faithfully portray all of its advantages. These must be seen from different points of vantage and from other perspectives. The man with a vision of the future can easily picture Beverly Hills in a not too distant future as a suburban residential city of several thousand people, the home-site of a large number of people who have their business interests in Asheville throughout the entire year and many others who will live at their Beverly Hills home through the summer reason. [*
Gibson Catlett was born in
Virginia in 1865. While a resident of San Francisco in 1907-17, Catlett
painted landscapes and made trips to Portland, OR. Source: Edan Hughes,
"Artists in California, 1786-1940" City Directory; Census.] |
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| bev_012 |
There
are still
other people who
long to leave the clamor, clatter and confusion of business districts and,
after a short drive, find rest and contentment in these highland homes of
Beverly Hills. These hills possess all of the natural beauty one could
desire and it is impossible to confine all of its attractions and
allurements on canvas. It is, above all, a place to enjoy quiet of
suburban life. This picture of Beverly Hills has been painted simply to portray to a busy and hurrying public a part of an encompassing beauty that has won wide renown as a perfect environment for a home. Nature, however, is the real painter of Beverly Hills and it is finally through this original presentation that it lays claim to being a masterpiece of work and '"The Master Suburb" of Asheville. |
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| bev_013 |
"Ten minutes from
Asheville" is the most expressive phrase than
can
be used to depict
the highway conditions from the city to "The Master Suburb." Considerable skill is evidenced in the plans adopted for the streets and boulevards of Beverly Hills, both in construction and beautification. They have been designed and constructed to amply accommodate the traffic demands which will be made upon them. Realizing the most prominent question of the day is the condition of roadways and the time required to get from place to place Beverly Hills was selected as the most logical site for a successful suburban city, and its streets have been constructed to follow up this important factor. The streets and avenues of Beverly Hills have been constructed to carry out the enduring qualities of time and to conform to the speed that this age demands. The very best of materials have been used in their construction and the engineering work is second to none in the whole country. The motorists of Buncombe county have become accustomed to the finest roads and North Carolina is noted far and wide for its wonderful highways. Beverly Hills presents its paved ways for the inspection of the most discriminating critics of motor roads and street construction. Winding in smooth undulations, Beverly Hills is interlaced with ribbon-like roadways that are pictures of beauty and service. Any point in Beverly Hills may be reached from Asheville in a very few minutes. These avenues are so constructed as to present the views in every direction that have made Western North Carolina world famous. |
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| bev_014 | A haven for
homes—a
residence place that is
certain to achieve
a
lasting prestige and
a
permanent
popularity, the
Master Suburb stands solidly
behind any
claims that
may be made for
it. The mere
fact
of
its
location in
"the
Land
of the Sky" is
sufficient promise of attraction from
scenic or health standpoint—to
see Beverly Hills is to appreciate the
mountain country. Western North Carolina has long been referred to as a Heaven for those with a love for outdoor and indoor sports. Beverly Hills is so situated as to present at all times to its residents every conceivable opportunity to enjoy a great variety of healthful recreations. Those who live in Asheville and in the communities adjacent, have always realized the fact that the section in which the Master Suburb is located has many desirable features along the line of sports facilities. The Recreation Park to which several references have been made in this booklet, the golf course which will be ready for play some time during the early fall, the gun club —these are specific reasons for thoughtful consideration when the matter of homesite selection is brought up. In connection with these public and the various private facilities for sports, Beverly Hills possesses all attractions that have made "The Land of the Sky" far-famed. The altitude of this section—the bracing, health-inducing atmosphere, the moderate all-year around temperature, these are things that combine to enhance the attractiveness of Beverly Hills. I lingered long
beside a spring, |
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| bev_015 |
The facilities for
swimming at
Beverly Hills are
of the best. In the Recreation Park across
the
river from Beverly
Hills there is being
constructed
one of the
most
modern
and complete
cascade swimming pools in the
entire
South. This pool
will
be thoroughly
equipped with all conveniences, including
a
sand beach
and bath-house,
having a capacity
of 600 persons. It will
be fed
by
filtered
spring
water, flowing over
a cascade in one end of the
pool.
This pool
will
be
250 by 100 feet in
dimensions. Every device for swimming and diving contests are being installed at the new pool in the Recreation Park. All kinds of water sports may be played and every precaution has been taken to prevent the pollution of this pool. Safety devices and life guards are stationed at all swimming places and water of any depth, from a few inches to many feet, can be found in a number of places. All of these have been carefuly [sic] constructed under scientific and sanitary methods. It is generally admitted by old residents that in no other place around Asheville can better inducements be offered for swimming and all water sports. After the Recreation cascade pool is finished the Beverly Hills section will be adjacent to the finest swimming and contest pool in the State. It will be open by the time the weather will permit outdoor swimming and some of the national contests are expected to be staged here. The sport of swimming is growing more and more in popularity and many new vogues have been devised among outdoor water sports. The new swimming pool will be amply capable of accommodating any such sports or contests. This pool is within a few minutes walk or drive from any part of Beverly Hills and throughout this, the only park of its kind around Asheville, may be found many other attractions. |
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| bev_016 | Beverly Hills
is
within
a
short distance of many points of
national interest, many of which are internationally known. Beverly Hills
is indeed in the heart of "The Land
of
the Sky." This happy and
appropriate name was given Western North Carolina
by
Mrs.
Frances
Christian Fisher Tiernane, a gifted
writer of
this
State,
better known as Christian Reid. Mount Mitchell, Mount Pisgah, Caesar's Head, Chimney Rock, the National Forests and Game Preserves and any number of camps and recreation centers of national repute can easily be reached from Beverly Hills in one hour's time, or less, by motor. North Carolina has long been acclaimed for its good roads and each day sees more mileage added to the great network of highways in every direction. All points of interest may be reached over paved highways from "The Master Suburb." Thousands of persons throng annually to Western North Carolina for its health giving properties and its wonderful mountain scenery. The pictures of the National Forests and the famous places among them make a gallery of scenic art that is highly prized by the government. And all of these places can be reached from Beverly Hills within one hour. This one fact alone will result in its development reaching proportions far beyond the fondest expectations within a few years. Considering this favorable location, the beautiful surroundings and the modern improvements of the place, Beverly Hills has innumerable possibilities for fastidious home-seekers. |
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| bev_017 |
Beverly Hills, "The
Master Suburb' has been especially planned
to accommodate
the better class of
homes.
There is no
end to the possibilities
that are presented
as to the architectural
designing of
a home in Beverly Hills.
Presenting a
background and an
environment that is
distinctive and impressive it
may well be said
that
it fully
merits its name of "The Master
Suburb." All homes in Beverly Hills will be of the type that are termed "different." They will possess a personality and charm all their own and will radiate a distinctiveness of motif that will be immediately welcomed and accepted by persons who would naturally want such a location in which to live. A Beverly Hills home will be pleasing to the eye, a jewel mounted in a perfect setting and a place that will be more than just a house in which to seek shelter. They have been so planned and designed by the developers as to fit naturally into the atmosphere of the entire locality. Beverly Hills offices on the property. When no longer needed, this building will be used as a home, being so designed and constructed that it will be one of the finest of the fine homes for which the Master Suburb is to become famous. |
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| bev_018 | In the final
analysis
of this
chosen spot
no
more pungent words
could be
chosen
than to
say
that this Book of
Beverly has not
been written
in any
flights
of
fancy, but has been a conscientious
chronicle of
things as they are and as
they have appeared to the various experts and
buyers connected
with the development. Beverly Hills has been planned and constructed by engineering experts. The building plots are laid out to show the homes to the greatest possible advantage, assuring however an exclusiveness that provides against the plans being spoiled by haphazard construction. The lack of certain restrictions has been proven to be the ultimate failure of many developments near many cities and in this Beverly Hills is in a position to insure its residents against the encroachment of undesirable building that would materially lower the value of properties. Along the beautiful roadways of Beverly Hills every variety of mountain scenery is available, from the rugged grandeur of lofty peaks to the softly etched contours of rolling foothills. Mile after mile of road has been built until now North Carolina boasts a State highway system of approximately 50,000 miles of improved highways. When the 1926 program of road construction is completed the State will have a total of 62,000 miles of hard-surfaced highways. In addition to the State built roads each county has added a large mileage of improved and paved roads. This great road program has placed North Carolina near the top of the list of states in the Union leading in the construction of improved highways. This great system, together with a great wealth of undeveloped natural resources, unrivaled scenery, modern spirit of progress, co-operation and hospitality has earned for this section an enviable reputation as a place in which to live and own property. And Beverly Hills has been signally shown to have had all these heritages showered upon it with a lavish hand as well as possessing attributes that are peculiar to its own position among them. The sketch at the right gives some idea of the grace and beauty of the lights that are to be used on the white way along the golf course. Streets bordering the fairways will be effectively illuminated.
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| bev_019 | BEVERLY
HILLS'
basketball team won
the City
Championship in
1925
and each member
was presented
with
a gold basketball
as a
prize for skill.
Members of the team,
reading from left
to
right,
are
Coach Little,
Worley, A.
Brandl, Persohn,
Estes, C.
Brandl, Logan,
Osborne, Manager O'Donnell.
This is the Engineering Staff charged with the important task of laying out BEVERLY HILLS streets, locating sewer and water lines, etc. No small credit for the beauty of the development is due to this efficient organization. Reading from left to right, members are Coker, Brian, C. Brandl, Dillingham, Estes, Bowen, O'Donnell, A.Brandl, Osborne, Persohn, Little, Humphreys.
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| bev_020 |
Location Map Showing Relative Position of
Master Suburb |
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