Two months ago, The Beverly Hills Hotel celebrated its 100th birthday in grand style.
Tuesday night, the City Council gave the hotel the best belated birthday present it could have ever asked for when it voted unanimously to designate The Beverly Hills Hotel as the City’s ?rst historic landmark.
The Cultural Heritage Commission looks at the following criteria when designating a historic landmark:
1.) Is identi?ed with important events.
2.) Is directly associated with significant person.
3.) Embodies distinctive characteristics of a style, type, period or method of construction.
4.) Is the notable work of a master architect.
5.) Yields important information on prehistory.
6.) Listed on national or state list of historic places.
7.) Retains integrity from its period of signi?cance.
8.) Has historic value.
The commission decided that the “Pink Palace” met 1, 3, 4, 6, 7 and 8 and after an amendment proposed by Vice Mayor John Mirisch, the council unanimously agreed the hotel also met No. 2 and has direct associations with significant person.
The council also agreed to name Sept. 12, 2012 as “The Beverly Hills Hotel Day”.
“My grandmother and grandfather would be so honored to see this,” said Robbie Anderson, whose grandparents founded the hotel 100 years ago.
The hotel was built by architect Elmer Grey and later up-dated by Paul Williams, both of whom are on the City’s recent list of Master Architects. The Cultural Heritage Commission made the decision to name The Pink Palace a historic landmark in May.
“It’s difficult to say how long I’ve been waiting for this,” Mirisch said. “It’s quite special.”
