Persian Palaces: The Levittowns of Beverly Hills

by Nicole Farnoush

McMansions ... enough said! If you live in L.A., chances are you’ve driven by one of these physically overpowering, yet visually unempowering formations time and time again. If you haven’t, you’re one of the lucky ones; nine out of ten architects would not recommend the daily intake.

Gregg Segal, for the L.A. Times

For the past two decades, this pejorative term has described an epidemic that has proliferated faster than the fro-yo uproar that’s taking Los Angeles by storm. Like McMansion, the phrase Persian palace is a cynical term used by L.A. residents to single out large mansions that occupy a disproportionately high proportion of the parcel of land on which they are built. Larger-than-life moldings and innumerable layers of cornices, coupled with highly-wrought grillwork, make these structures highly distinguishable—and loathed by spectators. Having become so widespread, they no longer stick out like a sore thumb; instead, they have forlornly become part of the fabric of the city.

In case you aren’t aware of how this epidemic formed, or who the main culprit was, then let’s start by pointing some fingers: first call, the people from whom my lineage stems ... Iranians.

Iranian expatriates who fled the revolution migrated to Los Angeles. Since then, their population has grown to over 500,000, making them one of the city’s largest ethnic groups. Iranians have transformed the physical landscape of Los Angeles dramatically. Many of these physical alterations have been respected due to positive economic impact. But not all have been positively received. Of all their contributions, none has had a greater impact on the physical environment than Persian palaces, which have immensely shaped the historic and aesthetic urban architecture of the Los Angeles area—nowhere more than in Beverly Hills, where Iranian-born families make up an estimated 6,000 or more of the city’s roughly 34,000 residents.

Persepolis, by Flandin and Coste

The architecture prevalent in Iran has a continuous history from at least 5000 BCE to the present. This history exhibits a great variety, both structurally and aesthetically, budding out of prior traditions and the experiences that the citizens of Iran have endured—most vividly portrayed within the books of history. Well-moneyed Angelenos of all ethnicities have built oversized homes; Persian palaces are those which draw their architectural influences from Middle Eastern cultures, tracing their name to the wealthy Iranians who immigrated to Los Angeles’ west side after the 1979 revolution.

Palaces vary little in size, shape, color, and aesthetic components. Most commonly cream-colored, these two-story homes stand at 4,500 square feet and over, dominating the lots they are situated on. The result has been described by Los Angeles Times writer Karen Alexander as “a looming vault of stucco and glass adorned by four hulking cement columns,” possessing “all the grace of a Humvee in a wedding dress.”

To add insult to injury, open space, green space, or any type of “space,” for that matter, is minimal, if even present. Instead, the emphasis rests upon creating the biggest structure possible. Back yard? Don’t need one. Front yard? Just as long as the European cars have a place to reside in the front. Mature trees? Naw, minuscule palms will suffice.

Decades ago, the palaces would have appeared out of place on the lots they occupy, but now nearly every other home on the block encompasses similar scale and design. Spanish-style homes whose remnants remain on lots prepped for demolition, relics dating back to the original pre-World War II housing stock, are now the dwellings that appear incongruous. Palaces have become so widespread that it has reached the point where they appear mass produced; they have ultimately become the Levittowns of Beverly Hills.

Community opposition to Persian palaces has arisen, and consequently city officials in and around Los Angeles have put in place building code restrictions to target them. Here is what Beverly Hills officially says about them:

The mansionization of the City’s residential neighborhoods poses a serious danger that such overbuilding will degrade and depreciate the character, image, beauty, and reputation of the City’s residential neighborhoods with adverse consequences for the quality of life of all residents.

They go on to assert that the bulk and mass of such homes, coupled with their general appearance, affect the desirability of the immediate area and neighboring areas for residential purposes.

Surprise, surprise, there has been a huge backlash from the community, mainly from those in support of keeping the historical presence of the city alive. Greg Goldin, the architectural critic for Los Angeles magazine, states, “No other coinage so immediately evinces dismissal and revulsion as the ‘Persian Palace.’ Its ultimate form of ‘mansionization’ entails taking a small lot and building the largest possible box on it.”

Gregg Segal, for the L.A. Times

It comes as no surprise that these alterations on the physical landscape have led to significant hostility toward Persian palace owners. Historic preservationists, who have witnessed their rise at the expense of well-maintained Spanish Colonial Revival homes, have become quite concerned with the palaces’ impact on the neighborhood’s character. These structures, and the process that accompanies their assembly, have been deemed as highly destructive to the order of neighborhoods that have not seen construction since World War II or earlier. Neighbors of these palaces find fault in their expansive size, predominately due to the fact that they block views and have deleterious effects on street parking.

In trying to alleviate community backlash and objections, both the cities of Los Angeles and West Hollywood have targeted Persian palaces by putting in place building code restrictions—and I say Hallelujah! Setback requirements and historic preservation zoning have made the construction of Persian palaces in the City of Los Angeles virtually impossible (albeit smaller examples continue to spring up in a number of areas). As recently as 2004, West Hollywood imposed building size regulations and other measures widely seen as targeting the Persian population.

But, since Beverly Hills lacks a historic preservation ordinance, Persian palaces have proliferated there. In 2005, the Times reported that the Beverly Hills home in which composer George Gershwin and his lyricist brother Ira lived during the 1920s had been sold. It was stated that the purchase had been made by an Iranian immigrant, who planned to raze the structure, then erect what was presumed to be a Persian palace. When these speculations hit newspapers, the community immediately became outraged. In response to the criticism prompted by this report, as well as longstanding complaints from neighbors, Beverly Hills placed restrictions on the pillars and columns commonly adorning the fronts of these homes.

In November 2003, the Los Angeles Conservancy issued its first preservation report card. In it, the organization slammed Beverly Hills with a D grade, while Santa Monica and West Hollywood each received an A and Los Angeles scored a B-plus. According to the L.A. Times, the rating itself garnered little notice from Beverly Hills residents, but it gave the council additional political cover “to make a move that everyone knew would be anti-Persian.” With the backing of Beverly Hills mayor Jimmy Delshad, officials finally sprang into action.

Gregg Segal, for the L.A. Times

In addressing the clash over the homes, the city’s planning commission has crafted an ordinance creating a catalog of five architectural styles: American colonial, European revival, Spanish colonial, contemporary, and period revival. Under this ordinance, “construction plans for houses that do not abide by the five categories must go before a design committee appointed by the City Council for revision and approval.” The ordinance would also “scale back the maximum size of houses, allowing them more square footage only if mass-reducing features such as porches or recess areas are included.” When these rules were first discussed, Iranians in the community considered the move an attack on them, but as the details became public, “many of those concerns dissipated.” Hamid Gabbay, an Iranian Beverly Hills architect who is on the commission and who worked on the proposed code is, in fact, a supporter of the review process, claiming it has to do with “architectural issues” rather than minority ones. Seeking to defuse the situation, the mayor has explained the cultural need for large homes—“three generations under one roof, big gatherings”—to colleagues on the City Council. In essence, he envisions “a Beverly Hills where Persian culture coexists gracefully with the city’s heritage.”

The ordinance appears to be the best solution to this situation. The ultimate goal is to keep all parties satisfied, while preserving the historical presence of the community and helping the city move forward. By having houses that do not abide by the five architectural styles go through the City Council for revision, a unifying order will be created; all patrons must abide by the same rules.

These dominant structures have been emulated throughout polycentric Los Angeles and Orange Counties. Manicured homes in the San Fernando Valley have replicated their style; so too have homes resting on the mountains of Newport Beach. But no other city has utilized or ultimately exploited them more than Beverly Hills. There is no need to look behind the lush landscape; the “empowerment” of these buildings is outwardly apparent as they have become so common that they have developed themselves into the Levittowns of Beverly Hills.

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