Sunset Blvd & Bel-Air

The gated enclave Sunset Boulevard runs into — and the canyon hills where LA keeps its money.

Key facts

The Bel-Air East Gate, on Sunset Boulevard just east of the 405, marks the entrance to the original Bel-Air tract, founded in 1923 by developer Alphonzo E. Bell.
By 1937 Bel-Air had expanded west to Sepulveda Boulevard — i.e. up to the pass the freeway now follows.
The 405 meets Sunset Blvd at Exit 57A, the seam between Bel-Air (to the east) and Brentwood (to the west), two of the wealthiest hillside enclaves in Los Angeles.

Narration transcript

You're crossing Sunset Boulevard — yes, that Sunset — but out here it's nothing like the neon Strip. Here Sunset is a winding, tree-shaded road threading between two of the richest neighborhoods in America. Off to your left, up Sunset, stands the stone East Gate of Bel-Air, the gateway to a private hillside enclave laid out back in 1923 by a developer named Alphonzo Bell, who struck oil and spent it building a fantasy of winding lanes and big lots. Within a decade Bel-Air had spread west all the way to the edge of this pass.

And look to your right, into those green canyons climbing away from the freeway — that's Brentwood, the same story on the other side of the road: tucked-away houses, hedges, and a lot of quiet money. The four-oh-five runs right down the seam between them, the public roar of the freeway slicing between the most private square miles in the city.