Your city's "Beverly Hills"

[Obadno]

Originally Posted by JManc

Lawns and trees in the desert. Why? The last house could be anywhere in the US.

You can have the desert look if you want, those neighborhoods are up on mountains are far out in the exurbs. The city has lawns and trees because most of the Phoenix metro is built on former cotton, citrus and lettuce farms not virgin desert

Geneally it’s a lot greener than people think:


Not to mention the Sonoran desert gets "a lot" of rain relative to a desert, Its not like the Mohave around Vegas or Palm Springs which are much drier. The limit to human habitation isn't heat or cold, its access to water. Below is what it looks like in the spring or after a good rain.

[COtoOC]

Originally Posted by Centropolis

J.C. Nichols Co. developed/owned/operated the plaza for decades until it was bought by the Highwoods property goliath several years ago (I think someone else owns the entire thing now). There may be some technicalities with street ownership there I guess that Highland Park can claim but the developers I believe visited KC and essentially wanted to turnkey emulate it.

Highland Park does look like a half-step further towards that contemporary shopping center model with the inward facing section but at least retains a shred of proper urbanism.

I think the Plaza has lost a little of it's upscale vibe. Not in its looks, but in the store there today. Didn't it have a Saks or Neiman Marcus at one point?

I went to Seville, Spain once and remember looking at the Giralda Tower and thinking, "now why is this thing so familiar?" Then a couple years later, it hit me and I took out a picture of it and compared it to the tower on the Plaza. The one on the Plaza is a replica of the one in Seville (although smaller). I also wondered why there was a "Kansas City" street in Seville. It all makes sense now lol!

[Buckeye Native 001]

I'd reckon one of the reasons why it's greener (or looks greener) in Central Phoenix than outlying areas is because it's older (pre-A/C) and required as much shade as possible. That, as well as the aforementioned citrus groves and that eventually became subdivisions.

And as already mentioned, the Sonoran Desert is a lot more fertile than what most people anticipate when they think of a desert. I was just down in Phoenix this past weekend and the palo verdes in bloom damn-near killed my allergies.

[mind field]

Birmingham, Michigan is the Beverly Hills of Detroit's suburbs. Far more so than Bloomfield Hills and the city neighborhood of Palmer Woods.

[cannedairspray]

Originally Posted by ardecila

Does this count?

Certainly does not.

[Sun Belt]

Originally Posted by Obadno

Arcadia, The current new-rich boomtown (if only I could have bought in10 years ago )

Here's a picture of mine from Arcadia, Phoenix, just south of Camelback Road and the mountain.

60-70 years ago, Arcadia was rural and full of citrus groves due to it's slightly elevated location being on the south side of Camelback Mountain. It is common on the fringe of Phoenix's urban development to have freezes and frosts and this slight increase of elevation was just enough to keep the citrus above freezing back when this was a rural area.

In the summertime, Arcadia remains cooler than the rest of the city due to the vegetation. It's a slightly moderated micro-climate of Phoenix, warmer winter nights and cooler summer nights than the central city.


Photo cred: the 1 and only, Sunny



Approximate location on Google Streetview: https://goo.gl/maps/jQZPqLy9uGU2

*Fun fact: Steven Spielberg lived nearby and attended Arcadia High School.

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by mind field

Birmingham, Michigan is the Beverly Hills of Detroit's suburbs. Far more so than Bloomfield Hills and the city neighborhood of Palmer Woods.

Bloomfield and Birmingham are essentially the same thing. In East Coast terms, Bloomfield is "backcountry" and Bham is "in town".

The two, together, would be the closest analogue to Beverly Hills (Bham serving as Golden Triangle/South of Wilshire and Bloomfield serving as North of Sunset).

[dc_denizen]

those pics of phoenix actually look nice.

[James Bond Agent 007]

Originally Posted by matt777

Fun fact: Highland Park Village, opened in 1931, was the first self-contained shopping center in America and is a National Historic Landmark.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highland_Park_Village

Not sure what "self-contained" is supposed to mean, but the Country Club Plaza, which is the same thing as Highland Park Village but bigger, is older by 8 or 9 years:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Country_Club_Plaza

[James Bond Agent 007]

Originally Posted by mind field

Birmingham, Michigan is the Beverly Hills of Detroit's suburbs. Far more so than Bloomfield Hills and the city neighborhood of Palmer Woods.

Wouldn't Beverly Hills, MI be the Beverly Hills of Detroit?

[Dac150]

New York's commuter suburbs have an impressive concentration of wealth … most may not have the 'image' of Beverly Hills, though you take the Harlem Line as one example and from Bronxville-Brewster it's one wealthy enclave after another. Greenwich is always top of mind, though I'd argue Bronxville, Scarsdale, Bedford, Chappaqua, Darien, New Cannan, Wilton and Westport are all right there. Not to mention parts of NJ and LI.

[Xelebes]

For Edmonton it is the Glenora neighbourhood. For shopping you have 124th Street which has the high end boutiques and near the river you have the old mansions. As for celebrities. . . well, hockey players tend to buy up the river more, I guess, in nearby Crestwood and Parkview and even further up near the Henday.

[Obadno]

Originally Posted by dc_denizen

those pics of phoenix actually look nice.

I don't think we would be growing by 90,000 people a year if it wasn't nice.

[mr1138]

I think for Denver, this is pretty much Cherry Hills Village and Greenwood Village. https://www.google.com/maps/@39.6303.../data=!3m1!1e3

example:

This is the land of gigantic homes on VERY large lots, and winding roads - usually difficult to see the homes from the street. It's reasonably close-in to the city center and the Denver Tech Center. Home to local sports stars and CEOs.

[JManc]

Originally Posted by Obadno

...Been to AZ quite a few times and seen this kind of desert green and love it. Outside of the northeastern USA, this is right up there with my favorite natural settings. Would have my entire yard done up this way but having a lawn in southern AZ seems just wrong. Seems even out of place in greener towns up north like Flagstaff.

[Buckeye Native 001]

Grass serves no useful purpose and wastes water (at least in the Southwest).

I don't even like seeing it here in Flagstaff (we get enough green from the pine trees).

Huge fan of xeriscaping and have even come to despise palm trees (which offer virtually no shade whatsoever). I don't even think palm trees are native to the Sonoran Desert...

[10023]

Originally Posted by matt777

Fun fact: Highland Park Village, opened in 1931, was the first self-contained shopping center in America and is a National Historic Landmark.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highland_Park_Village

I was just there on Saturday morning. Strange place.

[Sun Belt]

Originally Posted by Obadno

Paradise Valley Arizona:

This is the oldest and wealthiest "rich" area in the metro area and is home to upscale resorts and sprawling estates

I've stayed at a number of Phoenix area hotels and resorts in this area over the years.

The Phoenician:

http://invest-free.blogspot.com/2011/10/phoenician.html

The Arizona Biltmore:

https://www.kiwicollection.com/hotel...-astoria-hotel

http://www.moretimetotravel.com/love...zona-biltmore/
Montelucia:

https://www.expedia.com/Phoenix-Hote...el-Information
Sanctuary:

https://www.etraveltrips.com/sanctua...in-resort-spa/

https://www.freep.com/story/travel/d...fee/101271570/
The Royal Palms:


https://www.hotels.com/ho123620/roya...es-of-america/

And a few other's like the W Scottsdale, Camelback Inn and the Valley Ho, all within the same area that Obadno featured.

[Docta_Love]

Beverley Hills, MI! ... Haha. Even though the wealthiest area of Metro Detroit is now the Lakes Area centered around Bloomfield - Bloomfield Hills the real deal is Grosse Pointe. The collection of cities that are collectively referred to as Grosse Pointe because surprise, surprise they have Grosse Pointe as all or part of their name and lie on a bulge of land that sticks out finto Lake St. Clair. This area sandwiched between Detroit & the lake is where the new money families of the auto-boom years came to stake their claim as the the blue blooded auto-barons of Detroit.


https://s3.amazonaws.com/veewme.medi...2cc4e39499.jpg


https://ssl.cdn-redfin.com/photo/143...31271098_0.jpg

Grosse Pointe Academy


https://www.animallearningsystems.co...evel-1-week-1/


https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...0_M38858-21119


http://californiarich.com/wp-content...-1475000-7.jpg

The Edsel and Eleanor Ford House, Grosse Pointe Shores


https://www.flickr.com/photos/decojim/496380998


https://www.flickr.com/photos/decojim/496380998


https://www.flickr.com/photos/decojim/496380998


https://www.flickr.com/photos/decojim/496380998


https://www.pinterest.com/pin/18225573465362647/

Windmill Point Mansion


http://veewme.com/38/15410-windmill-...-park-mi-48230


https://detroit.curbed.com/2015/8/31...lls-royce-free


http://www.albaughmasonry.com/masonr...-Residence.jpg

A street scene in downtown Grosse Pointe Farms


http://grossepointefarms.org/resourc...0408173155.jpg


http://www.secondwavemedia.com/metro...ey_six.jpg?s=f

Grosse Pointe South High School


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grosse...th_High_School

Grosse Pointe War Memorial


https://www.weddingwire.com/biz/the-...1cf7d1dff.html

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by Docta_Love

Even though the wealthiest area of Metro Detroit is now the Lakes Area centered around Bloomfield - Bloomfield Hills the real deal is Grosse Pointe.

Grosse Pointe hasn't been the region's wealth center for at least a half-century.

Yeah, there's an amazing legacy of historic estates right on Lake St. Clair, but most of the Pointes are pretty modest and middle class (or upper middle class). Postwar bungalows are a big component of the housing stock. Mansions are rare except right on the lake.

The Pointes probably don't even have 5% the number of million dollar sales as Bloomfield-Birmingham area. Even Northville, Rochester and other new money areas have much more wealth these days.