Neighborhood Spotlight: Meet the Other Beverly Hills

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This split-level at 2810 W. 9th Street is inside the Beverly Hills neighborhood of Oak Cliff.

You won’t find Rodeo Drive in Dallas’ Beverly Hills, but you will find a storied, deep-rooted neighborhood built by pure grit and generations of human spirit.

According to Heritage Oak Cliff, though Beverly Hills is now part of historic Oak Cliff, it began in the mid-19th century as a small dairy farming community on part of the McCoombs and McCracken Surveys outside the city of Oak Cliff. But its history stretches across the Trinity River.

In 1855, a group of immigrants from Switzerland, Belgium, and mostly France – called the European and American Society of Colonization to Texas – purchased 640 acres of former Peters Colony land for their Utopian settlement, La Reunion, where they had the freedom to pursue their political beliefs.

Coombs Creek cuts through the center of the Beverly Hills neighborhood of Oak Cliff.

Unfortunately, political freedom in America didn’t come with an instruction manual for cultivating crops in harsh Texas conditions. Since the group mostly contained artisans, aristocrats, physicians, and just a handful of European farmers, it was inept for farming in an area plagued by scorching summers, drought, and freezing winters. Within 18 months, settlers abandoned La Reunion and went their separate ways.

Botanist Julien Reverchon arrived too late to save the farm, so he bought a nearby farm where he became prominent in native flora. When he died in 1905, he had taught botany in Dallas and cultured more than 2,600 plant species as well as a rich herbarium with 20,000 specimens. A decade later, the City of Dallas christened Reverchon Park in his honor.

While Dallas annexed Oak Cliff in 1901, it didn’t annex Beverly Hills until 1929. In the meantime, F.G. Jester purchased and developed 90 acres for new homes with no city services, but original land deeds gave lot owners a share of the artesian well across Westmoreland. Between a septic tank, fruit trees, vegetable garden, chickens, and an occasional cow – the country lifestyle continued just a stone’s throw from downtown.

Beverly Hills changed dramatically after annexation. Between its own theater, several restaurants, and a shopping center with a Wyatt’s Food Store, Ben Franklin variety store, and plethora of mom-and-pop companies, Beverly Hills was open for business. In the 1950s, Sivil’s Drive-In was the area hangout for teenagers, and the Torch Restaurant – owned by the Semos Family – was known throughout Dallas for its Greek cuisine.

Today, more than a century of architectural styles, the neighborhood’s proximity to downtown, and the availability of reasonably-priced vacant lots make Beverly Hills a prime market for historic finds. While most remaining frame houses from the 1920s are now covered with Texas stone, the neighborhood is a tapestry of Craftsman, Cape Cod, Spanish, and Ranch designs. Coombs Creek, which runs along the neighborhood’s southern and eastern edge, is a haven for Midcentury Modern homes accented by tall chalk cliffs, mature trees, and lush Texas greenery.

Many of the homes in the Beverly Hills neighborhood are Midcentury designs, some of which have original Daltile bathrooms.

3 Comments

  1. Ruth on April 3, 2019 at 12:30 pm

    This is the most I’ve learned of Beverly Hills so I was glad to find it. In the mid-90s I learned that my grandfather was in the Beverly Hills Sanitarium around 1945. I tried to locate any medical records through the state because the Sanitarium was long gone. My search was fruitless. I feel a small connection to the area because of my grandfather and my quest to learn more about him. The Sanitarium released him after around 4-6 months and a few months later, he took his life; this is why I wanted to read the medical records if at all possible. Anyway, I wish there was more on this area and the hospital(s) that were located there, so thank you for sharing what you learned.

    • Kim on July 21, 2021 at 6:23 pm

      My mother was there in the late 1960’s and received treatment. She was never the same after her stay there. Her quality of life diminished over time. So very sorry for your grandfather.

  2. Anne B. Reed on April 13, 2022 at 10:13 am

    My husband’s grandmother was admitted there in 1946 because she had trouble sleeping. Not sure if this is before or after her husband died, but could be. They required 5-6 weeks stay and gave patienrs shock treatments, insulin, vitamin injections and sedatives.

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