In Defense of the Persian Palace In L.A

[Rasputin]

Here is what Beverly Hills officially says about Persian Palaces: "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. The bulk and mass of such homes, as well as their general appearances, affect the desirability of the immediate area and neighboring areas for residential purposes." Builders and remodelers must adhere to the Residential Style Design Catalogue, a pictographic guide to the city's "architecturally pure residential styles," most of which, the 123-page brochure avers, "were period revival styles, some inspired by lavish film industry sets."

Of course, neither the word Persian nor the word Palace appears anywhere in the city's design grammar. The city planners didn't bother. It was immediately understood that the April 2004 ordinance was aimed at all those mini-mansions on the streets south of Burton Way and north of Wilshire. What other target could there be?

Hamid Gabbay, who is a Beverly Hills architect and sits on the city's Design Review Commission, admits as much, emphatically. He detests Persian Palaces, and here's why: "I came here on December 9, 1978, only a few months before the shah was deposed. I would have thought that the immigrants from Iran would have learned something from the experience there. But they didn't. They build these extravagant houses. They have no sense of humility, or how to live quietly. It's as if exactly the opposite of what you expected happened: They exploded with ostentation."

[Rasputin]

[Rasputin]

[mike435]

bumbasses

persian work hard make the city great
buy these lots and spen money making theme and the city out laws it
so what get used to change

by the way some of theme are really amzaing

[mike435]

Persian palace

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"Persian palace" is a derisive term used by Los Angeles residents for a large mansion that occupies a disproportionately large area of the parcel on which it is built. This style of house is similar to a McMansion, but draws from Mediterranean Revival and Middle Eastern influences instead of English and French ones. While wealthy Angelenos of all ethnicities have built such edifices (particularly Taiwanese and Chinese immigrants in the San Gabriel Valley), Persian palaces get their name from the wealthy ethnic Persians who build them, primarily those who immigrated to Los Angeles's West Side after the 1979 Iranian Revolution.

[edit] Characteristics

A Persian palace typically is a 2-story white or pink stucco-covered box incorporating architectural and decorative features from many traditions--most notably Spanish tile roofs, wrought-iron decoration, Romanesque columns and atria, bronze Middle Eastern statuary (typically of lions)--into a whole that is derided by many architects as less than the sum of its parts. (Many Persian palaces are designed by their occupants or by unlicensed architects.) As Persians have largely congregated in built-out areas such as Beverly Hills, construction of Persian palaces usually requires the demolition of the house that previously occupied the lot. The emphasis placed on the extended family by most Middle Eastern cultures, including that of Persia, means that Persians' houses are typically far larger than those built by Americans in the 1920s and 1930s. In most cases, the Persian palace is two or even three times larger, both in volume and in floor area, than the house it replaces. With more than two adults in the household, Persian palaces often have more than two cars. One common method of accommodating them is to replace the front yard with a concrete driveway that stretches the entire width of the property. A gate is also often built around the property. (In Iran, it is quite common for one's house to be gated, especially in the front.)

[edit] Community opposition

These characteristics have led to significant enmity toward Persian palaces and their owners. The demolition of well-maintained Spanish Colonial homes tends to raise the ire of historic preservationists concerned with the impact of such homes on neighborhoods' character.
Neighbors of Persian palaces complain about blocked views and the deleterious effects on street parking. The houses' building processes are often highly disruptive to the order of neighborhoods that have not seen new construction since World War II or earlier.
In response to these objections, Los Angeles and West Hollywood have each put in place building code restrictions widely seen as targeting Persian palaces. Setback requirements and historic preservation zoning have made the construction of Persian palaces in Los Angeles virtually impossible, although some relatively small examples are built in areas such as Palms and Rancho Park.
In 2004, West Hollywood imposed building size regulations and other measures widely seen as targeting the Persian population. Persian palaces have proliferated most in Beverly Hills, which lacks a historic preservation ordinance.
This legal vacuum came to the forefront in 2005, when the Los Angeles Times reported that a Beverly Hills home, where composer George Gershwin and his lyricist brother Ira had lived during the 1920s, had been purchased by a Persian immigrant who planned to raze the structure to erect what is presumed to be a Persian palace.
In response to the criticism engendered by this report, as well as the longstanding complaints of the hulking palaces' neighbors, the city of Beverly Hills placed restrictions on the pillars and columns commonly adorning the front of these homes. Most of these homes are found on over 5,000 square foot lots, in the less spectacular area of Beverly Hills, south of Wilshire and above Olympic, between Robertson Blvd. and South Beverly Drive.
Another concentration of Persian palaces can be found on the main streets of the highly desired Flats area of Beverly Hills. These houses are on 12,000 to 14,000 square foot lots, and are usually square in the front.
A particular street, N. Beverly Dr. is almost entirely covered with these houses. This has been attributed to some smaller neighborhoods, such as a hilly area between Olympic and Pico and another area full of Spanish colonial houses, preventing more of this style of house from being built.
It should be noted that most of these houses are owned by so-called "New Money" Persians. Many Persians denounce these houses on the grounds that they have nothing to do with Iranian architectural traditions. Ironically, large houses in Iran are more like the Los Angeles houses demolished to make way for Persian palaces.[citation needed] The small community of Persian-American architects has also condemned Persian palaces, calling them affronts to traditional Persian architecture.[citation needed]
It seems that many who oppose "Persian palaces" fail to appreciate the number of jobs which are created in the process of up-grading an existing piece of real-estate. Many also seem to forget that the overall property value in an area goes up as additional Persian palaces are built.
Perhaps the proverbial white-American Jones family feels well behind and unable to keep-up with their new Persian neighbors.

[mike435]

man one of my dreams is to one day have enogh dogh to make one of these houses

[golgol85]

I'd like to have a nice house, but not something like this. I cant imagine living in a house with 10+ bathrooms, how many different bathrooms do i need? I would rather take the money and do something where when i put my head on the pillow at night i dont have to worry about other people looking at my house and feeling poor or needy, but more importantly i would like to help those less fortunate. Its a nice goal though mike, i hope you do have a house like that, and when you do, you can invite me over for a cup of chai with shirini and i can marvel over your beautiful house.*smiles*

[Rasputin]

I love this palace... but not for livin' there.. !

[golgol85]

mesle moozeh mimooneh, pretty to go see and experience, but i couldnt dream of sleeping in a house like that.

[mike435]

i dono i think its perty nice

[mike435]

i never had my own room i still dont have it
so i will be damn not to enable my kids not to have their own room

also you can do other stuff

like pool table
bar
game room
study room
library

[golgol85]

i never had my own room i still dont have it
so i will be damn not to enable my kids not to have their own room

also you can do other stuff

like pool table
bar
game room
study room
library

If it makes you feel better, i share my room with my younger sister too. We will be moving though and I worry about having my own room, i have gotten used to having her there. You are right though, its nice to give our kids more than what we have, although there is nothing wrong with not having our own rooms. when you have to work hard for what you have, you value it more.

I want a pool table and a game and study room would be fun too. Library ham ke vase oonaye ke darskhoon hastan khoobe. I want a gym, that would be fun, and a big pretty pool. I want an abshar in the hayat, with rocks and a hozche. I'll let you know when i think of more things i want.

[Michellica]

i like it..but it's good just for visit it...not for livin'....i'd like to live into a loft where if you watch out from the windows you see all the city... amazing!

[golgol85]

I am sure bazi az in palace ha che viewi daran! akh, kash hamaye chizaye zendegi be ghashangiyeh in khooneha khatm mishod!

[Rasputin]

i like it..but it's good just for visit it...not for livin'....i'd like to live into a loft where if you watch out from the windows you see all the city... amazing!

I am agree with you.