Postal Codes in the United State known as “ZIP Codes” take on a whole variety of fascinating geographical dimensions totally unexplored thus far on Twelve Mile Circle. I can think of no better way to start than with what is arguably the most famous ZIP Code on the planet, one known widely throughout pop culture and etched into the collective memory of a generation — 90210.
This five-digit number appeared each week in the title of a highly popular television series that ran for nearly 300 episodes from 1990-2000, “Beverly Hills, 90210.” Take it (my wife) or leave it (me), the show and the ZIP Code has burrowed successfully into the social fabric for people of a certain age. Think 90210 and the average person probably doesn’t associate the number with a Post Office though.
City Versus ZIP Code
Are Beverly Hills and 90210 actually synonymous? The actual answer contains more nuance. Overlaps exist but so do variances. I’ve shaded the City of Beverly Hills in blue and cordoned the 90210 ZIP Code in an orange line in the mashup provided below.
A couple of immediate conclusions come to mind.
First, there are people who live in the City Beverly Hills who don’t have a 90210 ZIP Code. They live in 90211 and 90212. I haven’t drawn either of those on my map. However, start with the residual portion of Beverly Hills and draw a line down Doheny Drive. 90211 is on the east and 90212 is on the west.
While certainly friends and neighbors will associate those two zones with Beverly Hills it also lacks a certain worldwide recognition that comes with 90210. That’s all right, they know differently. They have enough treasure or fame that it doesn’t matter. I’m more interested in the second point anyway, namely:
There are a lot of people who reap the status of a 90210 address without actually living in Beverly Hills.
I wouldn’t exactly call those canyon residents “poseurs” because those homes are impressive and expensive in their own right. Even so, there’s no doubt they’re riding on the coattails of their more famous brethren in Beverly Hills proper.
Characteristics
Let’s examine some characteristics of 90210 available from the U.S. Census Bureau. Also, bear in mind these are approximate figures since Census Tracts don’t correlate to ZIP Codes precisely. There were a little over 9,000 households in 90210. The median family income was about $155,000 in 1999, so it’s probably somewhat higher now ten years later.
That surprised me a little. I thought it might be considerably greater. Then I considered all the gardeners, maids, cooks, chauffeurs, etc., that might live in the the servants’ quarters and gatehouses tucked away from view. This is a median figure so it tends to suppress wide variability; it would take only a single maid living on an estate to knock a mega-bazillionaire movie starlet right out of that median estimate. All the “Help” running those households also may account for the 6.1% of individuals living in 90210 below the poverty level.
Let’s also take a completely unfair and wildly unscientific look, a skewed apples-to-oranges comparison with a bizarrely small sample size and force it to comply with my hair-brained preconceptions. Why not? That’s what passes for validity these days no? Alternate theories will be gladly entertained or mocked in the comments section.
The Real Beverly Hills
I started by attempting to find a representative home in Beverly Hills proper. Look! Here’s one.
Zillow describes this palatial estate home as an 8 bedroom, 9 bathroom behemoth with 13,913 square feet of living space. It’s a steal at $13.9 million. I hope you don’t take this singling-out personally if this is actually your home. I picked it at random. Actually, I have no idea who lives here nor do I particularly care. Chances are pretty good that you wouldn’t be hanging out here with the geo-geeks if you were living in this home. Just sayin’.
As a brief aside, another misconception fell by the wayside as I wandered through satellite and Street View images. Beverly Hills is an intensely-packed neighborhood. They’re all about square footage with an obligatory swimming pool and a circular driveway jammed together like sardines.
Somehow I imagined that lot sizes would be commensurate with the grandeur of the estates. Instead it looked like something more akin to a New Urbanist design albeit with stone walls and privacy hedges. Even so, somehow I don’t believe walkability was much of a consideration here and it might even be viewed suspiciously.
Faux Beverly Hills
Maybe I should scale it back to something a little more reasonable, something still within 90210 but in the faux Beverly Hills. Let’s try here.
This looks like a fairly typical suburban street, doesn’t it? We could drop this neighborhood into practically any town and it wouldn’t look entirely out of place. Most of the homes here run about 3,000 square feet with 4-or-so bedrooms and are valued at about $2 million. The price per square foot is considerably less than Beverly Hills proper with a mountain view thrown in as a bonus! It’s hardly cheap by most standards but if one want the prestige of a 90210 address without the hassle of becoming a celebrity then this might be a viable option.
I’m being somewhat serious in spite of the lighthearted tone. You might want to check this 2004 article from the Los Angeles Times, “Canyon Homes and that Famous ZIP Code.” The area of 90210 outside of the City of Beverly Hills actually has a name: Beverly Hills Post Office, or BHPO. They do not receive services from the City of Beverly Hills. However, they benefit from the prestige of the address and resulting property values. Even so, a canyon villa was listed for sale at $798,000 at the time of this article, bringing champagne wishes and caviar dreams to a somewhat more affordable level.
Finally, I couldn’t resist. I found an actual 90210 Post Office truck while sneaking around the neighborhood vicariously using Google Street View. I wonder if the prestige transfers to the postal employees who work in this ZIP Code? Does it impress other postal workers at the annual Postal Ball when they let everyone know they deliver to 90210? Just how far does the notoriety convey, anyway?
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