Beverly Hills

Opulent, state-of-the-art and fast, Beverly Hills Speedway was the finest board track yet built when it opened in February 1920. The 1.25-mile speedway was designed by Art Pillsbury and took 100 days to construct on a 275 acre site south of Wilshire Boulevard at a cost of $500,000. Its owners, the Los Angeles Speedway Association, included millionaire racing driver Cliff Durant and renowned film director Cecil B. DeMille. The two grandstands offered excellent viewing of the entire track and tunnels gave excellent access to infield parking. The track was 50ft wide with corners banked at 48 degrees. Duesenberg star Jimmy Murphy won the inaugural 250-mile race at an average speed of 103.2 mph but that year’s Thanksgiving Day Beverly Hills 250 was marred by an accident in which Gaston Chevrolet, Eddie O’Donnell and riding mechanic Lyall Jolls were killed. Crowds of up to 70,000 flocked to the Speedway but it only operated for five seasons. Rapidly rising real estate prices led to its sale to property developers, with the Beverly Wilshire Hotel built on the site of Turn 3.