With access to best of both metropolitan culture and laid-back California beach atmosphere, residents of Bixby Knolls, CA enjoy mostly upscale neighborhoods where they can live, work, and raise their families in the lap of affordable luxury. The area has a rich historical background, with first settlements from the Tongva (People of the Earth), dating as far back as 500 A.D., and eventual takeover by the influx of Spanish settlers in the 1700s and 1800s, followed by development of the land for ranching and residential occupancy by the Jotham Bixby Co.
Bixby Knolls, a 120-acre residential area that lies east of Atlantic Avenue and between Bixby Road and San Antonio Drive, is one of Long Beach’s best kept secrets. In 1929, the then-undeveloped region was humbly known as “The Bean Ranch,” a lima bean farm originally owned by founder Jotham Bixby. Heirs of the town’s founder vowed to transform the area into “the most attractive and upscale section of Long Beach” - to be “what the Wilshire section is to LA”. Today’s Bixby Knolls boasts magnificent old homes which have been pristinely kept and retain much of their original character.
California Heights came of age in the 1930s, during the Provincial Tudor and Spanish Colonial Revival. In 1784, the land that we now know as California Heights became part of a 300,000 acre land gift given by the King of Spain to a Spanish mission soldier and cattle rancher. After changing hands several more times, in 1921 oil was discovered and the Jotham Bixby Co sold 183 lots, along with oil rights, to assorted business venturists. Today’s California Heights affords its residents breathtaking views of the Pacific Ocean, LA and San Gabriel River Basins. It is a fantastic place to live, work, play, and raise families in safe, clean, affluent neighborhoods.
Los Cerritos/Virginia Country Club: Would you believe that prestigious Los Cerritos was once a modest farming community? Named for the Rancho Los Cerritos or “Rancho of the Little Hills,” this picturesque region of Bixby Knolls is home to the stately mansions of the 1920s oil boom, all built in the Colonial, Spanish Revival and Provincial designs. It is also the location for the Virginia Country Club, originally developed by Colonel Drake for the guests of the Virginia Hotel.
La Linda Drive is a private, gated community with documented historical significance. It is the location of Bixby Heights founder Jotham Bixby’s “Old Adobe Ranch House” dating back to 1885, and the majestic estate at 11 La Linda Drive, which was inhabited by George H. Bixby, son of Jotham Bixby, and later John Menko. 1910 through 1913 brought the development of the La Linda community and subsequent building of the area’s first schools. Today, La Linda is one of the “neighborliest” of neighborhoods, combining the charm and sophistication of old-world homes, affluence preserved from eras past, and a truly fantastic, thriving modern community.
Interested in real estate opportunities in Bixby Knolls, Long Beach CA? Contact Mark Shandrow at 562 364 9505 today.
