Bel-Air is a district in the west side of the city of Los Angeles. The faux-gated community was founded by Alphonzo E. Bell, Sr. in 1923 and is part of the so-called "Platinum Triangle" of Bel-Air, Beverly Hills and Holmby Hills. About 12 miles west of downtown, Bel-Air is known as an exclusive residential community that includes some of the foothills of the Santa Monica Mountains and borders the north side of UCLA.
Residences in Bel-Air range from modest ranch and story-and-half configurations to grand mansions. Many homes in Bel-Air seem quite modest from the outside, often lying only six feet from the street; however, they tend to have large grounds and an estate feeling. In general, the higher up the mountain, the smaller the building lot and more modest the homes; however, those residences along roads such as Stradella Road have magnificent views of the Los Angeles basin and Catalina Island. The most desirable homes are right off the main entrances of Bel-Air and the country club entrance for these homes have both the views of the Bel-Air Country Club and the rest of Los Angeles. Lower Bel-Air homes can sell for over $20 million. Many families prefer lower Bel-Air because of its proximity to Sunset Boulevard, a major thoroughfare.
Residents are zoned to the following Los Angeles Unified School District schools: Warner Avenue Elementary School, Emerson Middle School, and University High School. Some Bel-Air area homes are zoned to Roscomare Road Elementary School instead of Warner. Some homes are jointly zoned to Roscomare Road and Warner. In addition, an LAUSD magnet school named Community Magnet School is near the area. Private schools in Bel-Air include The John Thomas Dye School (K?6), The Westland School (K-6), Berkeley Hall (K-8), and Stephen S. Wise Temple Elementary & Milken Community High School (Jewish; K-12). The University of Judaism is a small private university located within the Bel-Air Casiano neighborhood.
