Alphonzo Edward Bell Sr. (September 29, 1875 – December 27, 1947) was an American oil multi-millionaire, real estate developer, philanthropist, and champion

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

player. The westside

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

residential community of Bel Air is named after him, as well as the

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

communities of

Bell A bell is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be made by an inter ...

and

Bell Gardens Bell Gardens is a city in the U.S. state of California in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. Located in Los Angeles County, the city's population was 42,072 at the 2010 census, down from 44,054 at the 2000 census. Bell Gardens is part of the ...

Family and background

Bell was a native and lifelong resident of Los Angeles, whose family had deep financial and historical ties to the area, and played a key role in the history and development of Southern California. He was the son of James George Bell, who established Bell Station Ranch (now the site of the City of

), in the

Santa Fe Springs Santa Fe Springs (''Santa Fe'', Spanish for "Holy Faith") is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is one of the Gateway Cities of southeast Los Angeles County. The population was 16,223 at the 2010 census, down from 17,43 ...

area in 1875, and of Susan Albiah Hollenbeck. His uncle, Ed Hollenbeck, who arrived in California in the 1850s, founded the First National Bank, created Los Angeles's public transportation trolley system, and developed eastern portions of Los Angeles County. After attending Occidental College, which had been founded by his father in 1887, and graduating at the top of his class as valedictorian in 1895, Bell enrolled at San Anselmo Presbyterian College for two years (he did not return for 3rd year). In 1902 he married Minnewa Shoemaker Bell, a native of Kansas. Bell's son, Alphonzo E. Bell, Jr., later served eight terms as a California Congressman. Bell's daughter, Minnewa Bell Gray Burnside Ross, married Elliott Roosevelt, son of President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

, in 1951.

Tennis achievements

While in college the senior Bell was Inter-Collegiate Tennis Champion, and later Pacific Coast Tennis Champion, who at one time earned national rankings of fifth in singles and eighth in doubles. Known for his "net-rusher" style, Bell went on to win two medals in

at the 1904 Summer Olympics in

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

– a bronze in the men's singles event, and a silver in the men's doubles tournament, partnering with

Robert LeRoy Robert LeRoy (February 7, 1885 – September 7, 1946) was a tennis player from New York City in the United States, who won two medals at the 1904 Summer Olympics in St. Louis. He won a Silver medal in both the men's singles event and the men's ...

Oil, real estate & other business ventures

After striking oil on their ranch at Santa Fe Springs, Bell entered the oil business with his father in the early 1920s, establishing the Bell Petroleum Co., and developing what became one of the richest oil fields in California. With the ensuing California oil boom, or " black-gold" rush, competition from various less scrupulous large oil companies was fierce—several of whom, along with

William Randolph Hearst William Randolph Hearst Sr. (; April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951) was an American businessman, newspaper publisher, and politician known for developing the nation's largest newspaper chain and media company, Hearst Communications. His flamboya ...

, tried to drive the more honest Bell's smaller operation out of business—a saga documented in the fictionalized account by writer

Upton Sinclair Upton Beall Sinclair Jr. (September 20, 1878 – November 25, 1968) was an American writer, muckraker, political activist and the 1934 Democratic Party nominee for governor of California who wrote nearly 100 books and other works in seve ...

in a 1927 novel ''

Oil! ''Oil!'' is a novel by Upton Sinclair, first published in 1926–27 and told as a third-person narrative, with only the opening pages written in the first person. The book was written in the context of the Harding administration's Teapot Dome Sc ...

'', also the basis for the 2007 movie, ''

There Will Be Blood ''There Will Be Blood'' is a 2007 American period drama film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, loosely based on the 1927 novel '' Oil!'' by Upton Sinclair. It stars Daniel Day-Lewis as Daniel Plainview, a silver miner turned oilm ...

''. Bell, known for his almost puritanical morality and honesty, used portions of his initial profits to develop upscale real estate communities in West Los Angeles, including parts of Westwood,

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Bev ...

, and Pacific Palisades. He became a visionary real estate developer, anticipating the influx of Hollywood elite and other wealthy residents who would be lured by the burgeoning film industry. In 1922, building on over that he had acquired, Bell founded Bel Air Estates, an exclusive and upscale neighborhood now known as Bel-Air, enhancing the surrounding area with lush vegetation, new roads, and utilities; designed, laid out and developed the

Bel-Air Country Club The Bel-Air Country Club is a social club located in Bel Air, Los Angeles, California. The property includes an 18-hole golf course and tennis courts. The golf course is the home course for the UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic team ...

and the Bel Air Bay Club; The Riviera Country Club also owes its inception to Bell*. According to Claude Wayne, Bell went to see the late Frank Garbutt of the Los Angeles Athletic Club and told him that he would give the land free if Garbutt would build the club.(*Alphonzo E. Bell: a Biography by John O Pohlmann ) While many such clubs thrived on sales of bootleg liquor during the years of Prohibition, Bell refused to allow the sale of illegal spirits in any of his clubs or establishments, which lost him some membership. William Randolph Hearst's longstanding vendetta with Bell had started when Bell refused to sell a homesite to Hearst for a home to house his silent-film-star mistress,

Marion Davies Marion Davies (born Marion Cecilia Douras; January 3, 1897 – September 22, 1961) was an American actress, producer, screenwriter, and philanthropist. Educated in a religious convent, Davies fled the school to pursue a career as a chorus girl ...

in Bell's Bel-Air Estates development. For themselves and their young extended family, Bell and his wife Minnewa in 1921 built a showplace 42-room house on in portions of the areas that are now Bel Air and Pacific Palisades which they called ' (Italian for "Top of the Hill"). Today nothing of the house remains, except for some of the terraced gardens and rock walls, and their former horse riding stables, which now constitute a portion of the Bel-Air Hotel – with what was once the Bell stable's manure barn, now one of the favorite celebrity guest suites. In 1926, Bell provided land in Bel Air to the proposed location of

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

in Westwood. The deeds for the land granted to the university had strict racial provisions and dictated:

5. That neither the whole nor any part of said premises shall be sold, rented or leased to any person of Ethiopian, Chinese or Japanese descent, nor shall the same be occupied by any such person excepting as a professor or instructor of the University of California or a member of his family, excepting also as a servant or employee of the person using said premises exclusively for residential purposes.

Philanthropy

Throughout his lifetime, and just prior to his death in 1947, as well as in his will, Alphozo Bell, Sr. gave the larger share of his wealth to various charities – including Occidental College,

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

, the L.A.

Presbyterian Church Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

, and other church groups and charitable organizations. Today, he is honored by memorial tributes to him at – among others – Occidental College,

, and the

References

External links

The Alphonzo Bell papers at the University of Southern California
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Alphonzo American company founders American energy industry executives American real estate businesspeople Businesspeople from Los Angeles 1875 births 1947 deaths Land owners from California Medalists at the 1904 Summer Olympics Philanthropists from California People from Bel Air, Los Angeles American male tennis players Tennis players from Los Angeles Occidental College alumni Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in tennis Olympic silver medalists for the United States in tennis Tennis players at the 1904 Summer Olympics 20th-century American businesspeople