Benedict Canyon is an area in the Westside of the city of

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 ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. To the north of the Benedict Canyon neighborhood is the neighborhood of Sherman Oaks, to the west is the neighborhood of

Beverly Glen Beverly Glen is a neighborhood in the Santa Monica Mountains region of Los Angeles, California, located around Beverly Glen Boulevard north of Sunset Boulevard and south of Mulholland Drive. Stone Canyon Reservoir lies in the neighborhood. The nei ...

, to the east are

Beverly Park Beverly Park, divided into North Beverly Park and South Beverly Park, is a gated community in Los Angeles, California primarily known for its large houses and famous residents. It is between Mulholland Drive and Sunset Boulevard and Coldwater Ca ...

and Franklin Canyon, and to the south is the city of

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. ...

Geography

Benedict Canyon is a

ravine A ravine is a landform that is narrower than a canyon and is often the product of streambank erosion.crest line in the

Santa Monica Mountains The Santa Monica Mountains is a coastal mountain range in Southern California, next to the Pacific Ocean. It is part of the Transverse Ranges. Because of its proximity to densely populated regions, it is one of the most visited natural areas in ...

; to the east of the Canyon are its two sisters, Franklin Canyon and

Coldwater Canyon Coldwater Canyon is a canyon running perpendicular to and over the central Santa Monica Mountains, in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A section of the canyon south of Mulholland Drive is also a neighborhood in the Beverly Crest Neig ...

. Rainwater percolating over the ancient strata of all three canyons emerges at their lowest altitude as the springs feeding Franklin's Lake and Creek. A cross-section of the land reveals

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies un ...

, of volcanic origin, layered between worn river rocks and ocean-bottom mud. In upper Benedict Canyon are the subdivisions of Benedict Hills, which consists of 107 homes, and Benedict Hills Estates, which consists of 229 homes between Deep Canyon and Mulholland Drive, just east of Hutton.

History

Benedict Canyon was a part of Rancho de las Aguas ("Ranch of the Waters"), which also included present-day

. It was named by Edson A. Benedict, a storekeeper and native of

Boonville, Missouri Boonville is a city and the county seat of Cooper County, Missouri, United States. The population was 7,964 at the 2020 census. The city was the site of a skirmish early in the Civil War, on July 17, 1861. Union forces defeated the Missouri S ...

, who took a homestead in the Canyon in 1868. With help from his wife and sons, E. A. Benedict built an

apiary An apiary (also known as a bee yard) is a location where beehives of honey bees are kept. Apiaries come in many sizes and can be rural or urban depending on the honey production operation. Furthermore, an apiary may refer to a hobbyist's hives ...

that was so bountiful that in one year, they were reported to have made a single shipment of of honey from

Santa Monica Pier The Santa Monica Pier is a large double-jointed pier at the foot of Colorado Avenue in Santa Monica, California, United States. It contains a small amusement park, concession stands, and areas for views and fishing. Attractions Pacific Park T ...

. One of Mr. Benedict's sons, Pierce E. Benedict, later went on to be elected to the city of Beverly Hills Board of Trustees at the time of its incorporation. In August 1969, the Tate murders took place in Cielo Drive.

Sharon Tate Sharon Marie Tate Polanski (January 24, 1943 – August 9, 1969) was an American actress and model. During the 1960s, she played small television roles before appearing in films and was regularly featured in fashion magazines as a model and cover ...

Roman Polanski Raymond Roman Thierry Polański , group=lower-alpha, name=note_a ( né Liebling; 18 August 1933) is a French-Polish film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, tw ...

's pregnant wife, and four others were killed by members of the Manson Family at the couple's 10050 Cielo Drive home. The place was later renamed 10066 Cielo Drive, and ultimately the house was razed, and another erected in its place. Author and LSD enthusiast Timothy Leary spent the last years of his life in a house in Benedict Canyon, where he died in 1996.

Residences

Homes range from smaller one-story family residences to large properties. Homes are predominantly single-family and owner-occupied and have two or more bedrooms. The median year in which the homes were built is 1960.

Vegetation and plants

Benedict Canyon has a mix of vegetation and growth that is endemic to

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and 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 populous urban ...

: oaks and grasses on the lower slopes, and

chaparral Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant community and geographical feature found primarily in the U.S. state of California, in southern Oregon, and in the northern portion of the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico. It is shaped by a Mediterranea ...

and lupine on the higher hillsides. Along nearby Franklin's Creek can be found sycamores, ferns and vines. Evergreens, such as pines,

cypress Cypress is a common name for various coniferous trees or shrubs of northern temperate regions that belong to the family Cupressaceae. The word ''cypress'' is derived from Old French ''cipres'', which was imported from Latin ''cypressus'', the l ...

es, deodars and

eucalyptus ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of over seven hundred species of flowering trees, shrubs or mallees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalypteae, including '' Corymbia'', they are commonly known as ...

, were planted as settlers moved in, and built homes and parks. Vegetation types within the

range from moist coastal canyon bottoms in the Santa Monica Mountains, to desert transitional areas at the headwaters of the Santa Clara River. With the exception of the areas that border the

Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert ( ; mov, Hayikwiir Mat'aar; es, Desierto de Mojave) is a desert in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the Southwestern United States. It is named for the indigenous Mojave people. It is located primarily ...

, all of the vegetation within the zone is influenced by the effects of the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the conti ...

. The resulting cool, wet winters and hot, dry summers create a Mediterranean-type ecosystem. By far, the dominant vegetation sub-type is chaparral. Chaparral is composed of drought- and fire-tolerant evergreen shrubs that range in height from four to ten feet. Unless recently subjected to fire, or some other type of disturbance, this plant community is generally too dense to penetrate. Another unique shrub community to Southern California is sage scrub, which varies between coastal and inland types. Sage scrub vegetation contains fewer stout, woody shrubs, and more openings with fine, delicate plants. The expansive valley floors between the mountain ranges were plowed and farmed long ago. They are now entirely developed. The precise former native plant cover of the San Fernando, Simi and

Santa Clarita Valley The Santa Clarita Valley (SCV) is part of the upper watershed of the Santa Clara River in Southern California. The valley was part of the Rancho San Francisco Mexican land grant. Located in Los Angeles County, its main population center is th ...

s was never adequately recorded. It is suspected that native perennial bunch grasses were dominant elements. Throughout the zone, over ninety-five percent of the native grasslands have been displaced by foreign invasive plants. The most common

riparian A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. Riparian is also the proper nomenclature for one of the terrestrial biomes of the Earth. Plant habitats and communities along the river margins and banks a ...

(stream-related) woodland species are various willows, coast live oak, California sycamore, and Fremont's cottonwood. Less common species that are relics of the last ice age include white alder, bigleaf maple, and black cottonwood. On slopes, and in valleys where rainfall concentrates, groves of evergreen coast live oaks are common throughout Benedict Canyon. These evergreen oaks provide food and shelter for numerous species of wildlife. Deeper soiled areas in the Santa Susana Mountains, the Simi Hills and the Santa Monica Mountains support the deciduous valley oak. A widely dispersed tree in the Santa Monica Mountains, and to a lesser extent in other ranges, is the California black walnut.

Wildlife

The animal population is pretty much the same as it was 10,000 years ago.

Grizzly bear The grizzly bear (''Ursus arctos horribilis''), also known as the North American brown bear or simply grizzly, is a population or subspecies of the brown bear inhabiting North America. In addition to the mainland grizzly (''Ursus arctos horri ...

s are an exception, as they were killed off by early settlers of the area. The most common medium-sized and large mammals are coyotes, mule deer, bobcats, raccoons, and skunks. Just away from the urban edge, other predators, such as grey fox, mountain lion,

American badger The American badger (''Taxidea taxus'') is a North American badger similar in appearance to the European badger, although not closely related. It is found in the western, central, and northeastern United States, northern Mexico, and south-ce ...

, long-tailed weasel, and ringtailed cat, occupy various niches. The ecosystem's top predator, the mountain lion, is present everywhere except the fragmented eastern end of the

that bisects the Los Angeles metropolitan area. Because they fear humans, however, they are rarely seen. Also, there are numerous prey species—such as rabbits, squirrels, rats, mice, and other rodents. Seven species of hawks, eight species of owls,

peregrine falcon The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known as the peregrine, and historically as the duck hawk in North America, is a cosmopolitan bird of prey (raptor) in the family Falconidae. A large, crow-sized falcon, it has a blue-grey bac ...

golden eagle The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known bird ...

northern harrier The northern harrier (''Circus hudsonius''), or ring-tailed hawk, is a bird of prey. It breeds throughout the northern parts of the northern hemisphere in Canada and the northernmost USA. The northern harrier migrates to more southerly areas ...

s, American kestrels, and white-tailed kite share in this bounty of prey. Benedict Canyon is also part of the

Pacific Flyway The Pacific Flyway is a major north-south flyway for migratory birds in the Americas, extending from Alaska to Patagonia. Every year, migratory birds travel some or all of this distance both in spring and in fall, following food sources, heading ...

. As a result, the resident Southern California bird species often share company with neo-tropical migrants and other species, such as Canada geese. There are over eighteen species of snakes and eight species of lizards. The most common snakes are pacific rattlesnake, gopher snake, California king snake, and California striped racer. The rattlesnake is the only venomous snake in California. They seek shade during the hottest summer afternoons and hibernate during the winter. The zone supports five species of frogs, three species of toads, and five species of newts and salamanders. As in most parts of the world, frog populations have declined, probably due to climate change and pollution. The widely scattered perennial streams still support unique populations of native fish. Topanga and Malibu Creeks contain tidewater gobies, arroyo chub, and the endangered Southern California Distinct Population Segment of steelhead. The Santa Clara River supports these species as well as the federally listed endangered, unarmored three spine stickleback. Some of the upper reaches of the Los Angeles River at the foot of the

San Gabriel Mountains The San Gabriel Mountains ( es, Sierra de San Gabriel) are a mountain range located in northern Los Angeles County and western San Bernardino County, California, United States. The mountain range is part of the Transverse Ranges and lies betw ...

harbor populations of the Santa Ana sucker and

speckled dace The speckled dace (''Rhinichthys osculus''), also known as the spotted dace and the carpita pinta, is a member of the minnow family. It is found in temperate freshwater in North America, from Sonora, Mexico to British Columbia, Canada. Cana ...

Community

The Benedict Canyon Association (BCA), started in 1948, is an example of neighborhood activism. The BCA is dedicated to preserving the beauty, safety, environment and quality of life in the Canyon. Because of their early efforts, Benedict Canyon remains the only canyon that is 100% residential. The Hillside Ordinance to limit building height at and stipulate restrictions on set-back, side yards or parking, was a product of Association lobbying and participation. That ordinance was also the basis of the recent defeat of the proposed villa on top of the Mark Hughes hilltop, an event cheered by many residents. Current and past beautification projects of the Association include the repair and repaving of roads, repainting of guardrails, repair of Upper Benedict Canyon, and a subsidized monthly service of clearing debris and trimming vegetation that spills on the roadway. "Adopt Fire Station 99" is another community grass-roots organization representing about 9,000 residents in the Mulholland-Benedict Canyon area. Going hand-in-hand with the BCA, residents helped to generate the media attention, popular support, and political will that defeated the city's plan to reduce from two to one the number of paramedics available at each Fire Station to deliver emergency care.

Celebrities

A number of celebrities live or have lived in Benedict Canyon. Some of them are:

Fire danger

Bottlenecks on the neighborhood's narrow canyon roads have been noted as a primary concern. As part of the plan, the Department of Transportation tows away cars that are parked illegally on narrow hillside streets on "red flag days," when fire danger is high. When fire conditions reach the critical red flag level— wind and relative humidity below 15%—illegally parked vehicles that restrict access are ticketed and towed. Fire departments notify residents by raising red flags over the 103 fire stations in Los Angeles. Over the last ten-plus years (2015), the maximum number of Red Flag days per year was 12. The normal range is between four and seven days per year. Brush clearance is a year-round responsibility for those homeowners living in Benedict Canyon. Fire officials said that both the foliage and the lack of recent fires in the area are cause for concern, not comfort, noting the Oakland Hills fire of October 1991 that killed 25 and destroyed 3,276 residences under similar conditions.

Emergency services

Police service

Los Angeles Police Department The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-lar ...

operates the West Los Angeles Community Police Station at 1663 Butler Avenue, 90025, serving the neighborhood.

Fire/EMS

Los Angeles City Fire Department serves the area of Benedict Canyon. Fire Station 71 and Fire Station 99 serve the Benedict Canyon Area.

Education

Residents are assigned to schools in the

Los Angeles Unified School District Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is a public school district in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is the largest public school system in California in terms of number of students and the 2nd largest public school district in ...

:
Warner Avenue Elementary School
* Emerson Middle School * University High School

In popular culture

* Numerous celebrities have lived in the house at 10050 Cielo Drive, which in August 1969 became notorious for being the site where the Manson family murdered

, Wojciech Frykowski, Abigail Folger, Jay Sebring, and

Steven Parent Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; h ...

. * Hollywood producer Jeff Franklin currently owns the property formerly located at 10050 Cielo Drive; the former house was razed, replaced with a new mansion, and assigned a new address: 10066 Cielo Drive. * In the AMC series ''

Mad Men ''Mad Men'' is an American period drama television series created by Matthew Weiner and produced by Lionsgate Television. It ran on the cable network AMC from July 19, 2007, to May 17, 2015, lasting for seven seasons and 92 episodes. Its f ...

'', reviewers and bloggers have noted what they interpret to be multiple references to

, and the Sharon Tate murders. Several of these references relate to a house Megan Draper rents in "the canyon" overlooking

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

. In the Season 7 premiere ("Time Zones"), set in late January 1969 (the year in which the Sharon Tate murders took place), Don visits the house and tells Megan it reminds him of Dracula's Castle, and he worries about how isolated it is. Tim Goodman of ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly large ...

'' pointed out that Tate and Polanski first met on the set of ''

The Fearless Vampire Killers ''The Fearless Vampire Killers, or Pardon Me, But Your Teeth Are in My Neck'' (shortened to ''The Fearless Vampire Killers''; originally released in the United Kingdom as ''Dance of the Vampires'') is a 1967 British comedy horror film directed b ...

'' (1967). Also, while admiring the view, Don is startled by the howling of coyotes outside the house, evoking two additional Tate references: Tate dined there with Abigail Folger, Wojciech Frykowski, and Jay Sebring, at 8 p.m. on the night they were later murdered, and Megan assures Don the wild animals are not as close as they sound: "It's just what happens to the sound in the canyons," she says, sharply echoing the second line of '' Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders'' (1974), which reads, "The canyons above Hollywood and Beverly Hills play tricks with sounds. A noise clearly audible a mile away .6 kmmight be indistinguishable at a few hundred feet " * In an episode of " Match Game '74", after winning $100 in the "Audience Match" bonus round, the contestant, "Barbara" selected Richard Dawson as the person to match in the "Head to Head Match" question for $1,000. The question was " lankCanyon". Barbara told the host, Gene Rayburn, that her answer was "Grand

anyon In physics, an anyon is a type of quasiparticle that occurs only in two-dimensional systems, with properties much less restricted than the two kinds of standard elementary particles, fermions and bosons. In general, the operation of exchan ...

- which was very popular with the audience. Rayburn replied that since Richard "has only been in the country about 20 minutes" ots of audience laughterand doesn't know about American geography ore laughter her answer would likely not match. And indeed, Dawson's answer was "Benedict

. Much teasing and razzing ensues, including Dawson writing a new card saying "oops..." and later referencing his "Benedict Canyon" answer in a subsequent verbal exchange with Rayburn.

References

{{Los Angeles Westside Beverly Crest, Los Angeles Neighborhoods in Los Angeles Populated places in the Santa Monica Mountains Populated places established in 1868 Westside (Los Angeles County)