Alphonzo Bell

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

Family and background

Bell graduated from Occidental College in 1895. He was a lifelong Los Angeles resident and came from a family with deep financial and historical ties to the area. He was the son of James George Bell, who established Bell Station Ranch (now the site of the City of Bell), in the Santa Fe Springs area in 1875. His uncle, Ed Hollenbeck, had arrived in California in the 1850s, founded the First National Bank, created a public transportation system and developed eastern portions of Los Angeles County. The residential westside community of Bel-Air in Los Angeles is named after him.

Tennis achievements

Bell won two medals in tennis at the 1904 Summer Olympics in St. Louis. In the men's singles event he won a bronze medal. He also won a silver medal in the men's doubles tournament, partnering Robert LeRoy.

Oil and real estate dealings

In the early 1920s, Bell entered the oil business with his father, establishing the Bell Petroleum Co. He used his initial profits to develop tony real estate communities in West Los Angeles, including parts of Westwood, Beverly Hills, 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 600 acres that he had acquired, Bell founded Bel-Air Estates as an exclusive and upscale neighborhood, enhancing the surrounding area with lush vegetation, new roads, utilities, and a world-class country club.

Bell’s son, Alphonzo E. Bell, Jr., later became one of California's most popular Congressmen.