Hillcrest Country Club
The idea of forming a Jewish social club came as a result of Jews being excluded from Los Angeles elite social clubs. Western European Jews most of German descent felt the need of establishing their own club, where one could play tennis, golf, and hold social gatherings. Hillcrest Country club was born after a meeting held in June of 1920, between Rabbi Magnin and German Jews, most of whom belonged to Congregation B'nai B'rith.
The board authorized to purchase a 142-acre plot south of Beverly Hills, located at 10000 West Pico Boulevard. In its earlier days, Hillcrest would be controlled by such families as the Newmarks, the Hellmans, and the Cohns. The Hillcrest Country Club was built “colonial style,” consisting of “ladies dressing quarters, showers and locker rooms, large lounging room, open fireplace, dining room, sun parlor, and administrative offices. Passed that was the gentlemen’s grill, three small card rooms, the kitchen, a veranda, fourteen greens and the entire course.”
The board authorized to purchase a 142-acre plot south of Beverly Hills, located at 10000 West Pico Boulevard. In its earlier days, Hillcrest would be controlled by such families as the Newmarks, the Hellmans, and the Cohns. The Hillcrest Country Club was built “colonial style,” consisting of “ladies dressing quarters, showers and locker rooms, large lounging room, open fireplace, dining room, sun parlor, and administrative offices. Passed that was the gentlemen’s grill, three small card rooms, the kitchen, a veranda, fourteen greens and the entire course.”
By October 1920, the club's membership rolls reached one hundred and fifty. By 1922, Hillcrest created different membership levels, containing two hundred and twenty-five regular members and thirty-five from other classes. Four years later, the number of members from the other classes increased over four fold.
The German Jews could no longer hold the club to themselves. To keep up their membership rolls, they had no choice but to open it up to Hollywood Jews. Louis B. Mayer and eventually the Warner brothers would join the club. Around 1926, Louis B. Mayer was "elected Los Angeles Chairman of the United Jewish Campaign for relief and reconstruction in eastern Europe and Palestine." Mayer along with Rabbi Magnin, Joseph M. Schenck, Harry Warner, Sol Wurtzel, Carl Laemmle, and other Hollywood Movie Industry Jews held a dinner at the Hillcrest Country Club, where "steps were taken to unite the members so that all contributions toward Jewish causes of local, national, and international import come from a common fund." Mayer's first business as chairman was to telegraph $12,000 of his own money to help suffering Eastern European Jews. The club began to play even a bigger role in fundraising activities in the 1930s.
The German Jews could no longer hold the club to themselves. To keep up their membership rolls, they had no choice but to open it up to Hollywood Jews. Louis B. Mayer and eventually the Warner brothers would join the club. Around 1926, Louis B. Mayer was "elected Los Angeles Chairman of the United Jewish Campaign for relief and reconstruction in eastern Europe and Palestine." Mayer along with Rabbi Magnin, Joseph M. Schenck, Harry Warner, Sol Wurtzel, Carl Laemmle, and other Hollywood Movie Industry Jews held a dinner at the Hillcrest Country Club, where "steps were taken to unite the members so that all contributions toward Jewish causes of local, national, and international import come from a common fund." Mayer's first business as chairman was to telegraph $12,000 of his own money to help suffering Eastern European Jews. The club began to play even a bigger role in fundraising activities in the 1930s.