Palos Verdes - Palos Verdes Drive

Palos Verdes is a group of affluent coastal cities in the Palos Verdes Hills on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, within southwestern Los Angeles County in the U.S. state of California. The Palos Verdes Peninsula cities include Palos Verdes Estates, Rancho Palos Verdes, Rolling Hills and Rolling Hills Estates.

The peninsula, which protrudes into the Pacific Ocean, is an affluent community known for its dramatic ocean and city views from the Palos Verdes Hills, distinguished schools, extensive horse trails, and high home prices.

History

American Indians

The peninsula was the homeland of the Tongva-Gabrieliño Native Americans people for thousands of years. In other areas of the Los Angeles Basin archeological sites date back 8,000 years. Their first contact with Europeans in 1542 with João Cabrilho (Juan Cabrillo), the Portuguese explorer who also was the first to write of them. Chowigna and Suangna were two Tongva settlements of many in the peninsula area, which was also a departure point for their rancherías on the Channel Islands.

Spanish and Mexican era

In 1846 José Dolores Sepúlveda and José Loreto received a Mexican land grant from Alta California Governor Pío Pico for a parcel from the huge original 1784 Spanish land grant of Rancho San Pedro to Manuel Dominguez. It was named Rancho de los Palos Verdes, or "ranch of the green sticks", which was used primarily as a cattle ranch. It was also a whaling station in the mid 19th century, albeit only for a brief period.

American era

By 1882 ownership of the land had passed from the Sepulveda family through various mortgage holders to Jotham Bixby of Rancho Los Cerritos, who leased the land to Japanese farmers.

Frank Vanderlip, representing a group of wealthy east coast investors, purchased 25 square miles of land on the Palos Verdes Peninsula in 1913 for $1.5 million. In 1914, Vanderlip vacationed at Palos Verdes in order to recover from an illness, and he was astounded by scenery he compared to "the Sorrentine Peninsula and the Amalfi Drive." He quickly initiated development of Palos Verdes. He hired the Olmsted Brothers, the landscaping firm of John Charles Olmsted and Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., to plan and landscape a new subdivision. The Olmsted Brothers contracted Koebig & Koebig to perform engineering work, including surveying and road planning. However, the project stalled as World War I started, and Vanderlip accepted a chairmanship to the War Savings Committee in Washington, D.C. in 1916.

By 1921, Vanderlip had lost interest in overseeing development of Palos Verdes and enticed Edward Gardner Lewis to takeover the project with an option to buy the property for $5 million. Lewis was an experienced developer, but lacked the capital to purchase and develop Palos Verdes. Instead, he established a real estate trust, capitalizing the project through the sale of notes which were convertible to Palos Verdes property. Under the terms of the trust, Lewis sought raise $30 million in infrastructure improvements, effectively borrowing from investors for both the land and the improvements. He succeeded in attracting $15 million in capital, but far short of the $35 million needed. The trust dissolved and ownership of Palos Verdes reverted to Vanderlip.

Vanderlip established a new real estate trust to purchase 3200 acres from his land syndicate and establish the subdivision of Palos Verdes Estates. The new trust assumed not just the land, but also the improvements made by Lewis. They were not complete, but they were substantial: many sewers, water mains, and roads; landscaping, parks, and a golf course. They opened Palos Verdes for public inspection in June 1923.

Palos Verdes Estates was organized and landscaped by the Olmsted Brothers and in their planning, they dedicated a quarter of the land area to permanent open undeveloped space, giving the subdivision its unique rural characteristic and culture of scenic beauty.

Palos Verdes Scenic Drive

Commerce

Areas of commerce include historic Mediterranean Revival style Malaga Cove Plaza, the Promenade on the Peninsula, and Lunada Bay Plaza. Smaller shopping centers include the Peninsula Center, Golden Cove, Dominos, and The Village.

The largest peninsula commercial district is in Rolling Hills Estates, with many shopping centers including The Promenade on the Peninsula with a megaplex movie theater and an ice rink.

One of the main reasons people come to live here in the Palos Verdes area is the beautiful ocean views, coastline views and city light views enjoyed by many of the homes.

Transportation

The Palos Verdes Peninsula Transit Authority provides bus service within and to the Palos Verdes Peninsula. The Palos Verdes Peninsula is within 30 minutes of both Los Angeles International Airport and Long Beach Airport, which together provide access to most of the United States aboard all major carriers.

Education

The Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District has one of the highest rated API scores in California and has one of the highest average SAT scores and one of the highest percentage of students successfully completing the Advanced Placement exams in the county. There are three high schools, Palos Verdes Peninsula High School (formerly called Rolling Hills High School), Palos Verdes High School, and Rancho Del Mar High School (located in Rolling Hills). Marymount College, a co-ed Roman Catholic four-year college is located in Rancho Palos Verdes. A private K-12 school, Chadwick School, is also located there. Rolling Hills Country Day School, adjacent to the Botanic Garden, offers a private K-8 education. In summary, there are 11 elementary schools, 3 intermediate schools, and 3 high schools located on the peninsula.

Libraries

The Peninsula is served by the Palos Verdes Library District which operates the:

• Peninsula Center Library
• Miraleste Library
• Malaga Cove Library- on the National Historical Register

2010

The 2010 United States Census reported that Rancho Palos Verdes had a population of 41,643. The population density was 3,092.6 people per square mile (1,194.1/km²). The racial makeup of Rancho Palos Verdes was 25,698 (61.7%) White (56.0% Non-Hispanic White), 1,015 (2.4%) African American, 80 (0.2%) Native American, 12,077 (29.0%) Asian, 41 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 748 (1.8%) from other races, and 1,984 (4.8%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3,556 persons (8.5%).

The census reported that 41,303 people (99.2% of the population) lived in households, 313 (0.8%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 27 (0.1%) were institutionalized.

There were 15,561 households, of which 5,187 (33.3%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 10,465 (67.3%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 1,218 (7.8%) had a female householder with no husband present, and 460 (3.0%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 304 (2.0%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships and 85 (0.5%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 2,936 households (18.9%) were made up of individuals, and 1,810 (11.6%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65. There were 12,143 families (78.0% of all households); the average family size was 3.03.

The population was diverse in age terms, with 9,248 people (22.2%) under the age of 18, 2,352 people (5.6%) aged 18 to 24, 7,045 people (16.9%) aged 25 to 44, 13,344 people (32.0%) aged 45 to 64, and 9,654 people (23.2%) aged 65 or older. The median age was 47.8 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.3 males. For every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 90.1 males.

There were 16,179 housing units, at an average density of 1,201.5 per square mile (463.9/km²), of which 12,485 (80.2%) were owner occupied and 3,076 (19.8%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.6%; the rental vacancy rate was 6.4%. 33,015 people (79.3% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units, and 8,288 people (19.9%) lived in rental housing units.

According to the 2010 United States Census, Rancho Palos Verdes had a median household income of $118,893, with 4.5% of the population living below the federal poverty line.

Parks and recreation

• South Coast Botanic Garden - 35 hectare (87 acre) landscaped botanical garden, event venue, and arboretum with over 150,000 landscape plants and trees from approximately 140 families, 700 genera, and 2,000 different species. It is a classic example of land recycling by reclaiming a site that was previously a sanitary landfill and open pit diatomite mine from 1929 until 1956.
• Point Vicente Park is a popular spot for watching the migration of gray whales to and from their breeding lagoon in Baja California.
• Fort MacArthur Military Museum is located near Point Fermin in San Pedro.
• Del Cerro Park Trails is a popular hiking trail at end of Crenshaw Road

The area is frequented by runners, hikers, horseback riders, bird watchers, surfers, scuba divers, fishermen, and bicyclists. The area is home to several golf courses and country clubs. In addition, nude sunbathers formerly frequented Sacreds Cove (or "Smugglers Cove") until the city of Rancho Palos Verdes enacted a 1994 ordinance that ended such use of that beach.

The infamous Palos Verdes surf spots have been in the spotlight many times over issues of "localism". The most notorious surf spot for localism in Palos Verdes is Lunada Bay, which can hold any winter swell and has been known to rival Sunset Beach, Hawaii on a big day. Localism in Palos Verdes reached a turning point in 2001 when a civil rights lawsuit was filed after a particularly violent confrontation with Hermosa Beach surfers. Surveillance cameras were placed in the surfing area but were later removed.

The Trump National Golf Club is a Donald Trump venture with a golf course on the Ocean Trails cliffs. The 18th hole of the prior golf course fell victim to a landslide caused by a leak in the sanitary pipes underneath it. Trump has been heavily criticized for poorly managing the property, including dismissing employees en masse, failing to keep it in business, and upsetting locals with unnecessary and/or unapproved construction. In the summer of 2006, the Trump Organization illegally erected a 70 foot flagpole but was allowed to retain it after a City Council vote.

The Marineland of the Pacific site near Portuguese Bend is currently home of Terranea, a luxury oceanfront resort.

There are numerous nature reserves in Palos Verdes, which attribute to the area's unique natural property. Palos Verdes Estates Shoreline Preserve, Agua Amarga Reserve, and Portuguese Bend Reserve. The reserves contain coastal sage scrubs habitats, a community of fragrant and drought resistant shrubs and flowering plants. In August 2009, wildfire burned approximately 165-acres of the Portuguese Bend Reserve. As a result, in recent years, restoration has been done to reinstall native plants and animals to the area.

Native Plants

• Succulents
• Trees
• Shrubs
• Vines
• Herbaceous Plants: Mustard Plant

Native Animals

• Palos Verdes Blue

Notable places

• The Wayfarers Chapel, a transparent glass chapel in a Redwood forest, was designed in 1951 by the renowned architect and landscape architect Lloyd Wright. It is under the stewardship of the Swedenborgian Church, a well-known landmark on the National Register of Historic Places, and overlooking the ocean at the western entrance of Portuguese Bend.
• Portuguese Bend is one of the most geologically unstable areas in the world. Constant shifting of the soil (approximately 1/3 of an inch a day) and rock slides mean that Palos Verdes Drive South, the main road through the bend, is under constant repair.
• Point Vicente Lighthouse is on the National Register of Historic Places.
• Point Fermin lighthouse in San Pedro.
• Lunada Bay on the north western edge of the peninsula is a famed surf spot, noted for its large swells, at times comparable to Hawaii's Sunset Beach.
• Korean Bell of Friendship is located near Point Fermin in San Pedro.
• Marineland of the Pacific is the location of the former aquatic theme park on the coast.
  The area where Marineland once stood subsequently served as an outdoor set for commercials, film productions, and, in 1996, the MTV Beach House. Fox filmed some scenes of its teen drama, The OC, at locations in and around Palos Verdes.
• Palos Verdes Golf Club Opened in 1924, the Palos Verdes Golf Club was designed by the team of William P. (Billy) Bell and George C. Thomas. Located in the middle of an 800 acre parkland reserve it is the jewel of Palos Verdes Estates.
• La Venta Inn is located along Via Del Monte and is a famed wedding and reception setting, but most notably, it had one of the most beautiful panoramic views of Los Angeles and the Pacific Ocean beach line.

Wrecks

• The wreck of the Dominator, a freighter that ran aground in 1961, was for years a rather bizarre attraction for those willing to hike down the cliffs to the shoreline. Very little is left of the ship today.
• In 2006, the 45 foot cabin cruiser Lady Hawk sank 2 miles from the Palos Verdes coast due to an engine fire.

In popular culture

• The novels The Tribes of Palos Verdes by author Joy Nicholson, and The Mark of Conte by Sonia Levitin, describe life from a teenager's perspective in Palos Verdes.
• The aerial shots for the opening and closing credits for the TV series Knots Landing between 1981-87 were filmed at Palos Verdes.
• Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean films were partly photographed on and off the coast of Palos Verdes Peninsula. A tent city for production was constructed in the Redondo Beach Marina. The Black Pearl and several production vessels were seen on the waters daily as were helicopters filming for overhead shots.
• Overhead shots were used for the fictional town of Costa Verde in Heroes, in the episode "I Am Become Death".
• In a 2010 episode of South Park, the character of Towelie went to a Rehab center in Rancho Palos Verdes.
• In 1962, the "Big W" scenes from the ensemble comedy It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World starring Sid Caesar, Spencer Tracy, Ethel Merman, Phil Silvers and others were filmed on the grounds of a private estate locally known as "Portuguese Point" near Abalone Cove shoreline park.
• MTV's sitcom Awkward. is set in Palos Verdes.
• The 1993 film, Hot Shots! Part Deux filmed several scenes on the cliffs of Palos Verdes.
• Catcher Billy Brubaker, the character played by Matthew Lillard in baseball movie Summer Catch, is listed as being a native of Palos Verdes.
• In the 1994 film The Stoned Age, the main characters reluctantly attend a party in Palos Verdes hosted by Muldoon (Jake Busey).
• In the 2008 film Step Brothers, a scene depicting a Catalina Island wine mixer was actually filmed on land at the Trump National Golf Club in Rancho Palos Verdes.
• In the 1992 film Reservoir Dogs, the character "Nice Guy" refers to the Los Angeles neighborhood of Ladera Heights as "the black Palos Verdes".
• The popular television series "Sea Hunt" shot many of its exterior shots around the waterfront of Palos Verdes. The show credits Marineland of the Pacific for technical advice given to the show.
• Point Vicente Light is the finish line for the 25th season of The Amazing Race broadcast on December 19, 2014. Amy DeJong and Maya Warren won the race.

Notable residents