Pacific Palisades

Pacific Palisades

Pacific Palisades is the most western communities on the West Side of Los Angeles with the Pacific Ocean as its boarder to the west, the Mandeville canyon of Brentwood to the east, Santa Monica to the South and the Santa Monica mountain range, Topanga State park, to the north.

History

The original land of Pacific Palisades was part of a 6600 acre land grant given by the Mexican government to Francisco Marquez and Ysidro Reyes in 1838. It was named the Boca de Santa Monica, or “Mouth of Santa Monica”, referring to the fertile flatland in Santa Monica Canyon, which served as the center for the families’ farming operations.

The village of Pacific Palisades, descriptive of its location on the naturally sculpted palisades overlooking the Pacific Ocean, was founded in the early 1920’s by the Camp Meeting and Chautauqua Assn. headed by the Methodist minister, Rev. Charles Scott. Rev. Scott founded the community envisioning an elaborate religious (and intellectual) commune.

With the founding of Palisades Association came the development of the adjacent areas including the Huntington Palisades named for the heirs of Collis Huntington who sold the land in 1926 and the Palisades Rivera developed by Alphonzo Bell to pay homage to the European Amalfi coast.

Neighborhoods of single-family dwellings sprang up in the 1920s and the first Business Block was built in 1925. The 1930s saw steady growth, and the pace of expansion accelerated in all directions after World War II. By 1947 the community had several retail stores and a restaurant or two.

Attractions

The heart of Pacific Palisades is the Main Street-like area known at the Village – a cluster of upscale boutiques, restaurants, coffeehouses and specialty stores. 90272 is also home the original J. Paul Getty Villa which originally housed the entire Getty collection before being moved to the New Getty Center in Brentwood. The Villa now houses the Getty museum of antiquities.

In addition to the Getty, Pacific Palisades also is home the 10 acre Self Realization Lake Shrine devoted to the followers of the Paramahansa Yogananda. This is the only site in the Western United State where on can visit the ashes (a portion) of Mahatma Gandhi.

Further attractions include the Will Rogers State park named for the original owner movie star and cowboy humorist Will Rodgers. The grounds include his home, now a museum, horse stables, polo grounds and numerous hiking trails into the Santa Monica Mountains.

More contemporary attractions include the Riviera Country club which annually hosts the Los Angeles PGA tournament.

Homes

Pacific Palisades, zip code 90272, has a population of just over 25,000 people and is quiet family oriented community with over 80% of the residential units being single family homes. The homes range from modest mid-century ranches and bungalows or grand modern estates and stretches from Brentwood all the way to the Pacific Ocean

On the Western boundry is the area known as The Riviera which was originally envisioned as a European development akin to the Amalfi coast south of Naples which like Pacific Palisades is where “the mountains meet the sea”.This high end neighborhood is divided north and south by Sunset Boulevard and is known for its streets named after various locations on the French and Italian Riviera. It is also home to the Riviera country club.

South of the Riviera is Rustic Canyon featuring post war homes located on a former polo field. It is also known as the Uplifters ranch named after the social organization that original developed the area with cabins as second homes and weekend retreats. A few of the original cabins remain but the area is predominantly larger more modern designed single family homes.