Pacific Palisades is a neighborhood in the Westside region of Los Angeles, California, situated about west of Downtown Los Angeles.
Pacific Palisades was formally founded in 1921 by a Methodist organization, and in the years that followed became a refuge for Jewish artists and intellectuals fleeing the Holocaust. The Palisades would later be sought after by celebrities and other high-profile individuals seeking privacy. It is known for its seclusion and for being a close-knit community with a small-town feel, as well as its Mediterranean climate, hilly topography, natural environment, and abundance of parkland and hiking trails, strip of coastline, and for being home to a number of architecturally significant homes.
Pacific Palisades has historically been home to many Hollywood celebrities. Due to its secluded location compared to other affluent areas such as Beverly Hills, notable residents are afforded more privacy and paparazzi are uncommon. People in the entertainment industry and other affluent residents also live throughout the Palisades, although some residents are middle class. As of 2018, the community's population was 28,881.
Pacific Palisades is a largely residential community and does not attract many tourists other than day visitors to Gladstones Malibu, the local beaches, the Getty Villa or the Self-Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine.
Nicknamed "the Palisades" and “Pali” by surfers and locals, the three-mile length of the Palisades coast spans from after Sorrento Beach in Santa Monica to the south ending at Sunset Point Beach with Malibu to the north. Beaches along the Pacific Palisades coast include: Will Rogers State Beach, Sunset Point Beach, and one of the few gay beaches in Los Angeles, Ginger Rogers Beach. The many parks within the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area lie along the ridges above the community along with local parks that include Will Rogers State Historic Park.
The Palisades is bounded by Brentwood to the east, Malibu to the west, Santa Monica to the southeast, the Santa Monica Bay to the southwest, Topanga and the Santa Monica Mountains to the north.
Etymology
The name "Pacific Palisades" comes from the term "palisades," a geological formation consisting of a series of cliff-like bluffs situated by a body of water, in this case the Pacific Ocean, and also for the area's purported resemblance to The Palisades on the west side of the lower Hudson River.
History
Native American period
Archeological evidence shows Native American Indians living in the Santa Monica Mountains and the surrounding area including Pacific Palisades for over 10,000 years. Prior to European contact, the western sections of the Santa Monica mountains were inhabited by the Tongva people. The closest Tongva settlement to Pacific Palisades with a written record is the village of Topa'nga. The village of Topa'nga sits on the western-most edge of Tongva territory, neighboring the territory of the Chumash people to the north. Due to this close proximity to the Chumash, the culture in western Tongva territory contained elements of Chumash influence.
Mexican period
The land that became Pacific Palisades was originally located within the boundaries of Rancho Boca de Santa Monica, granted by the governor of California during the Mexican period to Francisco Marquez and Ysidro Reyes in 1839. The Ysidro Reyes Adobe was the first adobe home ever built in Santa Monica Canyon, erected in the year 1838 on land now known as Pampas Ricas Blvd, located in Pacific Palisades. Sketches of adobe dwelling exist in the collection of the UCLA Library. A memorial plaque sits in a boulder on Pampas Ricas Blvd commemorating the adobe house, dedicated in the 1950s. Ysidro Reyes died in 1863. Reyes left his portion of Rancho Boca de Santa Monica to his widow, Maria Antonia Villa, who sold it to developer and railroad magnate Robert Symington Baker in 1875.
1911-1922
In 1911, film director Thomas Ince constructed his film studio, "Inceville", which was located on a tract of land he leased called Bison Ranch located at Sunset Blvd. and Pacific Coast Highway in the Santa Monica Mountains. Today this is where the Self-Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine is located. held at Riviera.
The Riviera has hosted three major championships: the U.S. Open in 1948, and the PGA Championship in 1983 and 1995. In addition, it was site of the U.S. Senior Open, a senior major, in 1998 and the U.S. Amateur in August 2017. The club is scheduled to host the Olympics in 2028.
Will Rogers Polo Club
The Will Rogers Polo Club is a polo club located at 1501 Will Rogers State Park Road, Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, California., which is within Will Rogers State Historic Park, and is Southern California's only remaining polo club.
Media
The Los Angeles Times is the citywide newspaper.
The Palisadian-Post, founded in 1928, is the oldest newspaper to serve the Pacific Palisades community.
The Palisades News, first published in 2014, is a Palisades-based newspaper published twice monthly for the residents of Pacific Palisades.
Circling The News, is a local news site established in 2017 by Sue Perscoe, a former writer for The Palisades News, and featuring a number of guest writers and columnists.
Perspective Palisades, is a local magazine founded by local historian and realtor Michael Edlen in 2020, the magazine is published each quarter and features real estate-related news as well as historical information, news in the community, and interviews with notable Palisadians.
Landmarks
Burns House
Architect Charles W. Moore designed his first house in Los Angeles for the UCLA economist and urban planning professor, Leland Burns. The house was completed in 1974. It occupies a narrow ledge on a steep slope of the Santa Monica canyon. The house is composed of an interlocking set of shed roofs and tower, its forms reminiscent of The Sea Ranch Condominium, but adapted for a sense of the Mediterranean climate and Hollywood allusions. An interior staircase climbs up through a vertical cleft in the narrow house, and then at the very top of the third story, the stair descends outside, back down into a swimming pool court. Designer Tina Beebe developed with Moore the color scheme, whereby exterior planes were painted in a range of ochres, pinks, roses, and golds, so as the light and shade shifts during the day, the house itself seems to change like a chameleon. The house was built around a tracker organ hand built by Jürgen Ahrend, an instrument known as Opus 1, U.S.A.
Bradbury House
The Bradbury House is a historic house in the Huntington Palisades neighborhood. It was designed in the Spanish Revival style by architect John Byers, and completed in 1923. The home was built for Lewis L Bradbury Jr whose father, Lewis L Bradbury, commissioned the construction of the Bradbury Building in Downtown Los Angeles. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since March 22, 2010.
Business Block
The Business Block building is a historic building located in the Palisades downtown area called the Village. It serves as the anchor of the downtown area, and was designed by architect Clifton Nourse and dedicated in 1924. The building is and sits on of land. The Business Block building is located between Antioch, Swarthmore and Sunset in the Village neighborhood of Pacific Palisades, an area in the Westside of Los Angeles, California.
Dolores del Río House
The Dolores Del Rio House is located at 757 Kingman Avenue was designed for Mexican-American actress Dolores del Río and her husband, production designer Cedric Gibbons, by architects Douglas Honnold and George Vernon Russell in 1929.
Eames House
Eames House is the 1949 home and studio of husband-and-wife design pioneers Charles and Ray Eames.
The Getty Villa
The Getty Villa is an educational center and museum dedicated to the study of the arts and cultures of Ancient Greece, Rome, and Etruria.
Gladstones
Gladstones is a seafood restaurant located along Will Rogers State Beach on Pacific Coast Highway. Despite its name Gladstones Malibu is located in Pacific Palisades, it is not actually located within the Malibu city limits. Gladstones is known for their seafood and is a tourist attraction. It has been owned by Richard Riordan, former Mayor of Los Angeles, since the mid-1990s. In 2008, Gladstones was the 37th highest grossing independent restaurant in the country. In 2009, the private company SBE assumed day-to-day operations as part of a management contract with Riordan which expired in 2014. Gladstone's re-assumed management of day-to-day operations thereafter. The beachfront restaurant has undergone several name changes. When Robert J. Morris opened the restaurant at the site of Ted's Grill, he named it Gladstone's 4 Fish. The restaurant is frequently cited as Gladstone's. It is now called simply Gladstones.
Kappe Residence
The Kappe Residence is a house located in the Rustic Canyon section of Pacific Palisades, that was designed by architect Raymond Kappe, FAIA, and was intended to be his own private residence. The house is a modern design built into a heavily treed hillside. The Kappe Residence was designated a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument in 1996, and in 2008 it was named one of the top ten houses in Los Angeles by an expert panel selected by the Los Angeles Times.
Mort's Palisades Deli
Mort's Palisades Deli, more commonly referred to as Mort's Deli, was a Jewish delicatessen located at 1035 Swarthmore Ave on the corner of Sunset Boulevard in the Village. Mort's was a neighborhood fixture and local landmark, which first opened in 1972 and closed in 2008 upon the buildings sale to former mayor Richard Riordan would closed the deli to make way for a bistro which closed after a few months. The deli was known for their Reuben sandwiches and celebrity clientele including Larry David, Walter Matthau, and Larry King among others, as well as being featured in numerous episodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm as "Leo's Deli".
Old Santa Monica Forestry Station
The Old Santa Monica Forestry Station is the nation's first experimental forestry station, built in 1887. The Old Santa Monica Forestry Station was designated a California Historic Landmark (No.840) on March 20, 1970. Old Santa Monica Forestry Station is located in the Rustic Canyon neighborhood of Pacific Palisades. It is south of what is now called Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. The hills and canyons around the Santa Monica Canyon were a land boom in the late 1880s. In 1971 the state placed a marker near the entrance of the Rustic Canyon Recreation Center at the NW corner of Latimer and Hilltree Roads, at 601 Latimer Road; which reads:
Self-Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine
Self-Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine is a spiritual center on Sunset Boulevard founded in 1950 by Paramahansa Yogananda, whose classic book “Autobiography of a Yogi” introduced many Westerners to yoga and Eastern mysticism.
Thomas Mann House
Thomas Mann House was Thomas Mann's home during his exile from 1942 to 1952 designed by JR Davidson.
Villa Aurora
Villa Aurora is an artists residence and historic landmark located in the former home of exiled German-Jewish writer Lion Feuchtwanger and his wife Marta.
Wildlife
Pacific Palisades is home to a variety of species of wildlife, both native to the area and introduced from elsewhere.
Wild Parrots
Pacific Palisades has been noted for its large population of California wild parrots, and is one of the main areas in Southern California where wild parrots can be found. Parrots mainly live in the sycamore-lined canyons of the Palisades. Wild parrots have lived in the Palisades since the 1960s, and are said to descend from pet parrots that were released by their owners in the area in the wake of the 1961 Bel Air fire, and the closing of Busch Gardens in Van Nuys.
Pacific Palisades is home to numerous species of parrots, and the most commonly-sighted species is the Nanday parakeet. Other species of parrots found in the Palisades include the mitred parakeet, yellow-chevroned parakeet, white-winged parakeet, rose-ringed parakeet, red-masked parakeet, blue-crowned parakeet, red-crowned parrot, lilac-crowned parrot, white-fronted parrot, blue-fronted parrot, yellow-headed parrot, and the red-lored parrot.
In popular culture
Jerry Lewis lived on Amalfi Drive in Pacific Palisades during the 1950s. He shot several Gar-Ron Productions home movies at that house with neighbors Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh. He became the honorary mayor of the Palisades in 1953.
The Beach Boys 1963 hit "Surfin' U.S.A." mentions Pacific Palisades in its list of Southern California surf spots.
The 1976 book, What Really Happened to the Class of '65? is about members of one of Palisades High School's early graduating classes and how their once-privileged lives turned out years later, often disastrously. The book, by author David Wallechinsky, the son of novelist Irving Wallace, and his "Pali" classmate, film critic Michael Medved, described Pacific Palisades as a microcosm of America during the tumultuous Summer of Love era.
The West Coast Avengers, a California-based branch of the Marvel Comics superhero team, were depicted as based out of an estate in Pacific Palisades.
Pacific Palisades, a 1997 TV series produced by Aaron Spelling, was named after the area.
The characters on the teen show Saved by the Bell (1989–1993) mention on several occasions that their school is located in Pacific Palisades.
Popular show 90210 mentions Palisades High as their rivals and has filmed some episodes on the beach and at a local restaurant, Cafe Vida.
British alternative rock band Ash included a song entitled "Pacific Palisades" on their 2001 album Free All Angels.
Rapper Childish Gambino mentions Pacific Palisades in his song IV. Sweatpants saying, "got a glass house in the Palisades."
In Modern Family, the Dunphy children attend Palisades Charter High School. Alex Dunphy was crowned school valedictorian in the episode "Patriot Games."
The main character of the TV series Transparent lives in a house in Pacific Palisades.
untitled 02 – 06.23.2014., the second track of Kendrick Lamar's 2016 compilation album untitled unmastered, mentions the area in the third verse: "Palisade views with some sex."
The Hyundai Palisade is named after Pacific Palisades.
Filming locations
The 1985 Jack Nicholson, Kathleen Turner film Prizzi's Honor was partly filmed at a private house located at 15025 Corona Del Mar, which was repainted for the occasion and then turned back to its original colours after the shooting. That house was demolished later and now only exists in film history. It belonged to Joyce R. Proctor.
The 2005 Anne Hathaway, Bijou Phillips film Havoc was set in the Palisades and filmed at Palisades Charter High School.
The 2003 Disney film Freaky Friday with Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan was filmed at Palisades Charter High School.
The 2001 film Crazy/Beautiful starring Kirsten Dunst was filmed at Palisades Charter High School.
The house used for the exterior shots of the Pearson residence in the 1979 film Phantasm is located at 1232 Corsica Drive in Pacific Palisades.
The 1985 music video for "Slip It In" by the hardcore punk band Black Flag was filmed at Palisades High School.
The 1977 NBC television program James at 16, starring Lance Kerwin, was filmed at the same school, which was then called Palisades High School, or more commonly "Pali High".
The 1976 film Carrie was filmed at Palisades High School.
The 1957 film No Down Payment has several sequences around Pacific Palisades posing as a Los Angeles suburb.
Food Network's Everyday Italian is filmed on El Medio.
The TV series Baywatch was filmed at Lifeguard Headquarters by tower 15 of Will Rogers State Beach in Pacific Palisades.
The TV series The Rockford Files was often filmed in and around the Palisades in the 1970s.
The TV series Popular filmed at Palisades Charter High School.
The TV series Modern Family filmed some scenes at Palisades Charter High School.
The first-season residence of the television series The Golden Girls was a home in Pacific Palisades. For subsequent seasons, a facade house was built on the Disney/MGM back lot.
The HBO series Curb Your Enthusiasm is filmed in the real-life Pacific Palisades residence of Larry David, as the home of his character, "Larry David".
The TV series Teen Wolf was filmed at Palisades Charter High School.
The original 2014 movie God's Not Dead had scenes filmed at 1033 Ravoli Drive in Pacific Palisades.
The 2014 movie Redeemed, starring Pacific Palisades resident Ted McGinley, also was filmed at 1033 Ravoli Drive.
An episode of HBO's Silicon Valley was filmed in the Palisades Highlands at 1268 Piedra Morada Drive. It was used as the home of “Big Head” after he became rich.
Notable people
:See List of people from Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles
