Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles
Pacific Palisades is a neighborhood in the Westside region of Los Angeles, California, situated about 20 miles (32 km) west of Downtown Los Angeles.[8]
For other uses, see Pacific Palisades.
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.[9] It is known for its seclusion, being a close-knit community with a small-town feel, Mediterranean climate, hilly topography, natural environment, abundance of parkland and hiking trails, a 3-mile (4.8 km) strip of coastline, and for being home to several architecturally significant homes.[10][11] As of 2021, the community's population was 22,977.
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 Palisades coast spans from after Sorrento Beach in Santa Monica to the south, and ends at Sunset Point Beach and Malibu to the north. Beaches along the Pacific Palisades coast include: Will Rogers State Beach, Sunset Point Beach, and one of the few unofficially 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[edit]
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.[12]
History[edit]
Native American period[edit]
Archeological evidence shows Native American Indians living in the Santa Monica Mountains and the surrounding area including Pacific Palisades for over 10,000 years.[13] Prior to European contact, the western sections of the Santa Monica mountains were inhabited by the Tongva people.[13] The closest Tongva settlement to Pacific Palisades with a written record is the village of Topa'nga.[14] The village of Topa'nga sits on the western-most edge of Tongva territory, neighboring the territory of the Chumash people to the north.[14] Due to this close proximity to the Chumash, the culture in western Tongva territory contained elements of Chumash influence.[14]
Mexican period[edit]
The land that became Pacific Palisades was originally 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.[14] 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 in Pacific Palisades.[15] Sketches of adobe dwelling exist in the collection of the UCLA Library.[16][17] A memorial plaque sits in a boulder on Pampas Ricas Blvd commemorating the adobe house, dedicated in the 1950s.[18] 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.[19]
1911-1922[edit]
In 1911, film director Thomas Ince constructed his film studio, "Inceville", which was on a 460-acre (1.9 km2) tract of land he leased called Bison Ranch at Sunset Blvd. and Pacific Coast Highway in the Santa Monica Mountains. Today this is where the Self-Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine is located. By the following year, Ince had earned enough money to purchase the ranch and was able to lease an additional 18,000 acres (73 km2) lot in what is now in the Palisades Highlands neighborhood. stretching 7.5 miles (12.1 km) up Santa Ynez Canyon. This was the first major development built in the Palisades since the Mexican rancho era.[20]
Demographics[edit]
In 2009 the Los Angeles Times's "Mapping L.A." project supplied these Pacific Palisades statistics: a population of 25,507 residents in the 22.84 sq mi (59.2 km2) neighborhood, giving a population density of 1,048/sq mi (405/km2), among the lowest for the city and the county.[56]
Culture[edit]
Menorah lighting[edit]
Beginning in 1988, each year on the first night of Hanukkah a public menorah lighting ceremony is held at the Palisades Village, the downtown area of the Palisades. The menorah lighting is organized by Chabad of Pacific Palisades as well as other leaders in the local Jewish community, and the Pacific Palisades Chamber of Commerce. It is hosted by Palisades Chabad Rabbi Zushe Cunin, as well as the honorary mayor, the city councilman representing the area, and local developer Rick Caruso. It is accompanied by a community event featuring live Hanukkah music, complimentary Hanukkah foods such as latkes, chocolate gelt and sufganiyot, Hanukkah-themed arts and crafts, face painting and balloon twisting.
On December 2, 2018, the 30th Annual Pacific Palisades Menorah Lighting was held at its new location, the Palisades Village shopping center. This was the highest-attended menorah lighting in Palisades history and was attended by over 1,000 people, including actors and Co-honorary Mayors Janice and Billy Crystal, Rabbi Zushe Cunin, Palisades Village developer Rick Caruso, and councilman Mike Bonin. The Crystals also helped in the planning of the event. The event performances of Hanukkah and other traditional Jewish music by the Marquez Elementary Choir, Paul Revere Music Club and the Westside Waldorf School.[113]
Pacific Palisades is also home to one of the few vegan Hanukkah celebrations in Los Angeles, "Lights and Latkes", hosted by vegan Rabbi Jonathan Klein and JewishVeg Los Angeles.[114]
Landmarks[edit]
Burns House[edit]
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.