Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles
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Pacific Palisades is a neighborhood in the Westside region of
Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, situated about west of
Downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) contains the central business district of Los Angeles. In addition, it contains a diverse residential area of some 85,000 people, and covers . A 2013 study found that the district is home to over 500,000 jobs. It is ...
. Pacific Palisades was formally founded in 1921 by a Methodist organization, and in the years that followed became a refuge for Jewish artists and
intellectual An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and reflection about the reality of society, and who proposes solutions for the normative problems of society. Coming from the world of culture, either as a creator or a ...
s fleeing the
Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...
. 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, its
Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...
, hilly
topography Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sci ...
, natural environment, its abundance of parkland and hiking trails, its strip of coastline, and for being home to a number of architecturally significant homes. Pacific Palisades has historically been home to many Hollywood
celebrities Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group as a result of the attention given to them by mass media. An individual may attain a celebrity status from having great wealth, their participation in sports ...
. Due to its secluded location compared to other affluent areas such as
Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Bev ...
, notable residents are afforded more privacy, and
paparazzi Paparazzi (, ; ; singular: masculine paparazzo or feminine paparazza) are independent photographers who take pictures of high-profile people; such as actors, musicians, athletes, politicians, and other celebrities, typically while subjects ...
are uncommon. People in the
entertainment industry Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and Interest (emotion), interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have dev ...
, and other
affluent Wealth is the abundance of valuable financial assets or physical possessions which can be converted into a form that can be used for transactions. This includes the core meaning as held in the originating Old English word , which is from an I ...
residents, also live throughout the Palisades, mixing with other less affluent residents. As of 2018, the community's population was 28,881. Pacific Palisades is a largely
residential community A residential community is a community, usually a small town or city, that is composed mostly of residents, as opposed to commercial businesses and/or industrial facilities, all three of which are considered to be the three main types of occup ...
and does not attract many tourists other than day visitors to
Gladstones Malibu Gladstones Malibu is an American seafood restaurant located on The Pacific Coast Highway (California) in Pacific Palisades, California. The original restaurant was opened in 1972. History The original Gladstones was opened by Robert J. Morris on ...
, the local beaches, the
Getty Villa The Getty Villa is at the easterly end of the Malibu coast in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. One of two campuses of the J. Paul Getty Museum, the Getty Villa is an educational center and museum dedi ...
or the
Self-Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine The Self-Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine lies a few blocks from the Pacific Ocean, on Sunset Boulevard in Pacific Palisades, California. It was founded and dedicated by Paramahansa Yogananda, on August 20, 1950, and is owned by the Self-Realiz ...
. 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, and ending at Sunset Point Beach and Malibu to the north. Beaches along the Pacific Palisades coast include:
Will Rogers State Beach Will Rogers State Beach is a beach park on the Santa Monica Bay, at the Pacific coast of Southern California. Located in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, the beach is owned by the California Department of Parks and Recreation; ...
, 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 The Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area is a United States national recreation area containing many individual parks and open space preserves, located primarily in the Santa Monica Mountains of Southern California. The SMMNRA is in t ...
lie along the ridges above the community, along with local parks that include
Will Rogers State Historic Park Will Rogers State Historic Park is the former estate of American humorist Will Rogers. It lies in the Santa Monica Mountains in Los Angeles, in the Pacific Palisades area. Geography In what is now the Los Angeles neighborhood of Pacific Palisade ...
. The Palisades is bounded by Brentwood to the east, Malibu to the west,
Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to ...
to the southeast, the
Santa Monica Bay Santa Monica Bay is a bight of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, United States. Its boundaries are slightly ambiguous, but it is generally considered to be the part of the Pacific within an imaginary line drawn between Point Dume, in ...
to the southwest,
Topanga Topanga () (Tongva: ''Topaa'nga'') is a census-designated place (CDP) in western Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located in the Santa Monica Mountains, the community exists in Topanga Canyon and the surrounding hills. The narrow s ...
and the
Santa Monica Mountains The Santa Monica Mountains is a coastal mountain range in Southern California, next to the Pacific Ocean. It is part of the Transverse Ranges. Because of its proximity to densely populated regions, it is one of the most visited natural areas in ...
to the north.


Etymology

The name ''"Pacific Palisades"'' comes from the term "
palisade A palisade, sometimes called a stakewall or a paling, is typically a fence or defensive wall made from iron or wooden stakes, or tree trunks, and used as a defensive structure or enclosure. Palisades can form a stockade. Etymology ''Palisade' ...
s," a geological formation consisting of a series of cliff-like bluffs situated by a body of water, in this case the
Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
, and also for the area's purported resemblance to The Palisades on the west side of the lower
Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...
.


History


Native American period

Archeological evidence shows
Native American Indians Native Americans, also known as American Indians, First Americans, Indigenous Americans, and other terms, are the Indigenous peoples of the mainland United States (Indigenous peoples of Hawaii, Alaska and territories of the United States are ...
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 The Tongva ( ) are an Indigenous people of California from the Los Angeles Basin and the Southern Channel Islands, an area covering approximately . Some descendants of the people prefer Kizh as an endonym that, they argue, is more historically ...
people. The closest
Tongva The Tongva ( ) are an Indigenous people of California from the Los Angeles Basin and the Southern Channel Islands, an area covering approximately . Some descendants of the people prefer Kizh as an endonym that, they argue, is more historically ...
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 The Chumash are a Native American people of the central and southern coastal regions of California, in portions of what is now San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Ventura and Los Angeles counties, extending from Morro Bay in the north to Malibu ...
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 Rancho or Ranchos may refer to: Settlements and communities *Rancho, Aruba, former fishing village and neighbourhood of Oranjestad *Ranchos of California, 19th century land grants in Alta California **List of California Ranchos *Ranchos, Buenos Ai ...
, granted by the governor of California during the Mexican period to Francisco Marquez and
Ysidro Reyes Ysidro Reyes (1813–1863) was a Los Angeles-based business man and grandson of Juan Francisco Reyes, the first ''alcalde'' (mayor) of the Los Angeles pueblo. Life Reyes acquired half of a Mexican Land Grant called the Rancho Boca de Santa Mo ...
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 The library system of the University of California, Los Angeles, is one of the largest academic research libraries in North America, with a collection of over twelve million books and 100,000 serials. The UCLA Library System is spread over 12 libr ...
. 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 Colonel Robert Symington Baker (1826–1894) was a businessman and landowner from Rhode Island. He came to California in 1849 and engaged in mining supplies business, also as Cook and Baker in San Francisco, California. Later he became associa ...
in 1875.


1911-1922

In 1911,
film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...
Thomas Ince constructed his film studio, "
Inceville Thomas Harper Ince (November 16, 1880 – November 19, 1924) was an American silent film - era filmmaker and media proprietor. Ince was known as the "Father of the Western" and was responsible for making over 800 films. He revolutionized the mot ...
", 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 The Santa Monica Mountains is a coastal mountain range in Southern California, next to the Pacific Ocean. It is part of the Transverse Ranges. Because of its proximity to densely populated regions, it is one of the most visited natural areas in ...
. Today this is where the
Self-Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine The Self-Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine lies a few blocks from the Pacific Ocean, on Sunset Boulevard in Pacific Palisades, California. It was founded and dedicated by Paramahansa Yogananda, on August 20, 1950, and is owned by the Self-Realiz ...
is located. By the following year, Ince had earned enough money to purchase the ranch and was able to lease an additional lot located in what is now in the Palisades Highlands neighborhood. stretching up Santa Ynez Canyon. This was the first major development was built in the Palisades since the Mexican rancho era. This was the first studio in the area which featured silent stages, production offices, printing labs, a commissary large enough to serve lunch to hundreds of workers, dressing rooms, props houses, elaborate sets, all in one central location. When Inceville was completed, the streets were lined with many types of structures, from humble cottages to mansions, mimicking the style and architecture of different countries. Extensive outdoor western sets were built and used on the site for several years. According to Katherine La Hue in her book, ''Pacific Palisades: Where the Mountains Meet the Sea'':
''Ince invested $35,000 in building, stages and sets ... a bit of Switzerland, a
Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Catholic Church, Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become m ...
settlement, a
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
ese village ... beyond the breakers, an ancient
brigantine A brigantine is a two-masted sailing vessel with a fully square-rigged foremast and at least two sails on the main mast: a square topsail and a gaff sail mainsail (behind the mast). The main mast is the second and taller of the two masts. Older ...
weighed anchor, cutlassed men swarming over the sides of the ship, while on the shore performing cowboys galloped about, twirling their lassos in pursuit of errant cattle ... The main herds were kept in the hills, where Ince also raised feed and garden produce. Supplies of every sort were needed to house and feed a veritable army of actors, directors and subordinates.''
While the cowboys, Native Americans and assorted workers lived at "Inceville," the main actors came from
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
and other communities as needed, often taking the red trolley cars to the Long Wharf in what is now the Temescal Canyon neighborhood, where
buckboard A buckboard is a four-wheeled wagon of simple construction meant to be drawn by a horse or other large animal. A distinctly American utility vehicle, the buckboard has no springs between the body and the axles. The suspension is provided by the f ...
s conveyed them to the set. Ince lived in a house overlooking the vast studio, located in what is now the Marquez Knolls neighborhood. Indeed, "Inceville" became a prototype for Hollywood film studios of the future, with a studio head (Ince), producers, directors, production managers, production staff, and writers all working together under one organization and under the supervision of a General Manager,
Fred J. Balshofer Fred J. Balshofer (November 2, 1877 – June 21, 1969) was a pioneering silent film director, producer, screenwriter, and cinematographer in the United States. Biography Balshofer was born in New York City and became interested in the photogr ...
. On January 16, 1916, a fire broke out at Inceville, the first of many that eventually destroyed all of the buildings. Ince later gave up on the studio and sold it to Hart, who renamed it "Hartville." Three years later, Hart sold the lot to
Robertson-Cole Pictures Corporation Film Booking Offices of America (FBO), registered as FBO Pictures Corp., was an American film studio of the silent era, a midsize producer and distributor of mostly low-budget films. The business began in 1918 as Robertson-Cole, an Anglo-Americ ...
, which continued filming there until 1922. La Hue writes that "the place was virtually a ghost town when the last remnants of "Inceville" were burned on July 4, 1922, leaving only a "weatherworn old
church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...
, which stood sentinel over the charred ruins."


1921–1931

A decade later, the Rev. Charles H. Scott and the Southern California
Methodist Episcopal Church The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself on a national basis. In ...
bought the land; in 1922, Scott founded Pacific Palisades, envisioning an elaborate religious-intellectual commune. Believers snapped up choice lots and lived in tents during construction. By 1925, the Palisades had 100 homes. In one subdivision, streets were named in alphabetical order for
Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...
missionaries (the "Alphabet Streets"). The tents eventually were replaced by cabins, then by bungalows, and ultimately by multimillion-dollar homes. The climate of the area was a big selling point. Temperatures are much cooler than inland Los Angeles during summer, but usually sunnier and less foggy than areas south along the coast (e.g.
Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to ...
). Pacific Palisades enjoyed steady growth throughout the
Roaring 20s The Roaring Twenties, sometimes stylized as Roaring '20s, refers to the 1920s decade in music and fashion, as it happened in Western society and Western culture. It was a period of economic prosperity with a distinctive cultural edge in the U ...
, but it was still a small, isolated community out on the edge of Los Angeles. It began to become less isolated with the paving of
Sunset Boulevard Sunset Boulevard is a boulevard in the central and western part of Los Angeles, California, that stretches from the Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades east to Figueroa Street in Downtown Los Angeles. It is a major thoroughfare in t ...
± in 1925, which brought an increased flow of traffic through the community and offered more convenient accessibility to nearby Westwood and
Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Bev ...
. 1929 would prove to be a pivotal year in the history of the Palisades, and by that time the town consisted of only about 365 homes and about 1,000 residents who mostly resided in the so-called "Alphabet Streets" neighborhood, although residential construction was now expanding into what would later become the Castellammare, Huntington and Paseo Miramar neighborhoods. On August 18 of that year, the cornerstone was laid for the foundation of the Methodist Episcopal Church on Via de la Paz, which at that time was the community's only church. Directly across the street, planning was underway for the town's first permanent school building which would later become known as "Palisades Elementary", which was dedicated on June 12, 1931. In 1928, the
Los Angeles Police Department The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-large ...
began renting temporary office space in the now-historic Business Block building for the price of $10 a month. The following year, a motorcycle officer was assigned to make nightly patrols in the area. The Palisades finally acquired its own fire station in 1929, located on Sunset, adjacent to where the local
Chase Bank JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., doing business as Chase Bank or often as Chase, is an American national bank headquartered in New York City, that constitutes the consumer and commercial banking subsidiary of the U.S. multinational banking and fina ...
branch now stands in the Village neighborhood. By the end of the decade, nearly all remaining open areas of Pacific Palisades were being developed, reflecting the areas booming growth and the Palisades' coastal allure. Golfers were enjoying the already acclaimed
Riviera Country Club The Riviera Country Club is a private club with a championship golf course and tennis courts in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of the Westside of Los Angeles, California. The Riviera was designed by golf course architects George C. Thomas Jr ...
, opened in 1927. Later in the decade construction started on the
Bel-Air Bay Club The Bel-Air Bay Club is both an event venue (Upper Club) and a private beach club (Lower Club) located in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, California. The Upper Club, includes an ocean view and on-site accommodations available for private parties. ...
, opened in March 1930.


1930– present

The Palisades was a refuge for many
German-Jewish The history of the Jews in Germany goes back at least to the year 321, and continued through the Early Middle Ages (5th to 10th centuries CE) and High Middle Ages (''circa'' 1000–1299 CE) when Jewish immigrants founded the Ashkenazi Jewish ...
and Austrian-Jewish intellectuals and artists fleeing from pre-war Germany and, later, from the
Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...
, many of whom associated with the
Exilliteratur German ''Exilliteratur'' (, ''exile literature'') is the name for works of German literature written in the German diaspora by refugee authors who fled from Nazi Germany, Nazi Austria, and the occupied territories between 1933 and 1945. These dis ...
settled in Pacific Palisades, including
Thomas Mann Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novella ...
,
Lion Feuchtwanger Lion Feuchtwanger (; 7 July 1884 – 21 December 1958) was a German Jewish novelist and playwright. A prominent figure in the literary world of Weimar Germany, he influenced contemporaries including playwright Bertolt Brecht. Feuchtwanger's J ...
,
Theodor W. Adorno Theodor W. Adorno ( , ; born Theodor Ludwig Wiesengrund; 11 September 1903 – 6 August 1969) was a German philosopher, sociologist, psychologist, musicologist, and composer. He was a leading member of the Frankfurt School of criti ...
,
Vicki Baum Hedwig "Vicki" Baum (; he, ויקי באום; January 24, 1888 – August 29, 1960) was an Austrian writer. She is known for the novel ''Menschen im Hotel'' ("People at a Hotel", 1929 — published in English as ''Grand Hotel (novel), Gran ...
,
Herbert Zipper Herbert Zipper (April 24, 1904 in Vienna, Austria – April 21, 1997 in Santa Monica, California) was an internationally renowned composer, conductor, and arts activist. As an inmate at Dachau concentration camp in the late 1930s, he arranged to ha ...
, and
Emil Ludwig Emil Ludwig (25 January 1881 – 17 September 1948) was a German-Swiss author, known for his biographies and study of historical "greats." Biography Emil Ludwig (originally named Emil Cohn) was born in Breslau, now part of Poland, on 25 Ja ...
. Some of these Jewish refugees had previously sought refuge in the south of France (and had to flee due to the fall of France to the
Vichy Vichy (, ; ; oc, Vichèi, link=no, ) is a city in the Allier Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of central France, in the historic province of Bourbonnais. It is a Spa town, spa and resort town and in World ...
regime), and were surprised by the similarities with the Mediterranean climate and topography.
Villa Aurora The Villa Aurora at 520 Paseo Miramar is located in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles and has been used as an artists' residence since 1995. It is the former home of the German-Jewish author Lion Feuchtwanger and his wife Marta. The Feuchtwanger ...
on Paseo Miramar, the Spanish colonial home of Feuchtwanger and his wife, Marta, became the focal point of the expatriate community, which was nicknamed "
Weimar Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...
by the Sea".Finn-Olaf Jonas (November 25, 2007)
A Scenic Los Angeles Enclave, Without Glitter
''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
''.
Some non-Jewish exiles who were married to people with Jewish ancestry chose to settle in the Palisades as well, such as
Thomas Mann Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novella ...
and his wife
Katia Mann Katia Mann (born Katharina Hedwig Pringsheim; July 24, 1883 – April 25, 1980) was the youngest child and only daughter (among four sons) of the German Jewish mathematician and artist Alfred Pringsheim and his wife Hedwig Pringsheim, who was ...
who resided at 1550 San Remo Drive in the Riviera neighborhood. For many decades there was a virtual ban on drinking alcohol in the district, and a
Chinese restaurant A Chinese restaurant is an establishment that serves a Chinese cuisine. Most of them are in the Cantonese cuisine, Cantonese style, due to the history of the Overseas Chinese, Chinese diaspora and adapted to local taste preferences, as in t ...
, House of Lee, held the only
liquor Liquor (or a spirit) is an alcoholic drink produced by distillation of grains, fruits, vegetables, or sugar, that have already gone through alcoholic fermentation. Other terms for liquor include: spirit drink, distilled beverage or hard ...
license. The Methodist Church created a
Chautauqua Chautauqua ( ) was an adult education and social movement in the United States, highly popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Chautauqua assemblies expanded and spread throughout rural America until the mid-1920s. The Chautauqua bro ...
Conference Grounds in Temescal Canyon. The Presbyterian Synod purchased the property in 1943 and used it as a private retreat center until the
Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy is an agency of the state of California in the United States founded in 1980 and dedicated to the acquisition of land for preservation as open space, for wildlife and California native plants habitat Natu ...
purchased the property in 1994 to become Temescal Gateway Park. Though the Palisades had a notable Jewish population since at least the 1930s, it was still largely Methodist until the 1970s. This is when the Palisades began to see an explosion of affluent Jewish migration, accompanied by the opening of a local landmark
Mort's 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 Pacific Palisades, California. History In the early 1970s, Mort Farberow opened a butc ...
, in 1972. The beloved landmark closed in 2007 after former LA mayor
Richard Riordan Richard Joseph Riordan (born May 1, 1930) is an American investment banker, businessman, lawyer, and former Republican politician who was the 39th Mayor of Los Angeles, from 1993 to 2001. Born in New York City and raised in New Rochelle, New Y ...
purchased the deli and converted it to a bistro.


Geography

Pacific Palisades is about west of the
UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...
campus. The Santa Monica Mountain range runs through the northern and eastern sections of Pacific Palisades, accessible through a series of
trailhead A trailhead is the point at which a trail begins, where the trail is often intended for hiking, biking, horseback riding, or off-road vehicles. Modern trailheads often contain rest rooms, maps, sign posts and distribution centers for information ...
s.


Topography

The Pacific Palisades covers a total area of , comprising of land and of water. The Palisades covers an area slightly larger than the island of
Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
.


Climate

Pacific Palisades has a
Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...
''Csb''), and receives just enough annual precipitation to avoid
semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...
(''BSh)'',. Daytime temperatures are generally temperate all year round. In winter, they average around giving it a
tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...
feel although it is a few degrees too cool to be a true tropical climate on average due to cool night temperatures. Pacific Palisades has plenty of sunshine throughout the year, with an average of only 35 days with measurable precipitation annually. Temperatures in the Palisades exceed on a dozen or so days in the year, from one day a month in April, May, June and November to three days a month in July, August, October and to five days in September. The average annual temperature of the sea is , from in January to in August. Hours of sunshine total more than 3,000 per year, from an average of 7 hours of sunshine per day in December to an average of 12 in July. Pacific Palisades, like much of the rest of the southern California coast, is subject to a late spring/early summer weather phenomenon called " June Gloom". This involves overcast or foggy skies in the morning that yield to sun by early afternoon. Pacific Palisades averages of precipitation annually, mainly occurring between November and March, generally in the form of moderate rain showers, but sometimes as heavy rainfall during winter storms. Rainfall is usually higher in the neighborhoods located in the hills and coastal slopes of the
Santa Monica Mountains The Santa Monica Mountains is a coastal mountain range in Southern California, next to the Pacific Ocean. It is part of the Transverse Ranges. Because of its proximity to densely populated regions, it is one of the most visited natural areas in ...
, such as the Highlands and Castellammare; due to
orographic Orography is the study of the topographic relief of mountains, and can more broadly include hills, and any part of a region's elevated terrain. Orography (also known as ''oreography'', ''orology'' or ''oreology'') falls within the broader discipl ...
uplift. Summer days are typically rainless. Rarely, an incursion of moist air from the south or east can bring brief thunderstorms in late summer, especially to the mountains. The coast gets slightly less rainfall, while the inland and mountain areas get considerably more. Years of average rainfall are rare. The usual pattern is year to year variability, with a short string of dry years of rainfall, followed by one or two wet years with more than . Wet years are usually associated with warm water
El Niño El Niño (; ; ) is the warm phase of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and is associated with a band of warm ocean water that develops in the central and east-central equatorial Pacific (approximately between the International Date L ...
conditions in the Pacific, dry years with cooler water
La Niña La Niña (; ) is an oceanic and atmospheric phenomenon that is the colder counterpart of as part of the broader El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) climate pattern. The name ''La Niña'' originates from Spanish for "the girl", by an ...
episodes. A series of rainy days can bring floods to the lowlands and mudslides to the hills, especially after
wildfire A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire ...
s have denuded the slopes. Both freezing temperatures and snowfall are extremely rare in the hills and canyon ridges and along the coast, with the last occurrence of a reading being on. While the most recent snowfall occurred in January 2021, it has also occurred several other times in recorded history, the second-most recent being in February 2019, with snow falling in some areas of the Palisades as recently as January 2021. At the official downtown station, the highest recorded temperature is on September 27, 2010, while the lowest is , on January 4, 1949. During autumn and winter,
Santa Ana winds The Santa Ana winds (sometimes devil winds) "Scholars who have looked into the name's origins generally agree that it derives from Santa Ana Canyon, the portal where the Santa Ana River -- as well as a congested Riverside (CA-91) Freeway -- leav ...
sometimes bring much warmer and drier conditions to Pacific Palisades, and raise wildfire risk.


Neighborhoods


The Village

The Village is the Pacific Palisades' walkable, vibrant downtown area and small central business district with its center at
Sunset Boulevard Sunset Boulevard is a boulevard in the central and western part of Los Angeles, California, that stretches from the Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades east to Figueroa Street in Downtown Los Angeles. It is a major thoroughfare in t ...
and Via de la Paz. Pacific Palisades has been known for having an abundance of Italian restaurants. The Village's anchor is the
Palisades Village Palisades Village is a local shopping village located in Pacific Palisades, California, in the downtown area of the neighborhood known as the ''"Village"'', from which the shopping center derives its name. Overview In contrast to a typical shoppi ...
, a shopping center which was opened in 2018 and replaced a number of buildings in the downtown area. This business district is centered around the historic
Business Block The Business Block building is a historic building located in Pacific Palisades, California, that was designed by architect Clifton Nourse and dedicated in 1924. The building is and sits on of land. The Business Block building is located betwee ...
building located between Antioch and Sunset. The Village consists of a weekly farmers' market, restaurants, cafés, and coffee shops in addition to boutiques, shops, banks, offices, an
Erewhon Market Erewhon Market (pronounced AIR-wahn) is a California luxury supermarket chain with eight locations, all in Los Angeles County. Erewhon focuses on niche, locally produced, organic foods catering to a wealthy clientele and offering foods appeali ...
, Ralph's, a Gelson's, and a
Starbucks Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It is the world's largest coffeehouse chain. As of November 2021, the company had 33,833 stores in 80 c ...
, and local events.


The Alphabet Streets

The Alphabet Streets, also known as "The North Village," is the neighborhood that borders the 'village' proper to the north of
Sunset Boulevard Sunset Boulevard is a boulevard in the central and western part of Los Angeles, California, that stretches from the Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades east to Figueroa Street in Downtown Los Angeles. It is a major thoroughfare in t ...
. This was the first neighborhood to be built in Pacific Palisades, beginning in 1921 by members of the
Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...
movement. This neighborhood has the smallest lot sizes of all the neighborhoods in the Palisades, with lots ranging from 5,200 to 7,500 sq ft in size. The Alphabet Streets are within walking distance to The Village, and this area is characterized by its high density of smaller single family homes on lively narrow streets. The streets, named after Methodist Bishops of the late 19th and early 20th century, are consecutively named beginning with A, B, C, D, etc. – hence the name Alphabet Streets. This neighborhood is a destination for trick-or-treaters on Halloween.


The El Medio Mesa

The El Medio Mesa is located south of
Sunset Boulevard Sunset Boulevard is a boulevard in the central and western part of Los Angeles, California, that stretches from the Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades east to Figueroa Street in Downtown Los Angeles. It is a major thoroughfare in t ...
beginning about a quarter mile west of The Village, across Temescal Canyon – just past
Palisades Charter High School Palisades Charter High School (usually colloquially known as Pali or Pali High and abbreviated as PCHS) is an independent charter secondary school in Los Angeles, United States. The high school serves the neighborhoods of Pacific Palisades, ...
. The El Medio Mesa extends for a long distance from Temescal Canyon all the way to where Sunset Boulevard meets the Pacific Coast Highway.


Marquez Knolls

Marquez Knolls is a large area of homes located north of
Sunset Boulevard Sunset Boulevard is a boulevard in the central and western part of Los Angeles, California, that stretches from the Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades east to Figueroa Street in Downtown Los Angeles. It is a major thoroughfare in t ...
beginning about a quarter mile west of The Village across Temescal Canyon on the mountain upslope known for spectacular ocean views. The lower upslope was first developed in the early 1950s and mid-1960s by the Earl Lachman family. There is a small shopping center on Marquez Street and Sunset Boulevard.


The Via Bluffs and the Huntington Palisades

The Via Bluffs and The Huntington Palisades are the neighborhoods that border the "village" proper to the south of
Sunset Boulevard Sunset Boulevard is a boulevard in the central and western part of Los Angeles, California, that stretches from the Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades east to Figueroa Street in Downtown Los Angeles. It is a major thoroughfare in t ...
, overlooking the ocean. The Via Mesa is located between Temescal Canyon on the west and Potrero Canyon on the east; the Huntington Palisades is located between Potrero Canyon on the west and Chautauqua Boulevard on the east. Both of these neighborhoods are within walking distance to The Village and sit upon high bluffs that look out over the Pacific Ocean.


The El Medio Bluffs

The El Medio Bluffs, as with The Via Bluffs and The Huntington Palisades, The El Medio Bluffs are located on a high ridge overlooking the Pacific Ocean and much of the neighborhood is afforded ocean views and ocean air.


Castellammare

Castellammare is located along Pacific Coast Highway on small bluffs much closer to sea-level, north of where
Sunset Boulevard Sunset Boulevard is a boulevard in the central and western part of Los Angeles, California, that stretches from the Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades east to Figueroa Street in Downtown Los Angeles. It is a major thoroughfare in t ...
meets PCH. This is the home of the
Getty Villa The Getty Villa is at the easterly end of the Malibu coast in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. One of two campuses of the J. Paul Getty Museum, the Getty Villa is an educational center and museum dedi ...
and the narrow, winding streets in this neighborhood have Italian names and ocean breezes.


Rustic Canyon

Rustic Canyon is the neighborhood east of Chautauqua Boulevard that dips into Santa Monica Canyon and includes the
Will Rogers State Historic Park Will Rogers State Historic Park is the former estate of American humorist Will Rogers. It lies in the Santa Monica Mountains in Los Angeles, in the Pacific Palisades area. Geography In what is now the Los Angeles neighborhood of Pacific Palisade ...
. The neighborhood features post-war homes located on the former polo field of The Uplifters, the original site of The Uplifters clubhouse (now a city park), and "cabins" developed as second homes and weekend retreats. This area is also known as Uplifter's Ranch.


The Riviera

The Riviera is a Palisades neighborhood located approximately two miles east of The Palisades Village and features The
Riviera Country Club The Riviera Country Club is a private club with a championship golf course and tennis courts in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of the Westside of Los Angeles, California. The Riviera was designed by golf course architects George C. Thomas Jr ...
, a high-end country club, and streets named after various locations in the French and Italian Riviera. The neighborhood is divided into north and south sections by
Sunset Boulevard Sunset Boulevard is a boulevard in the central and western part of Los Angeles, California, that stretches from the Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades east to Figueroa Street in Downtown Los Angeles. It is a major thoroughfare in t ...
. It borders Santa Monica and Brentwood. The Riviera Country Club hosts the
Genesis Open The Genesis Invitational is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour in southern California, first played in 1926 as the Los Angeles Open. Other previous names include Genesis Open, Northern Trust Open and Nissan Open. Played annually i ...
on the
PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also k ...
in February (the tournament has been previously known as the Northern Trust Open and Nissan Open and was originally the "Los Angeles Open"). Riviera has hosted three major championships: the U.S. Open in 1948 and the
PGA Championship The PGA Championship (often referred to as the US PGA Championship or USPGA outside the United States) is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. It is one of the four men's major championships ...
in 1983 and
1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...
.
Ben Hogan William Ben Hogan (August 13, 1912 – July 25, 1997) was an American professional golfer who is generally considered to be one of the greatest players in the history of the game. He is notable for his profound influence on golf swing theory and ...
won three times in less than 18 months at the course (1947 and 1948 L.A. Open, 1948 U.S. Open), and it became known as ''"Hogan's Alley."'' The country club will also host golf during the
2028 Summer Olympics The 2028 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXXIV Olympiad, also known as Los Angeles 2028 or LA28) is an upcoming international multi-sport event scheduled to take place from July 14 to July 30, 2028, in and around Los Angeles, Cali ...
.http://la24-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/assets/pdf/LA2024-canditature-part2_english.pdf


Palisades Highlands

The Palisades Highlands is a neighborhood in
Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
's Pacific Palisades northern region, located in the upper Santa Ynez Canyon. The Highlands has access to several
Topanga State Park Topanga State Park () is a California state park located in the Santa Monica Mountains, within Los Angeles County, California. It is part of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. The park is located adjacent to the community of ...
trailheads. The Highlands themself have a number of gated communities, housing developments and distinct neighborhoods including the following: *Country Estates- a
gated community A gated community (or walled community) is a form of residential community or housing estate containing strictly controlled entrances for pedestrians, bicycles, and automobiles, and often characterized by a closed perimeter of walls and fences ...
of 80 homes on the farthest west part of the Highlands. *Palisades Hills- this is the oldest area and the highest part at around above sea level. *The Summit- the newest neighborhood in the Highlands that was completed in the early 2000s. This area includes The Summit Club which is a recreation center. *Lower Highlands- includes homes and condominiums as well as a shopping center and various commercial properties, development of which began in the early 1970s.


Santa Monica Canyon

With winding roads and steep canyon walls this small enclave is home to musicians, movie stars, and aging beach bums. Santa Monica Canyon, named for the historic
Rancho Boca de Santa Monica Rancho or Ranchos may refer to: Settlements and communities *Rancho, Aruba, former fishing village and neighbourhood of Oranjestad *Ranchos of California, 19th century land grants in Alta California **List of California Ranchos *Ranchos, Buenos Ai ...
, is within the city of Los Angeles and is considered part of the Los Angeles community of Pacific Palisades. Canyon Charter School in Santa Monica Canyon is one of the most prestigious elementary schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). The northwestern border of Santa Monica Canyon is Chautauqua Boulevard. The southern border is Adelaide Drive.


Demographics

In 2009 the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' "Mapping L.A." project supplied these Pacific Palisades statistics: a population of 25,507 residents in the neighborhood, giving a population density of , among the lowest for the city and the county.


City parks

The Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks operates several recreational facilities in Pacific Palisades. * Palisades Park, at 851 Alma Real Drive, has of land and is the Palisades largest park. The Palisades Recreation Center, also at that address, has barbecue pits, four baseball diamonds (two lighted, two unlighted), lighted basketball courts (indoor and outdoor), a children's play area, a football field, an indoor gymnasium (no weights are offered), picnic tables, lighted tennis courts, and lighted volleyball courts. The facility also has a kitchen, a stage, a television area, and various scheduled athletic and non-athletic activities. The Pacific Palisades Tennis Court, also at that address, has eight courts. * Rustic Canyon Park is located along Rustic Canyon Road. The Rustic Canyon Pool is located at 601 Latimer Road. The Rustic Canyon Recreation Center, located at the same address, has a multipurpose with a capacity of 150 people that can be used as an auditorium, a gymnasium, or a volleyball court. The center also has barbecue pits, an unlighted baseball diamond, basketball courts (lighted indoor and unlighted outdoor), a children's play area, an indoor gymnasium (no weights are offered), picnic tables, and volleyball courts (lighted and unlighted). * Temescal Canyon Park is a non-staffed "pocket park" located along Temescal Canyon Drive from Pacific Coast Highway to Sunset Blvd. The park has barbecue pits, a children's play area, picnic tables, hiking trails, a native garden, and toilets. * Santa Ynez Canyon Park is located at Palisades Drive and Avenida de Santa Ynez. * Rivas Canyon Park is located at the east terminus of Oracle Place.


Hiking trails

Hiking is common in the Palisades, and the community is home to a number of hiking trails including the following trails:


Backbone Trail

The Backbone Trail is a
long distance trail A long-distance trail (or long-distance footpath, track, way, greenway) is a longer recreational trail mainly through rural areas used for hiking, backpacking, cycling, horse riding or cross-country skiing. They exist on all continents exce ...
extending 67.79 miles (109.10 km) across the length of the
Santa Monica Mountains The Santa Monica Mountains is a coastal mountain range in Southern California, next to the Pacific Ocean. It is part of the Transverse Ranges. Because of its proximity to densely populated regions, it is one of the most visited natural areas in ...
. The Backbone Trail runs through both Malibu and Pacific Palisades, with its western terminus in
Point Mugu State Park Point Mugu State Park is a state park located in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area in Southern California. The rugged, nearly impassible shoreline of the western Santa Monica Mountains gives way to tidal lagoons and coastal sand ...
in Malibu and its eastern terminus in
Will Rogers State Historic Park Will Rogers State Historic Park is the former estate of American humorist Will Rogers. It lies in the Santa Monica Mountains in Los Angeles, in the Pacific Palisades area. Geography In what is now the Los Angeles neighborhood of Pacific Palisade ...
in Pacific Palisades. The trail is open to
hikers Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Hist ...
throughout its length; dogs, mountain bicyclists and horseback riders are allowed on portions of the trail as posted. The Backbone Trail follows a well-maintained, single-track path with some dirt roads along the route. The trail is very well designed with climbs and descents occurring on well-graded trails full of switchbacks. The trail can be hiked in either the westbound or eastbound direction. There are no major differences between the two directions. Hiking westbound, you will progress towards more remote territory and can end your hike at the Pacific Ocean, but transportation may be more difficult from the Ray Miller Trailhead. There is no permit required for hiking the BBT.


Bushwacker's Delight

Bushwacker's Delight is a 0.8 mile lightly-trafficked point-to-point trail with 528 ft in elevation gain, located within
Will Rogers State Historic Park Will Rogers State Historic Park is the former estate of American humorist Will Rogers. It lies in the Santa Monica Mountains in Los Angeles, in the Pacific Palisades area. Geography In what is now the Los Angeles neighborhood of Pacific Palisade ...
. This trail is frequented by more-experienced hikers as Bushwacker's Delight is an uncleared trail with overgrown vegetation.


Eagle Springs Fire Road Loop Trail

Eagle Springs Fire Road Loop Trail is a 5.5 mile-long loop trail with 1,095 ft in elevation gain, located near the Palisades Highlands neighborhood. The trail is paved and well-maintained as it doubles as a fire road, and offers a number of activity options. It is most popular from September until May. This is one of the few trails in Los Angeles County which is open to those on horseback. This trail offers parking in the nearby lot for $10 a day, and is easily accessible from both the Palisades as well as neighboring Topanga. The Eagle Springs Fire Road Loop Trail leads to Eagle Rock, a rock formation which is a common spot for photography as its peak offers sweeping views of the surrounding area and is home to a variety of native lizards.


High Point Trail

High Point Trail is 2.8 mile-long trail with 1,007 ft of elevation gain located in the Santa Monica Mountains overlooked the Palisades. High Point Trail is a paved trail that begins on private property, and hikers hiking this trail frequently trespass knowingly or unknowingly in order to complete the hike. This trail is noted for its wildlife, and although the trail is paved some parts are overgrown with bushes and other vegetation. The trail leads to ''"Goat Peak"'' which is of the highest points in the Palisades and offers sweeping views of the surrounding area.


Inspiration Point Trail

Inspiration Point Trail is a 2.1 mile-long hiking trail with 324 ft in elevation gain located within Will Rogers State Historic Park near the Riviera neighborhood. This is one of the oldest hiking trails in Los Angeles and was created by
Will Rogers William Penn Adair Rogers (November 4, 1879 – August 15, 1935) was an American vaudeville performer, actor, and humorous social commentator. He was born as a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, in the Indian Territory (now part of Oklahoma ...
in the early 20th century. Inspiration Point is one of the few hiking trails in the Palisades which is open to dogs. Inspiration Point Trail is one of the main attractions of Will Rogers State Park, and attracts hikers from across the Palisades and around the area as it is an easy hike with unique vistas of the Los Angeles Basin and Santa Monica Bay. On a clear day one can see views of areas such as Catalina Island, Chino Hills, and Saddleback Peak at the summit of this trail. Inspiration Point Trail also connects to the nearby Backbone Trail.


Los Leones Trail

Los Leones Trail, also known as Los Liones, is a moderately-challenging hiking trail located in the Castellammare neighborhood. Los Leones Trail is 7.3 miles in length, with over 1,300 ft in elevation gain. . Often spelled "Los Liones," the area is named after the mountain lions that are common in the area. Los Leones is one of the most-popular hiking trails in the entire Westside, and the trail weaves through a lush canyon with abundant green vegetation located in the southern end of
Topanga State Park Topanga State Park () is a California state park located in the Santa Monica Mountains, within Los Angeles County, California. It is part of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. The park is located adjacent to the community of ...
, just a 1/3 mile away from the Pacific Ocean. The ivy and chaparral-lined trail offers some of the best of Santa Monica Bay. After 1.3 miles and 550 feet of elevation gain, Los Liones Trail arrives at a clearing on a ridge with a bench that looks down on the Palisades, Santa Monica city and bay, and the surrounding area. The top of this hiking trail joins East Topanga Fire Road, which leads to the Paseo Miramar Trail which leads you deeper into the
Santa Monica Mountains The Santa Monica Mountains is a coastal mountain range in Southern California, next to the Pacific Ocean. It is part of the Transverse Ranges. Because of its proximity to densely populated regions, it is one of the most visited natural areas in ...
. Continuing on the trail you will reach ''"Parker Mesa Overlook"'', which is known for offering some of the best views of the coast of any hiking trail in Los Angeles. the area consists of a flat plateau area with sweeping views of the coastline.


Murphy Ranch Trail

''
Murphy Ranch The Murphy Ranch is a ranch built in Rustic Canyon, Los Angeles in the 1930s by Winona and Norman Stephens, who were sympathizers of the anti-semitic, white supremacist Silver Legion of America. The owner of record in 1933 was Jessie M. Murphy. ...
Trail''


Skull Rock Loop

Skull Rock Loop is a 4-mile-long loop trail with 1,141 ft of elevation gain located near the Temescal Canyon neighborhood. This trail is frequented by both
rock climbers Rock climbing is a sport in which participants climb up, across, or down natural rock formations. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a usually pre-defined route without falling. Rock climbing is a physically an ...
and
birders Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, by ...
, as it is home to both rocky terrain and an abundance of different bird species. Skull Rock Loop branches off from the nearby Temescal Canyon Trail, and features a waterfall as well as its namesake ''"Skull Rock"'' which is rock formation names for its resemblance to a skull. The entrance to the trail offers free street parking or a daily rate in the nearby parking lot for $12.


Trailer Canyon Fire Road

Trailer Canyon Fire Road is a 4.3 mile-long trail with 925 ft in elevation gain located near the Summit development in the Palisades Highlands neighborhood. This trail is wide and paved as it doubles as a fire road, it is also used by mountain bikers and birdwatchers. After 1.5 miles this trail connects with the nearby Temescal Ridge Trail, which takes hikers to the Temescal Gateway Park. Trailer Canyon Fire Road has views of the ocean and Temescal Canyon.


Will Rogers Trail

Will Rogers Trail is a 4.1 mile trail with 449 ft in elevation gain located within
Will Rogers State Historic Park Will Rogers State Historic Park is the former estate of American humorist Will Rogers. It lies in the Santa Monica Mountains in Los Angeles, in the Pacific Palisades area. Geography In what is now the Los Angeles neighborhood of Pacific Palisade ...
. This trail is one of many trails located within the Will Rogers State Park, near the Riviera neighborhood. Will Rogers Trail is known for being very challenging even for experienced hikers, as it is not very well-maintained, and there are signs on portions of the trail which point this out. Those hiking this trail may have to scramble on stones through the underbrush to avoid falling into the nearby creek. During the winter months the creek often overflows its banks, obscuring the trail and making this trail even more treacherous.


State parks and beaches

The California Department of Parks and Recreation also has locations in Pacific Palisades.


Will Rogers State Beach

Will Rogers State Beach extends along the shore. The beach features swimming and skin diving. Facilities include volleyball courts, playground and gymnastic equipment, as well as a bike path and walkway. A number of movies and TV shows have been filmed at this beach. The beach is located off the Pacific Coast Highway, near the intersection with Temescal Canyon Road. The beach is operated by the County of Los Angeles Department of Beaches & Harbors.


Will Rogers State Historic Park

While
Will Rogers William Penn Adair Rogers (November 4, 1879 – August 15, 1935) was an American vaudeville performer, actor, and humorous social commentator. He was born as a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, in the Indian Territory (now part of Oklahoma ...
made Beverly Hills his home in the late 1920s, in 1922 he bought a large plot of almost of land above Sunset Blvd. to build a weekend cottage. He built a polo field on the property in 1926, and in 1928 he and his family made it their home. In 1944, nine years after Rogers died, the ranch became a state park. In the interest of historical preservation, the home is maintained as it was including the furniture and fixtures. It is open to the public most days with the exception of major holidays, although admission is required. The top of the property's trail includes vistas of the ocean and city.


Temescal Gateway Park

Temescal Gateway Park, located at 15601 Sunset Blvd., encompasses of oak and sycamore canyons, ridgetop views, and access to miles of trails in Topanga State Park, Will Rogers State Historic Park, and the “Big Wild.”


Topanga State Park

Located in the cliffs and canyons of the Santa Monica Mountains and headquartered in nearby Topanga Canyon,
Topanga State Park Topanga State Park () is a California state park located in the Santa Monica Mountains, within Los Angeles County, California. It is part of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. The park is located adjacent to the community of ...
features of trails through open grassland, live oaks and views of the Pacific Ocean. The park is bound on the south by Pacific Palisades and Brentwood, on the west by Topanga Canyon, and on the east by Rustic Canyon. Numerous geologic formations can be found in the park, including earthquake faults, marine fossils, volcanic intrusions, and a wide variety of sedimentary formations. Trail heads into the park are located throughout Pacific Palisades, including Las Lions Drive, Palisades Highlands, Temescal Gateway Park and Will Rogers State Historic Park.


Government and infrastructure

The most important civic group within the Palisades is the
Pacific Palisades Community Council 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 be ...
. The Pacific Palisades Community Council usually meets twice each month to discuss a wide range of issues that affect its residents. The council has rejected city offers to become an official part of the city, preferring its independent, non-aligned status. Among the main reasons that Council members cite is that the council would not have the power to appeal decisions of City officials, commissions, and boards and the council could not appear before Federal, State, and County authorities regarding local issues.


Local government

The community is within
District 11 District 11 can refer to: *District 11 (Ho Chi Minh city), Vietnam *District 11 (Zürich), Switzerland * District 11, an electoral district of Malta *Colorado Springs School District 11, in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States *District 11 (Hu ...
of the Los Angeles City Council, represented by
Mike Bonin Michael Bonin (born March 19, 1967) is an American politician, who served as a member of the Los Angeles City Council for the 11th district from 2013 to 2022. A progressive member of the Democratic Party, he was previously a reporter and a cou ...
. The
Los Angeles Fire Department The Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD or LA City Fire) provides emergency medical services, fire cause determination, fire prevention, fire suppression, hazardous materials mitigation, and technical rescue services to the city of Los Angeles ...
operates two fire stations serving Pacific Palisades. Station 69 at 15045 West Sunset Boulevard serves Pacific Palisades and the Pacific Coast. Station 23 at 17281 West Sunset Boulevard serves the Palisades Highlands, Castellammare, and the Pacific Coast. The
Los Angeles Police Department The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-large ...
operates the West Los Angeles Community Police Station at 1663 Butler Avenue, serving the neighborhood.


County, state, and federal representation

Pacific Palisades is within Los Angeles County's 3rd Supervisorial District. As of 2014,
Sheila Kuehl Sheila James Kuehl (born February 9, 1941) is an American politician and retired actress, and served as the member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors for the 3rd District and as board chair and chair pro tem. Kuehl was California's ...
represents the district. The
Los Angeles County Department of Health Services Los Angeles County Department of Health Services (abbreviated DHS and LADHS) operates the public hospitals and clinics in Los Angeles County, and is the United States' second largest municipal health system, after NYC Health + Hospitals. DHS ope ...
SPA 5 West Area Health Office serves Pacific Palisades. The department operates the Simms/Mann Health and Wellness Center in
Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to ...
, serving Pacific Palisades. Pacific Palisades is a part of
California's 50th State Assembly district California's 50th State Assembly district is one of 80 California State Assembly districts. It is currently represented by Democrat Richard Bloom of Santa Monica. District profile The district encompasses the area between the Pacific Ocean ...
. As of 2019, Richard Bloom represents the district. Pacific Palisades is also a part of
California's 23rd State Senate district California's 23rd State Senate district is one of 40 California State Senate districts. It is currently represented by Republican Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh. District profile The district encompasses a wide arc of the Inland Empire, circling cloc ...
; as of 2019, Ben Allen represents the district. The community is a part of the State Board of Equalization District 4, represented by Mike Schaefer, as of 2019. In the
U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
, Pacific Palisades is within
California's 33rd congressional district California's 33rd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of California. Based in Los Angeles County, the district is currently represented by . In 2014, after 40 years in Congress, previous Democratic Representative ...
, and is currently represented by
Ted Lieu Ted W. Lieu (; born March 29, 1969) is an American politician and Air Force Reserve Command colonel who has represented California's 33rd congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2015. The district includes much of wes ...
. The
United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U ...
operates the Pacific Palisades Post Office, at 15243 La Cruz Drive.


Fire service

Los Angeles Fire Department The Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD or LA City Fire) provides emergency medical services, fire cause determination, fire prevention, fire suppression, hazardous materials mitigation, and technical rescue services to the city of Los Angeles ...
Stations 23 and 69 serve the area. Station 23 is located on Sunset Boulevard at the bottom of Los Liones Drive and Station 69 is located on Sunset Boulevard and Carey Street.


Law enforcement and security

Pacific Palisades is served by the West Los Angeles Division of the
Los Angeles Police Department The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-large ...
. One police car is generally assigned to the neighborhood.
Palisades Patrol A palisade is a steel or wooden fence or wall of variable height, usually used as a defensive structure. Palisade, palisades or palisading also may refer to: Software * PALISADE (software), an open source cross platform software library that pr ...
, a private security company, is contracted by the city and supplements the police presence and provides security for the Palisades. Many residents also rely on private security companies such as ADT, or ACS security.


Politics

Pacific Palisades is a heavily Democratic area, and Democrats tend to win the majority of the vote in each election.


2020 election results

According to a representative from the Los Angeles County Clerk, the results of the 2020 general election in the Pacific Palisades are as follows: The final vote tally for the Presidential election Pacific Palisades was 12,219 votes cast for the winner Joe Biden and 3,861 votes cast for then-incumbent
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
, a more than 8,000 vote margin in Biden's favor. The final vote tally for the District Attorney election in Pacific Palisades was 5,795 cast for then-incumbent
Jackie Lacey Jacquelyn Phillips Lacey (born February 27, 1957) is an American politician who served as the District Attorney of Los Angeles County from December 3, 2012 to December 7, 2020. Lacey is the first woman, and first African-American, to serve as LA ...
and 6,878 votes cast for challenger
George Gascon George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd President ...
.


2020 results by neighborhood


The Alphabet Streets

There were 349 people who cast their vote in person and 2,042 who cast their vote using mail-in ballots. Residents of this neighborhood preferred Biden by a wide margin, casting 1804 votes in his favor compared to 403 votes that were cast for Trump. For the LA District Attorney's election, residents preferred progressive challenger
George Gascón George Gascón (born March 12, 1954) is an American attorney and former police officer who is the district attorney of Los Angeles County. A member of the Democratic Party and a former Republican, Gascón served as the district attorney of San ...
by a narrower margin over then-incumbent DA
Jackie Lacey Jacquelyn Phillips Lacey (born February 27, 1957) is an American politician who served as the District Attorney of Los Angeles County from December 3, 2012 to December 7, 2020. Lacey is the first woman, and first African-American, to serve as LA ...
, who received 991 votes compared to the 1,143 received by Gascón. Proposition 15, which would have taxed properties based on current market value rather than the purchase price, was defeated by just 23 votes, 1,131 to 1,154. (Statewide it was defeated 52 percent to 48 percent.) Proposition 16, which would have repealed a constitutional provision that made it illegal to discriminate against or grant preferential treatment based on race, lost statewide but was favored in this precinct, 1,164 to 1,093. (Statewide, the yes vote was 42.8 percent and the no vote was 57.2 percent.) Proposition 19, which allows homeowners over 55, disabled or wildfire victims to transfer primary resident's tax base to replacement residence, was passed statewide (51.1 percent majority), but not by residents in the Alphabet precinct, who voted against it 1,234 to 1,005. Proposition 22, the “Uber” bill, which allowed app-based drivers as contractors, not employees, saw residents vote 1,179 to 1,100 in favor. The measure was also approved statewide, 58.6 percent to 41.4 percent. (It was the most expensive ballot-measure campaign in the state's history, to date at $225,036,046.) Proposition 25, which asked to approve replacing cash bail, and received 56.4 percent of the state voting no, saw people in the Alphabets voting to end it with a yes vote of 1,150 to 1,065. (The proposition was opposed statewide by 55.4 percent of voters.)


Castellammare

There were 302 people who cast their vote in person and 1,850 who cast their vote using mail-in ballots. Residents of this neighborhood preferred Biden by a wide margin, casting 1,573 votes in his favor compared to 508 votes that were cast for Trump. For the LA District Attorney's election, residents preferred progressive challenger
George Gascón George Gascón (born March 12, 1954) is an American attorney and former police officer who is the district attorney of Los Angeles County. A member of the Democratic Party and a former Republican, Gascón served as the district attorney of San ...
by a narrower margin over then-incumbent DA
Jackie Lacey Jacquelyn Phillips Lacey (born February 27, 1957) is an American politician who served as the District Attorney of Los Angeles County from December 3, 2012 to December 7, 2020. Lacey is the first woman, and first African-American, to serve as LA ...
, who received 783 votes compared to the 1,074 received by Gascón. Prop. 15 passed here 1,051 to 1,026. Prop. 16 saw 1,036 vote yes and 1,001 vote no. Prop. 19 lost 914 to 1,128. Prop. 22 passed 1,082 to 970. Prop. 25, 1026 voted to do away with cash bail, 1005 said no.


The Huntington

There were 282 people who cast their vote in person and 1,900 who cast their vote using mail-in ballots Residents of this neighborhood preferred Biden by a wide margin, casting 1,558 votes in his favor compared to 552 votes that were cast for Trump. For the LA District Attorney's election, residents preferred progressive challenger
George Gascón George Gascón (born March 12, 1954) is an American attorney and former police officer who is the district attorney of Los Angeles County. A member of the Democratic Party and a former Republican, Gascón served as the district attorney of San ...
by a narrower margin over then-incumbent DA
Jackie Lacey Jacquelyn Phillips Lacey (born February 27, 1957) is an American politician who served as the District Attorney of Los Angeles County from December 3, 2012 to December 7, 2020. Lacey is the first woman, and first African-American, to serve as LA ...
, who received 801 votes compared to the 1,060 received by Gascón. Prop. 15, taxing properties based on current market value. was defeated with 934 (yes) and 1,138 no. Prop. 16, repealing the discrimination provision, was defeated 971 (yes) to 1,004 (no). Prop. 19, primary tax transfer, 771 (yes) to 1,256 (no). Prop. 22, the “Uber” bill, passed 1071 (yes) to 973 (no). Prop. 25, seeking to replace cash bail, was defeated 971 (yes) to 1044 (no)


Lower Marquez and the Via Bluffs

There were 298 people who cast their vote in person and 2,178 who cast their vote using mail-in ballots. Residents of this neighborhood preferred Biden by a wide margin, casting 1,872 votes in his favor compared to 512 votes that were cast for Trump. For the LA District Attorney's election, residents preferred progressive challenger
George Gascón George Gascón (born March 12, 1954) is an American attorney and former police officer who is the district attorney of Los Angeles County. A member of the Democratic Party and a former Republican, Gascón served as the district attorney of San ...
by a narrower margin over then-incumbent DA
Jackie Lacey Jacquelyn Phillips Lacey (born February 27, 1957) is an American politician who served as the District Attorney of Los Angeles County from December 3, 2012 to December 7, 2020. Lacey is the first woman, and first African-American, to serve as LA ...
, who received 933 votes compared to the 1,205 received by Gascón. Proposition 15, which would have taxed properties based on current market value rather than the purchase price, was defeated by one vote: 1,186 to 1,185. Proposition 16, repealing the constitutional provision, which makes it illegal to discriminate (and voted against statewide), found favor here: 1,199 to 1,128. Proposition 19, allowing those over 55 to transfer primary tax to replacement residence (and passed statewide), went down 953 to 1,373 to 953. Proposition 22, the “Uber” bill, also suffered a defeat here: 1,178 to 1,165, but passed statewide. Proposition 25, to replace cash bail, found a slim margin in favor here: 1,150 to 1,141.


Palisades Highlands

There were 316 people who cast their vote in person and 2,111 who cast their vote using mail-in ballots. Residents of this neighborhood preferred Biden by a wide margin, casting 1,611 votes in his favor compared to 727 votes that were cast for Trump. For the LA District Attorney's election, this was the only neighborhood in the Palisades where residents voted for Lacey than Gascón, who received 983 votes compared to the 1,080 received by Lacey. Prop. 15 went down here 993 to 1,332. Prop. 16, Highlands residents also voted against repealing the discrimination provision, 989 to 1,306. Prop. 19 lost 991 to 1,274. Prop. 21 passed 1,353 to 951. Prop. 25 had 1,007 vote to do away with cash bail, 1,248 vote against the idea.


Paseo Miramar and Upper Marquez

There were 330 people who cast their vote in person and 2,422 who cast their vote using mail-in ballots Residents of this neighborhood preferred Biden by a wide margin, casting 1,945 votes in his favor compared to 682 votes that were cast for Trump. For the LA District Attorney's election, residents preferred progressive challenger
George Gascón George Gascón (born March 12, 1954) is an American attorney and former police officer who is the district attorney of Los Angeles County. A member of the Democratic Party and a former Republican, Gascón served as the district attorney of San ...
by a narrower margin over then-incumbent DA
Jackie Lacey Jacquelyn Phillips Lacey (born February 27, 1957) is an American politician who served as the District Attorney of Los Angeles County from December 3, 2012 to December 7, 2020. Lacey is the first woman, and first African-American, to serve as LA ...
, who received 1,135 votes compared to the 1,232 received by Gascón. Prop. 15, taxing properties based on current market value, was defeated 1,154 yes to 1.478 no. Prop. 16, repealing the discrimination provision, was defeated 1,226 yes to 1,370 no. Prop. 19, allowing the residential property tax to transfer, also lost 1,099 yes to 1462 no. Prop. 22, the “Uber” bill, passed 1,483 yes to 1,132 no. Prop. 25, seeking to replace cash bail, was defeated 1,192 yes to 1,337 no.


The Riviera

There were 302 people who cast their vote in person and 1,850 who cast their vote using mail-in ballots. Residents of this neighborhood preferred Biden, casting 1,856 votes in his favor compared to 477 votes that were cast for Trump. For the LA District Attorney's election, residents preferred progressive challenger
George Gascón George Gascón (born March 12, 1954) is an American attorney and former police officer who is the district attorney of Los Angeles County. A member of the Democratic Party and a former Republican, Gascón served as the district attorney of San ...
over then-incumbent DA
Jackie Lacey Jacquelyn Phillips Lacey (born February 27, 1957) is an American politician who served as the District Attorney of Los Angeles County from December 3, 2012 to December 7, 2020. Lacey is the first woman, and first African-American, to serve as LA ...
, who receives 855 votes compared to the 1,255 received by Gascón. Prop. 15 was defeated 1,125 in favor and 1,203 against. Prop. 16 found favor here: 1,257 to 1,022 (although defeated statewide). Prop. 19 lost 955 to 1,318. Prop. 22 passed by one vote, 1,153 to 1,152. Prop. 25 passed here: 1,162 to 1,095 (although defeated statewide).


Education


Public schools

Residents are zoned to
Los Angeles Unified School District Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is a public school district in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is the largest public school system in California in terms of number of students and the 2nd largest public school district in ...
schools. The area is within Board District 4. As of 2017,
Nick Melvoin Nick may refer to: * Nick (given name) * A cricket term for a slight deviation of the ball off the edge of the bat * British slang for being arrested * British slang for a police station * British slang for stealing * Short for nickname Place ...
represents the district. Some residents are assigned to Pacific Palisades Elementary School, some residents are assigned to Canyon Elementary School, and some are assigned to Marquez Elementary School. All residents are zoned to Paul Revere Charter Middle School and
Palisades Charter High School Palisades Charter High School (usually colloquially known as Pali or Pali High and abbreviated as PCHS) is an independent charter secondary school in Los Angeles, United States. The high school serves the neighborhoods of Pacific Palisades, ...
. * Canyon Elementary School opened in 1910. * Pacific Palisades Elementary opened in 1922. * Marquez Elementary School opened in 1955. *Paul Revere Middle School first opened as Palisades-Brentwood Junior High School on September 12, 1955; it chose its current name during its first year of operation. It became an internal charter in 1994.Paul Revere History. (n.d.). Retrieved June 30, 2017, from https://web.archive.org/web/20170630144853/https://www.paulreverems.com/domain/6 Archived from the original * Palisades Charter High School, commonly known as ''"Pali High"'', opened in 1961. Pali High later became a
charter school A charter school is a school that receives government funding but operates independently of the established state school system in which it is located. It is independent in the sense that it operates according to the basic principle of auto ...
in 1994.


Private schools

Private schools in the area include: * Palisades Jewish Early Childhood Center (preschool-kindergarten) – is a Jewish private school associated with the
Chabad Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch (), is an Orthodox Jewish Hasidic dynasty. Chabad is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements, particularly for its outreach activities. It is one of the largest Hasidic group ...
movement offering private preschool, kindergarten, daycare and
Hebrew school Hebrew school is Jewish education focusing on topics of Jewish history, learning the Hebrew language, and finally learning their Torah Portion, in preparation for the ceremony in Judaism of entering adulthood, known as a Bar or Bat Mitzvah. Hebr ...
education. * Calvary Christian (K–8) * Village School (pre-K–6) * Corpus Christi (K–8) * St. Matthew's Parish School (PS–8) * Seven Arrows (K–6) * Westside Waldorf (K–8) *
Lycée Français de Los Angeles Le Lycée Français de Los Angeles (''French School of Los Angeles'') is a private bilingual education school founded in 1964. School the school had more than 1,075 students, about 50%–60% of them being French citizens and the remainder Amer ...
Pacific Palisades Campus


Public libraries

Los Angeles Public Library The Los Angeles Public Library system (LAPL) is a public library system in Los Angeles, California. The system holds more than six million volumes, and with around 19 million residents in the Los Angeles Metropolitan area, it serves the large ...
operates the Palisades Branch at 861 Alma Real Drive.


Culture


Menorah lighting

Beginning in 1988, each year on the first night of
Hanukkah or English translation: 'Establishing' or 'Dedication' (of the Temple in Jerusalem) , nickname = , observedby = Jews , begins = 25 Kislev , ends = 2 Tevet or 3 Tevet , celebrations = Lighting candles each night. ...
a public menorah lighting ceremony is held at the
Palisades Village Palisades Village is a local shopping village located in Pacific Palisades, California, in the downtown area of the neighborhood known as the ''"Village"'', from which the shopping center derives its name. Overview In contrast to a typical shoppi ...
, 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 Rick Joseph Caruso (born January 7, 1959) is an American businessman. A billionaire, he is the founder and former chief executive officer of Caruso, an American real-estate company. He is the chair of the board of trustees at the University o ...
. It is accompanied by a community event featuring live
Hanukkah music Hanukkah music (or Chanukah music) ( he, שירי חנוכה) contains several songs associated with the festival of Hanukkah. Hanukkah blessings There are three Hanukkah blessings (Modern Hebrew: בְּרָכוֹת לֵחֲנֻכָּה ''Ber ...
, complimentary Hanukkah foods such as
latkes A latke ( yi, לאַטקע ''latke''; sometimes romanized ''latka'', lit. "pancake") is a type of potato pancake or fritter in Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine that is traditionally prepared to celebrate Hanukkah. Latkes can be made with ingredients ot ...
,
chocolate gelt Hanukkah gelt ( yi, חנוכה געלט '; he, דמי חנוכה ', both meaning literally "Hanukkah money"), also known as gelt (), refers to money given as presents during the Jewish Jewish holiday, festival of Hanukkah. It is typically given ...
and
sufganiyot ( he, סופגנייה or ; plural: , he, סופגניות ) is a round jelly doughnut eaten in Israel and around the world on the Jewish festival of Hanukkah. The doughnut is deep-fried, injected with jam or custard, and then topped with p ...
, 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 William Edward Crystal (born March 14, 1948)On page 17 of his book ''700 Sundays'', Crystal displays his birth announcement, which gives his first two names as "William Edward", not "William Jacob" is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. ...
, Rabbi Zushe Cunin, Palisades Village developer Rick Caruso, and councilman
Mike Bonin Michael Bonin (born March 19, 1967) is an American politician, who served as a member of the Los Angeles City Council for the 11th district from 2013 to 2022. A progressive member of the Democratic Party, he was previously a reporter and a cou ...
. The Crystals also helped in the planning of the event. The event performances of Hanukkah and other traditional
Jewish music Jewish music is the music and melodies of the Jewish people. There exist both traditions of religious music, as sung at the synagogue and domestic prayers, and of secular music, such as klezmer. While some elements of Jewish music may originate ...
by the Marquez Elementary Choir, Paul Revere Music Club and the Westside Waldorf School. Pacific Palisades is also home to one of the few
vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. Di ...
Hanukkah celebrations in Los Angeles, ''"Lights and Latkes"'', hosted by vegan Rabbi Jonathan Klein and JewishVeg Los Angeles.


Palisades Rocks The Fourth!

Palisades Rocks The Fourth is a Palisadian tradition that first began in 1967. Every
Fourth of July Independence Day (colloquially the Fourth of July) is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the Declaration of Independence, which was ratified by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, establishing the United States ...
, the community's
Chamber of Commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to ad ...
sponsors day-long events which include 5K and 10K runs, a home decorating contest, a parade down
Sunset Boulevard Sunset Boulevard is a boulevard in the central and western part of Los Angeles, California, that stretches from the Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades east to Figueroa Street in Downtown Los Angeles. It is a major thoroughfare in t ...
, and a concert accompanied by a fireworks display at Palisades High School baseball field. Due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, Palisades Rocks The Fourth! was held mostly virtually beginning in 2020. A virtual concert accompanied by fireworks and a flyover by
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
fighter pilots flying AT-6 fighter jets over the Palisades.


Synagogues

The Pacific Palisades is home to a large Jewish population and has a number of synagogues including the following: *
Chabad Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch (), is an Orthodox Jewish Hasidic dynasty. Chabad is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements, particularly for its outreach activities. It is one of the largest Hasidic group ...
of Pacific Palisades- local Chabad center located at 17315 Sunset Blvd in the Castlellammare neighborhood, offering religious services, Hebrew school and early Jewish education. Chabad of the Palisades hosts a number of Jewish events, and is also responsible for the annual Menorah lighting and Hanukkah celebration at the
Palisades Village Palisades Village is a local shopping village located in Pacific Palisades, California, in the downtown area of the neighborhood known as the ''"Village"'', from which the shopping center derives its name. Overview In contrast to a typical shoppi ...
. *
Kehillat Israel Kehillat Israel is a Reconstructionist Judaism, Reconstructionist congregation in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles. They are one of two Reconstructionist synagogues in greater Los Angeles (the other being the Malibu Jewish Center and Synagogue). Thei ...
- Reconstructionist synagogue, this is the oldest synagogue in the Palisades.


Sports and recreation


Bel Air Bay Club

The Bel-Air Bay Club is both an event venue (Upper Club) and a private beach club (Lower Club) located in the area. The Upper Club, includes an ocean view and on-site accommodations available for private parties. The interior of the Bel-Air Bay Club Upper Club includes large windows, a fireplace, and iron chandeliers. The Bel-Air Bay Club is primarily used as a wedding, social, and corporate event venue.


Riviera Country Club

The Riviera Country Club is a
private club A club is an association of people united by a common interest or goal. A service club, for example, exists for voluntary or charitable activities. There are clubs devoted to hobbies and sports, social activities clubs, political and religious c ...
with a championship
golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". Th ...
and
tennis courts A tennis court is the venue where the sport of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the centre. The same surface can be used to play both doubles and singles matches. A variety of surfaces can be u ...
in the Riviera neighborhood of Pacific Palisades. It is just a block south of
Sunset Boulevard Sunset Boulevard is a boulevard in the central and western part of Los Angeles, California, that stretches from the Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades east to Figueroa Street in Downtown Los Angeles. It is a major thoroughfare in t ...
. The Riviera was designed by
golf course architect A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". Th ...
s
George C. Thomas, Jr. George Clifford Thomas Jr. (October 3, 1873 – February 23, 1932) was an American golf course architect, botanist, and writer. He designed the original course at Whitemarsh Valley Country Club, outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and more than t ...
and William P. Bell, it has been the primary host for the
Genesis Invitational The Genesis Invitational is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour in southern California, first played in 1926 as the Los Angeles Open. Other previous names include Genesis Open, Northern Trust Open and Nissan Open. Played annually i ...
(originally the Los Angeles Open), an annual event on the
PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also k ...
in February. The
2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...
edition was the 58th held at Riviera. The Riviera has hosted three major championships: the U.S. Open in 1948, and the
PGA Championship The PGA Championship (often referred to as the US PGA Championship or USPGA outside the United States) is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. It is one of the four men's major championships ...
in 1983 and
1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...
. In addition, it was site of the
U.S. Senior Open The U.S. Senior Open is one of the five major championships in senior golf, introduced in 1980. It is administered by the United States Golf Association (USGA) and is recognized as a major championship by both the PGA Tour Champions and the Eu ...
, a senior major, in 1998 and the
U.S. Amateur The United States Amateur Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Amateur, is the leading annual golf tournament in the United States for amateur golfers. It is organized by the United States Golf Association and is currently held each August ov ...
in August 
2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...
. The club is scheduled to host the
Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
in  2028.


Will Rogers Polo Club

The Will Rogers Polo Club is a
polo Polo is a ball game played on horseback, a traditional field sport and one of the world's oldest known team sports. The game is played by two opposing teams with the objective of scoring using a long-handled wooden mallet to hit a small hard ...
club located at 1501 Will Rogers State Park Road, Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, California.,Matthew Poole, ''Frommer's California 2010'', Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, 2010, p. 57

/ref>Michael P. Lucas
His Home on the Range : At Will Rogers State Historical Park, the cowboy philosopher's charm and way of life are preserved
''The Los Angeles Times'', March 3, 1995.
Mary Moore
WESTSIDE COVER STORY : Hard Times ON THE Polo Circuit
''The Los Angeles Times'', September 22, 1994
which is within
Will Rogers State Historic Park Will Rogers State Historic Park is the former estate of American humorist Will Rogers. It lies in the Santa Monica Mountains in Los Angeles, in the Pacific Palisades area. Geography In what is now the Los Angeles neighborhood of Pacific Palisade ...
, and is Southern California's only remaining
polo club Polo is a ball game played on horseback, a traditional field sport and one of the world's oldest known team sports. The game is played by two opposing teams with the objective of scoring using a long-handled wooden mallet to hit a small hard ...
.


Media

* The ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' is the citywide newspaper. * The ''
Palisadian-Post The ''Palisadian-Post'' is a weekly subscription newspaper serving Pacific Palisades, California, published each Thursday by the Pacific Palisades Post. The company also publishes 90272 Magazine and the weekly newspaper ''The Shopper'', also kn ...
'', 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 ''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...
, 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 The Spanish Colonial Revival Style ( es, Arquitectura neocolonial española) is an architectural stylistic movement arising in the early 20th century based on the Spanish Colonial architecture of the Spanish colonization of the Americas. In th ...
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 The Bradbury Building is an architectural landmark in downtown Los Angeles, California, United States. Built in 1893, the five-story office building is best known for its extraordinary skylit atrium of access walkways, stairs and elevators, an ...
in
Downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) contains the central business district of Los Angeles. In addition, it contains a diverse residential area of some 85,000 people, and covers . A 2013 study found that the district is home to over 500,000 jobs. It is ...
. It has been listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
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 The Los Angeles Westside is an urban region in western Los Angeles County, California. It has no official definition, but sources like '' LA Weekly'' and the Mapping L.A. survey of the ''Los Angeles Times'' place the region on the western side o ...
.


Dolores del Río House

The Dolores Del Rio House is located at 757 Kingman Avenue was designed for
Mexican-American Mexican Americans ( es, mexicano-estadounidenses, , or ) are Americans of full or partial Mexican heritage. In 2019, Mexican Americans comprised 11.3% of the US population and 61.5% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexica ...
actress Dolores del Río and her husband, production designer
Cedric Gibbons Austin Cedric Gibbons (March 23, 1890 – July 26, 1960) was an Irish-American art director for the film industry. He also made a significant contribution to motion picture theater architecture from the 1930s to 1950s. Gibbons designed the ...
, by architects
Douglas Honnold Douglas Honnold (August 17, 1901 – March 14, 1974) was an award-winning Canadian-born American architect. He designed many residential properties and commercial buildings in Los Angeles, California. He won an Honor Award from the Southern Califo ...
and
George Vernon Russell George Vernon Russell (September 4, 1905 – March 17, 1989) was an American architect. He designed many residential properties and commercial buildings in Los Angeles, California. He also designed the masterplans and a library unit for the Unive ...
in 1929.


Eames House

Eames House is the 1949 home and studio of husband-and-wife
design A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product, or process. The verb ''to design'' ...
pioneers
Charles and Ray Eames Charles Eames ( Charles Eames, Jr) and Ray Eames ( Ray-Bernice Eames) were an American married couple of industrial designers who made significant historical contributions to the development of modern architecture and furniture through the work of ...
.


The Getty Villa

The Getty Villa is an educational center and museum dedicated to the study of the arts and cultures of
Ancient Greece Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cult ...
,
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
, and
Etruria Etruria () was a region of Central Italy, located in an area that covered part of what are now most of Tuscany, northern Lazio, and northern and western Umbria. Etruscan Etruria The ancient people of Etruria are identified as Etruscan civiliza ...
.


Gladstones

Gladstones is a seafood restaurant located along
Will Rogers State Beach Will Rogers State Beach is a beach park on the Santa Monica Bay, at the Pacific coast of Southern California. Located in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, the beach is owned by the California Department of Parks and Recreation; ...
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 Richard Joseph Riordan (born May 1, 1930) is an American investment banker, businessman, lawyer, and former Republican politician who was the 39th Mayor of Los Angeles, from 1993 to 2001. Born in New York City and raised in New Rochelle, New Y ...
, 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 Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments are sites which have been designated by the Los Angeles, California, Cultural Heritage Commission as worthy of preservation based on architectural, historic and cultural criteria. History The Historic-Cult ...
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 The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
''.


Mort's Palisades Deli

Mort's Palisades Deli, more commonly referred to as Mort's Deli, was a
Jewish deli A Jewish deli, also known as a Jewish delicatessen, is a delicatessen establishment that serves various traditional dishes in Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine, and are typically known for their sandwiches such as pastrami on rye, as well as their soups ...
catessen located at 1035 Swarthmore Ave on the corner of
Sunset Boulevard Sunset Boulevard is a boulevard in the central and western part of Los Angeles, California, that stretches from the Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades east to Figueroa Street in Downtown Los Angeles. It is a major thoroughfare in t ...
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 Richard Joseph Riordan (born May 1, 1930) is an American investment banker, businessman, lawyer, and former Republican politician who was the 39th Mayor of Los Angeles, from 1993 to 2001. Born in New York City and raised in New Rochelle, New Y ...
, who closed the deli to make way for a bistro, which itself closed after a few months. The deli was known for their
Reuben sandwich The Reuben sandwich is a Cuisine of the United States, North American grilled sandwich composed of corned beef, Swiss cheese (North America), Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and Thousand Island dressing or Russian dressing, Grilling#Flattop grilling/gri ...
es and celebrity clientele including
Larry David Lawrence Gene David (born July 2, 1947) is an American comedian, writer, actor, and television producer. He and Jerry Seinfeld created the television sitcom ''Seinfeld'', on which David was head writer and executive producer for the first seve ...
,
Walter Matthau Walter Matthau (; born Walter John Matthow; October 1, 1920 – July 1, 2000) was an American actor, comedian and film director. He is best known for his film roles in '' A Face in the Crowd'' (1957), ''King Creole'' (1958) and as a coach of a ...
, and
Larry King Larry King (born Lawrence Harvey Zeiger; November 19, 1933 – January 23, 2021) was an American television and radio host, whose awards included 2 Peabodys The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program ...
among others, as well as being featured in numerous episodes of
Curb Your Enthusiasm ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'' is an American television sitcom produced and broadcast by HBO since October 15, 2000, and created by Larry David, who stars as a semi-fictionalized version of himself. It follows David's life as a semi-retired televisio ...
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 Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area is a United States national recreation area containing many individual parks and open space preserves, located primarily in the Santa Monica Mountains of Southern California. The SMMNRA is in t ...
. 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 Paramahansa Yogananda (born Mukunda Lal Ghosh; January 5, 1893March 7, 1952) was an Indian Hindu monk, yogi and guru who introduced millions to the teachings of meditation and Kriya Yoga through his organization Self-Realization Fellowsh ...
, 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 Van Nuys () is a neighborhood in the central San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Home to Van Nuys Airport and the Valley Municipal Building, it is the most populous neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley. History In 1909, t ...
. Pacific Palisades is home to numerous species of parrots, and the most commonly-sighted species is the
Nanday parakeet The nanday parakeet (''Aratinga nenday''), also known as the black-hooded parakeet or nanday conure, is a medium-small, mostly green, Neotropical parrot native to continental South America. Taxonomy The nanday parakeet was previously regarded as ...
. Other species of parrots found in the Palisades include the
mitred parakeet The mitred parakeet (''Psittacara mitratus''), also known as the mitred conure in aviculture, is a species of green and red parrot in the family Psittacidae. It is native to the forests and woodlands in the Andes from north-central Peru, south th ...
,
yellow-chevroned parakeet The yellow-chevroned parakeet (''Brotogeris chiriri'') is native to tropical South America south of the Amazon River basin from central Brazil to southern Bolivia, Paraguay, and northern Argentina. Caged birds have been released in some areas, a ...
,
white-winged parakeet The white-winged parakeet (''Brotogeris versicolurus''), or canary-winged parakeet is a small parrot native to the Amazon River basin from southeast Colombia to the river's mouth in Brazil. Caged birds have been released and the birds have esta ...
,
rose-ringed parakeet The rose-ringed parakeet (''Psittacula krameri''), also known as the ring-necked parakeet (more commonly known as the Indian ringneck parrot), is a medium-sized parrot in the genus Psittacula, of the family Psittacidae. It has disjunct native ran ...
,
red-masked parakeet The red-masked parakeet (''Psittacara erythrogenys'')DNA-sequence data require revision of the parrot genus Aratinga (Aves: Psittacidae) J.V. Remsen, Jr., Erin E. Schirtzinger, Anna Ferraroni, Luís Fábio Silveira & Timothy F. Wright is a medium ...
,
blue-crowned parakeet The blue-crowned parakeet, blue-crowned conure, or sharp-tailed conure (''Thectocercus acuticaudatus'') is a small green Neotropical parrot with a blue head and pale beak native to large parts of South America, from eastern Colombia in the north ...
,
red-crowned parrot The red-crowned amazon (''Amazona viridigenalis''), also known as the red-crowned parrot, green-cheeked amazon or Mexican red-headed parrot, is an endangered amazon parrot native to northeastern Mexico and possibly southern Texas in the United St ...
,
lilac-crowned parrot The lilac-crowned amazon (''Amazona finschi'') is a parrot endemic to the Pacific slopes of Mexico. Also known as Finsch's amazon, it is characterised by green plumage, a maroon forehead, and a violet-blue crown and neck. The binomial of this b ...
, white-fronted parrot,
blue-fronted parrot The turquoise-fronted amazon (''Amazona aestiva''), also called the turquoise-fronted parrot, the blue-fronted amazon and the blue-fronted parrot, is a South American species of amazon parrot and one of the most common amazon parrots kept in cap ...
,
yellow-headed parrot The yellow-headed amazon (''Amazona oratrix''), also known as the yellow-headed parrot and double yellow-headed amazon, is an endangered amazon parrot of Mexico and northern Central America. Measuring in length, it is a stocky short-tailed gree ...
, and the red-lored parrot.


In popular culture

*
Jerry Lewis Jerry Lewis (born Joseph Levitch; March 16, 1926 – August 20, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, singer, filmmaker and humanitarian. As his contributions to comedy and charity made him a global figure in popular culture, pop culture ...
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 Tony Curtis (born Bernard Schwartz; June 3, 1925September 29, 2010) was an American actor whose career spanned six decades, achieving the height of his popularity in the 1950s (Kansas Raiders, 1950) and early 1960s. He acted in more than 100 f ...
and
Janet Leigh Jeanette Helen Morrison (July 6, 1927 – October 3, 2004), known professionally as Janet Leigh, was an American actress, singer, dancer, and author. Her career spanned over five decades. Raised in Stockton, California, by working-class parents, ...
. He became the honorary mayor of the Palisades in 1953. * The
Beach Boys A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shell ...
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? ''What Really Happened to the Class of '65?'' is a 1976 non-fiction book by Michael Medved and David Wallechinsky. The authors were members of the senior class at Palisades High School in affluent suburban Los Angeles, California, which had been ...
'' 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 David Wallechinsky (born David Wallace, February 5, 1948) is an American populist historian and television commentator, the president of the International Society of Olympic Historians (ISOH) and the founder and editor-in-chief of AllGov.com and ...
, the son of novelist
Irving Wallace Irving Wallace (March 19, 1916 – June 29, 1990) was an American best-selling author and screenwriter. He was known for his heavily researched novels, many with a sexual theme. Early life Wallace was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Bessie Liss a ...
, and his "Pali" classmate, film critic
Michael Medved Michael Saul Medved (born October 3, 1948) is an American radio show host, author, political commentator, and film critic. His talk show, ''The Michael Medved Show'', is syndicated from his home station KTTH in Seattle. It is syndicated via G ...
, described Pacific Palisades as a microcosm of America during the tumultuous
Summer of Love The Summer of Love was a social phenomenon that occurred during the summer of 1967, when as many as 100,000 people, mostly young people sporting hippie fashions of dress and behavior, converged in San Francisco's neighborhood of Haight-Ashbury. ...
era. * The
West Coast Avengers The West Coast Avengers is a fictional group of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team first appeared in ''The West Coast Avengers'' #1 (Sept. 1984), created by Roger Stern and Bob Hall. It was the fir ...
, a California-based branch of the
Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
superhero team, were depicted as based out of an estate in Pacific Palisades.''Avengers West Coast'' vol. 1 # 1, cover date September 1984 * '' Pacific Palisades'', a 1997 TV series produced by
Aaron Spelling Aaron Spelling (April 22, 1923 June 23, 2006) was an American film and television producer and occasional actor. His productions included the TV series ''Family'' (1976–1980), '' Charlie's Angels'' (1976–1981), ''The Love Boat'' (1977–1986 ...
, was named after the area. *The characters on the teen show ''
Saved by the Bell ''Saved by the Bell'' is an American television sitcom created by Sam Bobrick for NBC. The series premiered, in primetime, on August 20, 1989, a Sunday night. Targeted at kids and teens, ''Saved by the Bell'' was broadcast in the United States ...
'' (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 Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...
band
Ash Ash or ashes are the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non- gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash ...
included a song entitled "Pacific Palisades" on their 2001 album ''
Free All Angels ''Free All Angels'' is the third studio album to be recorded by Northern Irish rock band Ash. It was released on 23 April 2001 through Infectious Records and Home Grown. Due to the mixed reaction to the band's second studio album ''Nu-Clear So ...
''. *Rapper
Childish Gambino Donald McKinley Glover Jr. (; born September 25, 1983), also known by his stage name Childish Gambino (), is an American entertainer, writer, director, and producer. After working in Derrick Comedy while studying at New York University, Glove ...
mentions Pacific Palisades in his song IV. Sweatpants saying, "got a glass house in the Palisades." *In ''
Modern Family ''Modern Family'' is an American family sitcom television series created by Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan for the American Broadcasting Company. It ran for 11 seasons, from September 23, 2009, to April 8, 2020. It follows the lives of thr ...
'', the Dunphy children attend Palisades Charter High School. Alex Dunphy was crowned school
valedictorian Valedictorian is an academic title for the highest-performing student of a graduating class of an academic institution. The valedictorian is commonly determined by a numerical formula, generally an academic institution's grade point average (GPA ...
in the episode "Patriot Games." *The main character of the TV series ''
Transparent Transparency, transparence or transparent most often refer to: * Transparency (optics), the physical property of allowing the transmission of light through a material They may also refer to: Literal uses * Transparency (photography), a still, ...
'' lives in a house in Pacific Palisades. *
untitled 02 – 06.23.2014. "Untitled 02 , 06.23.2014." (stylised as "untitled 02 , 06.23.2014.") is a song by American rapper Kendrick Lamar, featured on his compilation album, ''Untitled Unmastered''. The song was produced by Cardo (record producer), Cardo and Yung Exclu ...
, 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 The Hyundai Palisade ( ko, 현대 팰리세이드) is a mid-size crossover SUV manufactured by Hyundai Motor Company since late 2018. It replaces the Maxcruz (also known as Santa Fe XL outside of South Korea) as the flagship SUV under the Hyund ...
is named after Pacific Palisades.


Filming locations

* The 1985
Jack Nicholson John Joseph Nicholson (born April 22, 1937) is an American retired actor and filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time. In many of his films, he played rebels against the social structure. He received numerous ...
,
Kathleen Turner Mary Kathleen Turner (born June 19, 1954) is an American actress. She has received various accolades, including two Golden Globe Awards, in addition to nominations for an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, and two Tony Awards. Turner became widely k ...
film ''
Prizzi's Honor ''Prizzi's Honor'' is a 1985 American black comedy crime film directed by John Huston, starring Jack Nicholson and Kathleen Turner as two highly-skilled mob assassins who, after falling in love, are hired to kill each other. The screenplay co-w ...
'' 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 Anne Jacqueline Hathaway (born November 12, 1982) is an American actress. The recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Anne Hathaway, various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Awar ...
,
Bijou Phillips Bijou Lilly Phillips Masterson (born April 1, 1980) is an American actress, model and singer. The daughter of musician John Phillips and Geneviève Waïte, she began her career as a model. Phillips made her singing debut with '' I'd Rather Ea ...
film ''
Havoc High Altitude Venus Operational Concept (HAVOC) is a set of crewed NASA mission concepts to the planet Venus. All human portions of the missions would be conducted from lighter-than-air craft or from orbit. Background Venus is a planet with a r ...
'' was set in the Palisades and filmed at Palisades Charter High School. * The 2003 Disney film ''
Freaky Friday ''Freaky Friday'' is a comedic children's novel written by Mary Rodgers, first published by Harper & Row in 1972. It has been adapted for several films, including versions in 1976, 1995, 2003, and 2018, and was reinterpreted as a horror film f ...
'' with
Jamie Lee Curtis Jamie Lee Curtis (born November 22, 1958) is an American actress, producer, children's author, and activist. She came to prominence with her portrayal of Lt. Barbara Duran on the ABC sitcom '' Operation Petticoat'' (1977–78). In 1978, she m ...
and
Lindsay Lohan Lindsay Dee Lohan ( ; born July 2, 1986) is an American actress and singer. Born in New York City and raised on Long Island, Lohan was signed to Ford Models at the age of three. Having appeared as a regular on the television soap opera '' An ...
was filmed at Palisades Charter High School. * The 2001 film '' Crazy/Beautiful'' starring
Kirsten Dunst Kirsten Caroline Dunst (; born April 30, 1982) is an American actress. She made her acting debut in the short ''Oedipus Wrecks'' directed by Woody Allen in the anthology film '' New York Stories'' (1989). She then gained recognition for her ro ...
was filmed at
Palisades Charter High School Palisades Charter High School (usually colloquially known as Pali or Pali High and abbreviated as PCHS) is an independent charter secondary school in Los Angeles, United States. The high school serves the neighborhoods of Pacific Palisades, ...
. * 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 The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
television program ''
James at 16 ''James at 15'' (later ''James at 16'') is an American drama series that aired on NBC during the 1977–1978 season. The series was preceded by the 1977 made-for-TV movie ''James at 15'', which aired on Monday September 5, 1977, and was intended ...
'', starring
Lance Kerwin Lance Kerwin (born November 6, 1960) is an American actor, known primarily for roles in television and film during his childhood and teen years in the 1970s. He played lead roles in the TV series ''James at 15'', and the made-for-TV films ''Th ...
, was filmed at the same school, which was then called Palisades High School, or more commonly "Pali High". * The 1976 film ''
Carrie Carrie may refer to: People * Carrie (name), a female given name and occasionally a surname Places in the United States * Carrie, Kentucky, an unincorporated community * Carrie, Virginia, an unincorporated community * Carrie Glacier, Olympic Nati ...
'' was filmed at Palisades High School. * The 1957 film ''
No Down Payment ''No Down Payment'' is a 1957 drama film directed by Martin Ritt. It was written by Philip Yordan, who fronted for an uncredited and blacklisted Ben Maddow, and is based on the novel of the same name by John McPartland. The film stars Joanne Woo ...
'' has several sequences around Pacific Palisades posing as a Los Angeles suburb. *
Food Network Food Network is an American basic cable channel owned by Television Food Network, G.P., a joint venture and general partnership between Warner Bros. Discovery Networks (which holds a 69% ownership stake of the network) and Nexstar Media Group ...
's ''
Everyday Italian ''Everyday Italian'' is a Food Network show hosted by Giada De Laurentiis. In the show, De Laurentiis focuses for her viewers on traditional Italian cuisine with an American flair. Popularity The show is recorded (shot at 24 frames for a cinemat ...
'' is filmed on El Medio. * The TV series ''
Baywatch ''Baywatch'' is an American action drama television series about lifeguards who patrol the beaches of Los Angeles County, California, and Hawaii, starring David Hasselhoff. It was created by Michael Berk, Douglas Schwartz, and Gregory J. Bonann, ...
'' was filmed at Lifeguard Headquarters by tower 15 of
Will Rogers State Beach Will Rogers State Beach is a beach park on the Santa Monica Bay, at the Pacific coast of Southern California. Located in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, the beach is owned by the California Department of Parks and Recreation; ...
in Pacific Palisades. * The TV series ''
The Rockford Files ''The Rockford Files'' is an American detective drama television series starring James Garner that aired on the NBC network from September 13, 1974 to January 10, 1980, and remains in syndication. Garner portrays Los Angeles private investigator ...
'' was often filmed in and around the Palisades in the 1970s. * The TV series ''
Popular Popularity or social status is the quality of being well liked, admired or well known to a particular group. Popular may also refer to: In sociology * Popular culture * Popular fiction * Popular music * Popular science * Populace, the total ...
'' filmed at
Palisades Charter High School Palisades Charter High School (usually colloquially known as Pali or Pali High and abbreviated as PCHS) is an independent charter secondary school in Los Angeles, United States. The high school serves the neighborhoods of Pacific Palisades, ...
. * The TV series ''
Modern Family ''Modern Family'' is an American family sitcom television series created by Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan for the American Broadcasting Company. It ran for 11 seasons, from September 23, 2009, to April 8, 2020. It follows the lives of thr ...
'' filmed some scenes at
Palisades Charter High School Palisades Charter High School (usually colloquially known as Pali or Pali High and abbreviated as PCHS) is an independent charter secondary school in Los Angeles, United States. The high school serves the neighborhoods of Pacific Palisades, ...
. * The first-season residence of the television series ''
The Golden Girls ''The Golden Girls'' is an American sitcom created by Susan Harris that aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning seven seasons. With an ensemble cast starring Bea Arthur, Betty White ...
'' was a home in Pacific Palisades. For subsequent seasons, a facade house was built on the
Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
/MGM back lot. * The HBO series ''
Curb Your Enthusiasm ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'' is an American television sitcom produced and broadcast by HBO since October 15, 2000, and created by Larry David, who stars as a semi-fictionalized version of himself. It follows David's life as a semi-retired televisio ...
'' is filmed in the real-life Pacific Palisades residence of
Larry David Lawrence Gene David (born July 2, 1947) is an American comedian, writer, actor, and television producer. He and Jerry Seinfeld created the television sitcom ''Seinfeld'', on which David was head writer and executive producer for the first seve ...
, as the home of his character, "Larry David". *The TV series ''Teen Wolf (2011 TV series), Teen Wolf'' was filmed at
Palisades Charter High School Palisades Charter High School (usually colloquially known as Pali or Pali High and abbreviated as PCHS) is an independent charter secondary school in Los Angeles, United States. The high school serves the neighborhoods of Pacific Palisades, ...
. *The original 2014 movie ''God's Not Dead (film), 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 (TV series), 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''


See also

* List of districts and neighborhoods of Los Angeles * Old Santa Monica Forestry Station in Pacific Palisades.


References


Further reading

* Young, Betty Lou, ''Pacific Palisades: Where the Mountains Meet the Sea'' , Pacific Palisades Historical Society Press (1983)


External links


Pacific Palisades Chamber of CommercePacific Palisades Community Council
{{authority control Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, Neighborhoods in Los Angeles Populated places in the Santa Monica Mountains Populated places established in 1922 Westside (Los Angeles County) Populated coastal places in California