Palos Verdes Homes Association

In 1913, Frank A. Vanderlip, Sr., then a successful banker based in New York, purchases the land of Palos Verdes, some 16,000 acres. Though the peninsula had been utilized for crops and cattle since the 1880s, Vanderlip envisions the rural farming community of Palos Verdes as a location with great potential for development as a residential city by the sea even more magnificent than those on the Italian coastline. The green-patched hills, sweeping ocean views, and ranches that dotted the coastline catalyzed Vanderlip’s excitement and his vision.
Photo courtesy of: Phillips, John. Palos Verdes Estates (Images of America) (p. 9). Arcadia Publishing Inc.

1913: The Initial Vision

Vanderlip selects the Olmsted Brothers of Brookline, Massachusetts, a renowned landscape design firm with whom he had previously worked, to prepare plans for a “high class residential district.”
The photo is a picture of Frank A. Vanderlip in 1918.
Source: Palos Verdes Estates (Images of America) by John Phillips, Arcadia Publishing Inc.
Photo courtesy of: Phillips, John. Palos Verdes Estates (Images of America) (p. 14). Arcadia Publishing Inc.

1913: Frank A. Vanderlip, Sr. Begins Assembling the Team

To protect this utopian landscape, resident homeowners, and future property values in the area, an Art Jury is created to monitor all building specifications and property changes to the developing peninsula, with architect Myron Hunt at the helm. City planners had already set aside 4000 acres for parks and playgrounds, 100 acres for a university campus, and space for 120 miles of paved roads. The Art Jury would oversee the construction of twenty houses across six-hundred residential lots that had already been purchased.
Pictured here are the first members of the Art Jury. The group first met on November 21, 1922, at the Hotel Redondo. Shown in the rear courtyard of the Gard residence are members of the Art Jury, March 1929. From left to right are Charles H. Cheney (city planner), Jay Lawyer (general manager), David Allison (architect), James F. Dawson (landscape architect), and Robert Farquhar (architect). The Gard residence, designed by Kirtland Cutter, was selected by the Art Jury as the most notable example of residential architecture of 1927.
Photo and photo description courtesy of: Phillips, John. Palos Verdes Estates (Images of America) (p. 52). Arcadia Publishing Inc.

1923: Establishment of the Art Jury

Myron Hunt, a prolific, innovative architect who designed over 400 buildings across California throughout his career, writes about the beginnings of the Art Jury: “The first six months of the Jury’s work was devoted to weekly meetings that lasted all day and often far into the night. At these meetings, the current work of the Olmsted Brothers, the landscape architects in charge of laying out the project, and of H.C. Cheney, city planner, was discussed and criticized. Then Mr. Olmsted and his partner, with Mr. Cheney and their chief assistants would join in the Jury’s general discussions. They made many most helpful suggestions in the drawing and making of restrictions.”
Under Hunt’s guidance during his seventeen years as Art Jury President, a California style of architecture was established in Palos Verdes, characterized by stucco and adobe, light colors, and tiled roofs. Hunt himself designed one such archetypal Palos Verdes building, the Malaga Cove Library.
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Photo courtesy of: Phillips, John. Palos Verdes Estates (Images of America) (p. 53). Arcadia Publishing Inc.

1923: Myron Hunt’s Tenure as President

In November 1924, the very first Palos Verdes Bulletin is published by Palos Verdes Homes Association.
To read this bulletin, as well as several others, visit our <a href="https://www.pvha.org/resources-applications/?category=bulletins">Resources &amp; Applications</a> page.

1924: The First Palos Verdes Bulletin is Published

By 1925, the first store building in Malaga Cove Plaza is completed. Storm drains, electricity, and a community water system have been installed in preparation for city residents. Roads are nearing completion, and 100,000 trees and shrubbery have been planted. With the opening of a post office, the Palos Verdes community becomes an officially recognized city. Home construction continues across the area, with lots in the Valmonte area selling in the $600 range and construction costs for an average home falling between $6,000-$12,000.
Photo courtesy of: Phillips, John. Palos Verdes Estates (Images of America) (p. 51). Arcadia Publishing Inc.

1925: The City Begins to Take Shape

Peacocks are introduced to the Palos Verdes Peninsula, when 16 peacocks were gifted to the Vanderlip Family.

1927: Peacocks are introduced to the Palos Verdes Peninsula

He held the position from 1940-1965, and was named &#8220;Father of the City.&#8221;
Pictured is a memorial erected in his honor at City Hall.

1940: H.F.B. Roessler is elected as the first mayor of Palos Verdes Estates

2005: Lunada Bay Park Opens

This landmark project features native plants specific to Lunada Bay, with stone-lined walking trails. All of the plant selections were vetted by both the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy (PVPLC) and the California Native Plant Society (CNPS), and the park is an excellent example of Olmsted’s ‘Country in the City’ concept. The project is maintained entirely by volunteers, in partnership with the PVPLC.

2018: Beautify Lunada Bay Pilot Project Completed

2021: Malaga Cove Plaza Is Added to the National Register of Historic Places

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Board nomination signatures must be submitted to PVHA by October 2, 2023, 4:30 p.m. 
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Why Palos Verdes Estates