Pacific Palisades

Pacific Palisades is a coastal community, nestled between the Santa Monica Mountains and Santa Monica Bay. It basks on bluffs (palisades), between Santa Monica (to the south), Brentwood (to the east), and Malibu (to the north-west).
Pacific Palisades was founded in the 1920's by the Camp Meeting and Chautauqua Assn. Headed by the Methodist minister, Rev. Charles Scott. Scott founded the community envisioning an elaborate religious (and intellectual) commune. His followers bought up the lots, some with remarkable views, and lived i

n tents during construction. One of the aptly-named streets that connects Sunset Blvd. to Pacific Coast Highway, is Chautauqua Blvd., named for his educational Chautauqua-tent seminars.
In the “Village” area known by Realtors as the Alphabet Streets, streets were named for Methodist missionaries. The tents were eventually replaced by cabins, then by bungalows, and ultimately by multi-million dollar homes with dramatic ocean, city and coastline views.

The Palisades (as locals refer to their town) has a population of approximately 27,000.
Will Rogers developed a large ranch in upper Rustic Canyon. Donated to the State of California by his family, Will Rogers State Historical Park is the site of a public polo field, the Rogers homestead (recently renovated), and is a trail head to the Topanga State Park and Santa Monica Mountains.

Two California Governors, Ronald Reagan and Arnold Schwarzenegger, resided in Pacific Palisades, as did Aldous Huxley, Thomas Mann, Berthold Brecht and Henry Miller.
The zip code is for Pacific Palisades is 90272, is home to the J.Paul Getty Villa (The Getty Web site refers to the Villa as Malibu, but the postal zip is Pacific Palisades), The Self Realization Lake Shrine, Temescal Canyon Mountain Gateway Park, Will Rogers State Historical Park.

Pacific Palisades is served by the city of Los Angeles as to fire, police, public school system (all Charter), sewer, and trash pick-up.
The Palisades has an ideal climate. In winter, the night-time lows can get down as low as 30 degrees, but the daytime temperatures average 68 degrees to about 78 (ocean-cooled) degrees in the summer. In the fall, there is usually a one-week heat wave that can take the temperatures over 100 degrees.

The Temescal Canyon Assn. hosts wonderful hikes, day and evening; the town has four public parks, and miles of public beaches.
Near the new library, Palisades Park has 16 public, night-lit tennis courts. From dog-training to Tai Chi, basketball, baseball to summertime *movies in the park*, our Public library and Park (part of LA City Parks and Recreation) are a boon to the town.

The Palisades village is as user-friendly a small town as they come, right down to reassigning overly aggressive meter maids.
There is a Farmer’s Market every Sunday from 9AM until about 1 PM. It is located on Swarthmore, just east of Sunset. In January of 2008 the former Mort’s Deli will re-open under new management.  Our former LA Mayor, Richard Riordan is the owner.

There are only two restaurants in Pacific Palisades with full liquor licenses. However, local restaurants offer most types of cuisine.

There is a new-wave Pharmacy, several dry cleaner’s, and two Super Markets. The annual Fourth of July Palisades “Americanism Parade” and 10K are well-attended. Pacific Palisades has its own weekly community paper the Palisadian Post (circulation approx. 25,000).
The beach-side bicycle path also hosts to joggers and rollerblading. It begins at approximately Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) and Temescal Canyon Road, and continues to Redondo Beach (approximately 20 miles) via Venice and Marina Del Rey.
The Palisades has several residential areas. From east to west, Sullivan Canyon, the Palisades Riviera, Upper Rustic Canyon (Evans Road, private), Will Rogers, Rustic Canyon, Huntington Palisades, the Alphabet Streets (tract 9300, civic league approval necessary for remodeling), the Bluffs (including Via De La Paz and Swarthmore to the bluffs), Temescal West (I coined this but it is the area west of Temescal Canyon to Marquez Knolls).
Marquez Knolls, developed by the Lachman family, is renowned for dramatic ocean and city views, and its active homeowner's association. Price range: $1.8Mil to $13Mil.

West of Marquez Knolls (south of Sunset Blvd.) is the Bel-Air Bay Club tract, an enclave of custom homes, some with outstanding ocean views. This tract has underground utilities and is only a few feet to the beach. On PCH, below the private Bel-air Bay club, is an access to PCH, and the entrance to the beach-side Bel-air Bay Club. If you have an opportunity to visit the upper club, a Spanish Colonial architectural gem overlooking the bay, go.
The Palisades Highlands consists of several planned unit developments (PUDs), initially developed in the 1960s, and still under development. The area includes townhouses built in the 60’s and 70’s, gated single family areas, homes, private community centers, a small commercial center. Possibly because of the Santa Monica Mountain climate, the air seems fresher than on the coast. The area is warmer in the summer and fall, colder in winter, and glorious in spring. Santa Ynez Canyon hosts several trailhead access points to Topanga State Park.

Castellammare and the Pacific View Estates are the most westerly residential areas of Pacific Palisades, instantly accessible to PCH for forays to Santa Monica, downtown Los Angeles or Malibu.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Palisades,_Los_Angeles,_California