Project Details Page

synopsis

Olmsted Brothers' work on Palos Verdes spanned more than two decades. Planning started in 1913 under John Charles Olmsted and finished under Frederick Law Olmsted jr., who, as Director of Design, built a house (job 08046) so as to be close at hand for this important project. The 16,004 acres were conceived as a set of planned communities that would take full advantage of the beautiful setting.

Olmsted Brothers' work on Palos Verdes spanned more than two decades. Planning started in 1913 under John Charles Olmsted and finished under Frederick Law Olmsted jr., who, as Director of Design, built a house (job 08046) so as to be close at hand for this important project. The 16,004 acres were conceived as a set of planned communities that would take full advantage of the beautiful setting.

Frank A. Vanderlip, who resided on the East Coast, was president of the National City Bank of New York and had been Assistent Secretary of the Treasury under President McKinley. Even without visiting Palos Verdes peninsula, he was confident of the desirability of the site and formed an investment sydicate of over fifty wealthy men to acquire the whole peninsula in 1913. Vanderlip was inspired by the character of Italian hill towns, as he sought to develop the "Newport of the West" with the design expertise of the Olmsted Brothers firm to assist him. After WWI, Vanderlip optioned the property to other developers, including E.G. Lewis in 1922, who soon encountered financial difficulties, requiring Vanderlip and a new real estate trust financed by 4,000 investors to take back control. Vanderlip chose to locate his own estate in Rancho Palos Verdes on the south portion of the peninsula, because the climate there was more likely to be warm and sunny.

Along with the Olmsted firm, whom Vanderlip knew previously from work on his various properties in New York state (see jobs 05816, 06443, 06444, 07247, and 07278), city planner Charles Cheney and architect Myron Hunt were also instrumental to the success of the project. In addition to working on the road and infrastructure layout for the peninsula, the Olmsted firm ultimately designed the residential areas within Palos Verdes Estates and Miraleste and to a more limited extent in Rancho Palos Verdes. The first residential subdivision to be promoted for sale on the peninsula was Palos Verdes Estates, which comprised approximately 3,200 acres divided into four districts: Valmonte District on the northeast; the Malaga Cove District on the west; the Lunada Bay District on the south and the Miraleste District to the southeast, overlooking the Los Angeles Harbor.

James Frederick Dawson, as an associate partner in the Olmsted firm, worked on the project from the beginning. He made his first site visit in January 1914. He later built a home on a double lot in the Grove section of Palos Verdes. There are plans for the house in his employee file (00368-1), two of which will be included in the document list for this job (05950). Dawson served on the Palos Verdes Art Jury, which continues today reviewing all building projects in Palos Verdes Estates, as well as in Miraleste. For nearly one hundred years, this body and the Palos Verdes Homes Association has been responsible within these two areas of the peninsula for helping retain the character and intention of the development's original design.

The once bare peninsula has changed substantially from when Vanderlip first purchased it, with a verdant tree growth now covering a number of the residential areas, particularly those laid out by the Olmsted firm, which included Palos Verdes Estates and portions of Rancho Palos Verdes. As one explores the peninsula, which now includes the four municipalities of Palos Verdes Estates, Rancho Palos Verdes, Rolling Hills and Rolling Hills Estates, one is struck by the differences in the devlopment style. The Mediterranean-inspired character of the red roofs and white stucco or stone walls is still predominate in Palos Verdes Estates. That character combined with the extensive landscape planting providing the framing of extradordinary vistas makes the visit to Palos Verdes Estates especially memorable, not only for its beautiful setting, but for the overall design of the development.

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