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Palos Verdes is a name often used to refer to a group of coastal cities on the Palos Verdes Peninsula in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, USA. Palos Verdes Estates, Rancho Palos Verdes, Rolling Hills, and Rolling Hills Estates are the predominant cities in the area, with a portion of San Pedro occupying the eastern end of the peninsula. This affluent bedroom community is known for its dramatic views from the Palos Verdes Hills, schools,^[1] extensive horse trails,^[2] and high home prices.^[3] To its inhabitants, Palos Verdes is know affectionately by its initials, P.V.

Aerial view of the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Los Angeles in the distance.

[edit] History

Point Vicente Lighthouse in Palos Verdes.

The peninsula was originally inhabited by Native Americans belonging to the Tongva (sometimes referred to as "Gabrielino") tribe, and first described in 1542 by Portuguese explorer Juan Cabrillo. In 1827, Jose Dolores Sepulveda procured a parcel of the original, 1784 Rancho San Pedro Spanish land grant from Manuel Dominguez, and named it Rancho de los Palos Verdes ("range of green trees"), which was used primarily as a cattle ranch. By 1882 ownership of the land had passed from the Sepulveda through various mortgage holders to Jotham Bixby of Rancho Los Cerritos, who leased the land to Japanese farmers. After the turn of the century most of Bixby's land was sold to a consortium of New York investors who created The Palos Verdes Project and began marketing land on the peninsula for small horse ranches and residential communities. Palos Verdes Estates was the first city incorporated on the Peninsula and was one of the first master planned communities in Los Angeles County. The other incorporated cities on the Palos Verdes Peninsula include Rancho Palos Verdes, Rolling Hills Estates and Rolling Hills.

[edit] Commerce

Malaga Cove Plaza.

Practically the entire commercial district is in Rolling Hills Estates. There are many shopping centers there, including The Promenade of the Peninsula. This outdoor mall includes a megaplex movie theater, many eateries, and an ice rink.

Areas of commerce include "The Promenade" mall, Malaga Cove, and Lunada Bay. Lesser known shopping centers include the Peninsula Center, Dominos and The Village.

The area where Marineland of the Pacific once stood subsequently served as an outdoor set for commercials, film productions, and, in 1996, the MTV Beach House. Fox filmed some scenes of its teen drama, The OC, at locations in and around Palos Verdes^[4]. The site is currently home of the luxury oceanfront resort, TERRANEA [1].

Donald Trump's latest venture is Trump National a golf course on the Ocean Trails cliffs. The 18th hole of the prior golf course fell victim to a landslide caused by a leak in the sanitary pipes underneath it. Trump has been heavily criticized for poorly managing the property, including dismissing employees en masse, failing to keep it in business, and upsetting locals with unnecessary and/or unapproved construction. In the summer of 2006, the Trump Organization illegally erected a 70 foot flagpole but was allowed to retain it after a City Council vote [2].

[edit] Education

The Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District has one of the highest rated API scores in California ^[5] , and has one of the highest average SAT scores ^[6] and one of the highest percentage of students successfully completing the Advanced Placement exams ^[7] in the county. There are three high schools, Palos Verdes Peninsula High School (formerly called Rolling Hills High School), Palos Verdes High School (the latter located just a half block from the Pacific Ocean), and Rancho Del Mar High School (located in Rolling Hills). Marymount College, a co-ed Roman Catholic two-year college is located in Rancho Palos Verdes. A private K-12 school, Chadwick School, is also located there. Rolling Hills Preparatory School [3], a private 6-12 school is also located on the peninsula. Rolling Hills Country Day School[4], adjacent to the Botanic Garden, offers a private K-8 education .

The Peninsula is served by the Palos Verdes Library District which operates the Peninsula Center, Miraleste, and Malaga Cove Libraries.

[edit] Recreation

The area is frequented by runners, hikers, horseback riders, bird watchers, surfers, scuba divers, and bicyclists. The area is home to several golf courses and country clubs. In addition, nude sunbathers formerly frequented Sacreds Cove (or "Smugglers Cove") until the city of Rancho Palos Verdes enacted a 1994 ordinance that ended such use of that beach.

The infamous Palos Verdes surf spots have been in the spotlight many times over issues of "localism". The most notorious surf spot for localism in Palos Verdes is Lunada Bay, which can hold any winter swell and has been known to rival Sunset Beach, Hawaii on a big day. Localism in Palos Verdes reached a turning point in 2001 when a civil rights lawsuit was filed after a particularly violent confrontation with Hermosa Beach surfers. [5] Surveillance cameras were placed in the surfing area but were later removed. [6]

Aerial view of Marineland of the Pacific, in 1965, on the Palos Verdes Peninsula.

Remains of the wrecked Greek freighter Dominator along the Palos Verdes Peninsula coastline, 1965.

[edit] Notable places

South Coast Botanic Garden a garden site that was an open pit mine from 1929 until 1956.
The wreck of the Dominator, a freighter that ran aground in 1961, was for years, a rather bizarre attraction for those willing to hike down the cliffs to the shoreline. Very little is left of the ship today.
Point Vicente Lighthouse is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Point Vicente Park is a popular spot for watching the migration of gray whales to and from their breeding lagoon in Baja California.
Point Fermin lighthouse in San Pedro.
Marineland of the Pacific is the location of the former aquatic theme park on the coast.
Korean Bell of Friendship is located near Point Fermin in San Pedro.
The Wayfarers Chapel opened in 1951, is a well-known landmark overseen by the Swedenborgian Church, and is on the National Register of Historic Places. The chapel is located at the western entrance of Portuguese Bend.
Portuguese Bend is one of the most geologically unstable areas in the world. Constant tectonic shifts (approximately 1/3 of an inch a day) and rock slides mean that Palos Verdes Drive South, the main road through the bend, is under constant repair.
Fort MacArthur Military Museum is located near Point Fermin in San Pedro.
In 2006, the 45 foot cabin cruiser Lady Hawk sank 2 miles from the Palos Verdes coast due to an engine fire [7].

[edit] In popular culture

The novels The Tribes of Palos Verdes by author Joy Nicholson and The Mark of Conte by Sonia Levitin, describe life from a teenager's perspective in Palos Verdes.

Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean films were partly photographed on and off the coast of Palos Verdes Peninsula. A tent city for production was constructed in the Redondo Beach Marina. The Black Pearl and several production vessels were seen on the waters daily as were helicopters filming for overhead shots.

Overhead shots were used for the fictional town of Costa Verde in Heroes, in the episode I Am Become Death

[edit] Notable residents

Juan Croucier famous bass player and songwriter of the band Ratt
George Takei famous for his work as Hikaru Sulu from Star Trek
Former resident Chuck Norris, of Walker, Texas Ranger fame, owns several properties in the region
Former resident Joe Montana, of San Francisco 49ers fame, used to live in Palos Verdes Estates during the football off-season
Christopher Boyce and Andrew Daulton Lee, who sold U.S. secrets to the Soviets and were portrayed in the book and movie The Falcon and the Snowman
Billionaire John Tu [8]
USC Head Football Coach Pete Carroll
Musician Gary Wright Glenn Hughes
Billboard model Angelyne
Actor Michael Dudikoff
Author, actor and filmmaker Scott Shaw
Former pro basketball players Elden Campbell
Pro basketball player Sasha Vujačić of the Los Angeles Lakers
Writer Deepak Chopra
Musician James Taylor^{[citation needed]}
Actor Richard Lynch
Pete Sampras (former tennis great)
Pro Basketball Player Luke Walton of the Los Angeles Lakers
Model Natalie Pack a finalist on the 12th season of America's Next Top Model
U.S. National Dancesport Champions (Professional Standard) and So You Think You Can Dance choreographers Heather Smith and Victor Veyrasset

Lindsay Davenport, 3 time Grand Slam winner and former tennis World No. 1

[edit] See also

Palos Verdes Blue - an endangered butterfly resident to the Palos Verdes Peninsula
Patryla, Jim. (2005). A Photographic Journey Back To Marineland of the Pacific. Lulu Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4116-7130-0.

[edit] References

^ "Palos Verdes Peninsula High School Profile". Palos Verdes Peninsula School District. http://www.pvpusd.k12.ca.us/penhi/report/200405profile.pdf#search=%22Palos%20Verdes%20Advanced%20Placement%22. Retrieved 2006-10-03.
^ "Rancho Palos Verdes Equestrian Maps". City of Rancho Palos Verdes. http://www.palosverdes.com/rpv/planning/equestrian/index.cfm. Retrieved 2006-10-03.
^ "The Most Expensive Zip Codes". Forbes. http://www.forbes.com/lifestyle/2005/04/22/cx_sc_0426homez_2.html. Retrieved 2006-10-03.
^ The O.C. Filming Locations
^ "Palos Verdes Local Educational Agency Report". California Department of Education. http://api.cde.ca.gov/APIBase2006/2005Base_DstApi.aspx?allcds=1964865. Retrieved 2006-10-03.
^ "School Wise Press School Snapshot: Palos Verdes Peninsula High School". School Wise Press. http://store.schoolwisepress.com/cgi-bin/parser.pl?sourcedoc=/snapshots/19/19-64865-1995588h.tmpl&rank=19/19_h_snapshots.html. Retrieved 2006-10-03.
^ "SAT, ACT and AP Test Results in California". California Department of Education. http://www.ed-data.k12.ca.us/Navigation/fsTwoPanel.asp?bottom=%2Fprofile%2Easp%3Flevel%3D05%26reportNumber%3D16. Retrieved 2006-10-03.

[edit] External links

Coordinates: 33°45′31″N 118°20′45″W / 33.7586472222°N 118.345844444°W / 33.7586472222; -118.345844444

[pvschoolreport-0] "Palos Verdes Peninsula High School Profile". Palos Verdes Peninsula School District. http://www.pvpusd.k12.ca.us/penhi/report/200405profile.pdf#search=%22Palos%20Verdes%20Advanced%20Placement%22. Retrieved 2006-10-03.

[horesemap-1] "Rancho Palos Verdes Equestrian Maps". City of Rancho Palos Verdes. http://www.palosverdes.com/rpv/planning/equestrian/index.cfm. Retrieved 2006-10-03.

[forbeszipcodes-2] "The Most Expensive Zip Codes". Forbes. http://www.forbes.com/lifestyle/2005/04/22/cx_sc_0426homez_2.html. Retrieved 2006-10-03.

[OC-3] The O.C. Filming Locations

[APIscore-4] "Palos Verdes Local Educational Agency Report". California Department of Education. http://api.cde.ca.gov/APIBase2006/2005Base_DstApi.aspx?allcds=1964865. Retrieved 2006-10-03.

[SAT-5] "School Wise Press School Snapshot: Palos Verdes Peninsula High School". School Wise Press. http://store.schoolwisepress.com/cgi-bin/parser.pl?sourcedoc=/snapshots/19/19-64865-1995588h.tmpl&rank=19/19_h_snapshots.html. Retrieved 2006-10-03.

[APscores-6] "SAT, ACT and AP Test Results in California". California Department of Education. http://www.ed-data.k12.ca.us/Navigation/fsTwoPanel.asp?bottom=%2Fprofile%2Easp%3Flevel%3D05%26reportNumber%3D16. Retrieved 2006-10-03.

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