Pacific Palisades

Pacific Palisades is a largely residential neighborhood in the Westside of the city of Los Angeles, located among Brentwood to the east, Malibu and Topanga to the west, Santa Monica to the southeast, the Santa Monica Bay to the southwest, and the Santa Monica Mountains to the north. It is about 7 miles (11 kilometers) west of the UCLA campus.  The Santa Monica Mountain range runs through the northern and eastern sections of Pacific Palisades, accessible through a series of trailheads.

History - Archeological evidence shows Native Americans 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 people. The closest Tongva 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 Tonga territory, neighboring the territory of the Chumash people to the north. Due to this close proximity to the Chumash, the culture in western Tongva territory contained elements of Chumash influence. 

The land that became Pacific Palisades was originally located within the boundaries of Rancho Boca de Santa Monica, granted by the governor of California during the Mexican period to Francisco Marquez and Ysidro Reyes 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. 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 in 1875.

In 1911, film director Thomas Ince created his Western film factory, "Inceville", which at its peak employed nearly 600 people. A decade later, the Rev. Charles H. Scott and the Southern California Methodist Episcopal Church 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 for Methodist missionaries. 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).

During their exile from Nazi Germany in the 1930s and 40s, many German and Austrian intellectuals and artists associated with the Exilliteratur settled in Pacific Palisades, including Thomas Mann and his wife Katia Mann (at 1550 San Remo Drive), Lion Feuchtwanger, Theodor W. Adorno, Vicki Baum, Oskar Homolka and Emil Ludwig. Villa Aurora 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 by the Sea”.

Neighborhoods - 

• The Via Bluffs and The Huntington Palisades are the neighborhoods that border the "village" proper to the south of Sunset Boulevard , 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 is located south of Sunset Boulevard beginning about 1⁄4 mile (400 meters) west of The Village, across Temescal Canyon – just past Palisades Charter High School. The El Medio Mesa extends for a long distance from Temescal Canyon all the way to where Sunset Boulevard meets the Pacific Coast Highway. As with The Via Bluffs and The Huntington Palisades, The El Medio Bluffs are located on a high ridge overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
• Castellammare is located along Pacific Coast Highway on small bluffs much closer to sea-level, north of where Sunset Boulevard meets PCH. This is the home of the Getty Villa and the narrow, winding streets in this neighborhood have Italian names and ocean breezes.
• Palisades Highlands is a community near the end of Sunset Blvd., bordering Topanga, about five minutes away from the center of Pacific Palisades (The Village).
• Rustic Canyon is the neighborhood east of Chautauqua Boulevard that dips into Santa Monica Canyon and includes the Will Rogers State Historic Park.
• The Riviera is a Palisades neighborhood two miles (three kilometers) east of the community's Village and features The Riviera Country Club, a 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. It borders Santa Monica and Brentwood. The Riviera Country Club hosts the Genesis Open on the PGA Tour 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 in 1983 and 1995. Ben Hogan 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.

Schools - 

Residents are zoned to Los Angeles Unified School District schools. The area is within Board District 4. 

Public

• Canyon Elementary School 
• Pacific Palisades Elementary 
• Marquez Elementary School 
• Paul Revere Middle School 

Charter

• Palisades High School

Private

• 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 Francais de Los Angeles