THE MIRLO GATE LODGE TOWER
KING NEPTUNE STATUE IN MALAGA COVE PLAZA
The Malaga Cove Plaza is well-known for its beautiful fountain featuring Neptune perched high above. Created by an unknown artist in the 17th century as a copy after the original 16th-century bronze fountain by Giambologna, in Bologna, Italy. The sculpture was imported from Italy by the collector, Arnoldo Adolfo di Segni in the late 1920s and then purchased by the Palos Verdes Project. The sculpture was restored and rededicated in 1969 and 1999, and now has a discretely placed fig leaf. The photo below is taken from the Neptune Statue’s official, ceremony in the Malaga Cove Plaza on February 16, 1930.
PALOS VERDES GOLF CLUB
Palos Verdes Golf Club opened on November 15, 1924. The golf course was designed and built by the team of William P. “Billy” Bell and George C. Thomas and landscaping designed by the Olmsted brothers. It is a classic example of courses built during the era that has become known as the “Golden Age of Golf Course Architecture”.
The two-story, eleven-room Spanish-style clubhouse is located at 3301 Via Campesina in Val Monte. The photo on the bottom middle shows three women and several men, dressed in plus-fours, gathered around the flagstone steps and pathway. Seated on the bench next to his golf clubs is Donald K. Lawyer (Sales Manager, Palos Verdes Project and Chairman of the Greens Committee), dressed in a long-sleeved shirt, bowtie, plus-fours, and dark-colored vest. Standing at top of stairs at left is Jim Fiske, golf pro at the Palos Verdes Golf Club, wearing a V-neck sweater, white shirt, and bowtie.
LA VENTA INN
The Inn, originally built as a clubhouse to entertain realtors and prospective landowners, opened in the summer of 1923 and was the first permanent building constructed by the Palos Verdes Project. The name was soon changed to La Venta (meaning “The Sale” in Spanish) and the inn served as a sales office and architectural prototype for the peninsula.
During the 1930s it became a weekend retreat for notable celebrities such as Charles Lindbergh, Erroll Flynn, Betty Grable, Bob Hope, Tyrone Power, Cary Grant, and Gloria Swanson. Briefly, in 1942 the Inn became the central observation post of the coastal artillery. In 1978, La Venta Inn became the first structure designated as a historical landmark by the Rancho de los Palos Verdes Historical Society.
Malaga Cove Plaza
This photo is from the dedication ceremony of the Gardner building in the now Malaga Cove Plaza. The Gardner building by W.W. Gardner was the site for the first classrooms and library in the community which opened on September 8, 1925.