Palisades Park

Maybe it’s coincidence, but the home of the L.A. Leggers is just a hair over 26.2 acres. Donated to the city in 1892 by wealthy landowners Sen. John P Jones and Col. and Arcadia Bandini de Stearns Baker, it was originally called “Linda Vista Park” but changed to Palisades Park in the 1920’s as it began to take its present shape.

You can still see the sites of the original properties on the east side of Ocean Blvd. that served as the vacation homes and/or residences of the high and mighty of Los Angeles, circa 1900. Palisades Park served as their front yard, a spectacular walkway for viewing the whole coast. The park exists partly because its founders knew that homes could never be built on the unstable palisades, but ironically the park serves as a protective barrier for Ocean Avenue. The 110-year-old landscaping has significantly slowed erosion of the cliffs to a crawl.

Film and TV love Palisades Park: thousands of shoots have taken advantage of the spectacular vistas: only the Hollywood sign itself or a palm tree lined street are more classic “L.A.” shots the our green bluffs over the blue Pacific. Palisades Park also serves as a sort of open-air museum of Santa Monica, and in the coming months I’ll take a look at the many artifacts we pass every Saturday. Have you ever wondered why there are two cannons in the park? Where that totem pole came from? Or who that lady in the Rose Garden is?

Keep your eyes peeled for these and many more…