Pacific Palisades is a neighborhood in the Westside region of Los Angeles, California, situated about 20 miles (32 km) west of Downtown Los Angeles. Pacific Palisades was formally founded in 1921 by a Methodist organization, and in the years that followed became a refuge for Jewish artists and intellectuals fleeing the Holocaust. The Palisades would later be sought after by celebrities and other high-profile individuals seeking privacy. It is known for: its seclusion and for being a close-knit community with a small-town feel, its Mediterranean climate, hilly topography, natural environment, its abundance of parkland and hiking trails, its 3-mile (4.8 km) strip of coastline, and for being home to a number of architecturally significant homes. As of 2021, the community's population was 22,977.

 

Pacific Palisades is a largely residential community and does not attract many tourists other than day visitors to Gladstones Malibu, the local beaches, the Getty Villa or the Self-Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine.

 

Nicknamed "the Palisades", “Lades” and "Pali" by surfers and locals, the 3-mile length (4.8 km) of the Palisades coast spans from after Sorrento Beach in Santa Monica to the south, and ending at Sunset Point Beach and Malibu to the north. Beaches along the Pacific Palisades coast include: Will Rogers State Beach, Sunset Point Beach, and one of the few unofficially gay beaches in Los Angeles, Ginger Rogers Beach. The many parks within the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area lie along the ridges above the community, along with local parks that include Will Rogers State Historic Park.

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The Palisades is bounded by Brentwood to the east, Malibu to the west, Santa Monica to the southeast, the Santa Monica Bay to the southwest, Topanga and the Santa Monica Mountains to the north.

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Native American Period

Archeological evidence shows Native American Indians 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 Tongva 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. 

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Spanish Period

The land that became Pacific Palisades was originally within the boundaries of Rancho Boca de Santa Monica, granted by the governor of California during the Spanish 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 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.