Browse Items (1409 total)

"Boots Malone" film set at Topanga Post Office

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A scene from "Boots Malone" was filmed at the Topanga Post Office and General Store in Pine Tree Circle.

"Boots Malone" is a 1952 American film noir drama film directed by William Dieterle. It stars William Holden as a down-on-his-luck sports…

"Commons" by Jim and Sue Sullivan

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"Commons" by ceramicists Jim and Sue Sullivan is an intricate mosaic table.

"Mose" Cheney inaugurates the first electrical pole

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Columbus Callan "Mose" Cheney turns symbolic shovel of dirt while children sing, commemorating the installation of the first electrical pole at junction of Old Topanga and Topanga Roads in 1928, which finally brought electricity to the Canyon.

"Save Topanga" protest sign

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A protester trying to save Summit Valley from the Canyon Oaks development.

"Sybil" by Vera T. Wood (1998)

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"Sybil" by Vera T. Wood (1998), a painted tile.

"Thank you" sign for Firefighters

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"Thank you" sign for 1993 firefighters.

"Thank you" signs for the 1993 Firefighters

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In the aftermath of the 1993 fire, "thank you" signs popped up all over Topanga Canyon.

"The Boss" Ellen Mills

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Ellen Mills knew so much about Topanga that Post Office Postmaster Oscar Reynoso nicknamed her "The Boss."

Evening Outlook Race trophies won by Topanga Yacht Club

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Fifteen sailors finished the first Evening Outlook Trophy Race, on Sunday, September 2, 1934. Seven were members of the Topanga Yacht Club (names in bold below). The winner was presented a bronze trophy by "beach beauty" Marilyn Connon. Others…

Topanga Journal, September 30, 1954 issue

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Headline: "Malibu Citizens Committee Asks 10 Questions on Water District Annexation."

1980 Flood Topples House

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House in the 700 block of Topanga Canyon Boulevard is toppled from its foundation by the February 1980 flood.

6 cartoons lambasting the Water Committee

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6 cartoons lambasting the foibles of the Water Committee, in the Topanga Businessmen's Association pamphlet.

A 1930 map marks Lower Topanga as a future park

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A 1930 map ("Diagram of Beach Frontage") marks Lower Topanga as the site of a future park, and the Santa Monica / Venice coastline as a future harbor.

A beach house wrecked by a storm and big waves

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Just west of the Topanga Beach Lagoon, a house is wrecked by a storm and big waves.

A boulder fell on Topanga Canyon Blvd.

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A boulder fell on Topanga Canyon Blvd. after heavy rains on January 9, 2005. Pictures of this "rock star" appeared in the news around the world.

A boy rides a horse by Shriner's Wayside Stand

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A boy rides a horse by Shriner's Wayside Stand. He is being watched by Lucie Loggins, who bought the restaurant and renamed it Step Inn Cafe.

A bridge crosses the Topanga Lagoon

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A bridge crosses the Topanga Lagoon, near Cooper's Camp and De Long Cafe. Plans were afoot to replace the bridge, which happened in 1933. This photo comes from a 1930 report submitted to the Citizens' Committee on Parks, Playgrounds, and Beaches, by…

A cable car was used to measure Topanga Creek

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A cable car was used to gauge the water level of Topanga Creek at the bottom of the S-Turns.

A car and a horse at the Topanga Post Office

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A car and a horse at the Topanga Post Office and General Store

A Cheney family outing

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A Cheney family outing. George Cheney (right) used this 1910 Garford to carry passengers and mail to the Post Office.

A couple stands by the chimney of their house lost to fire

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A man and woman stand by the chimney of the house at Brookside that they lost to the 1938 fire.

A dancer and drummer perform at the Reggae Picnic

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A dancer and drummer perform at the Reggae Picnic at Theatricum Botanicum.

A diver searches for the Ameco, off Topanga Beach

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A diver searches for the Ameco, off Topanga Beach.

The fishing boat "Ameco" capsized off Topanga Beach, and 16 people drowned on Memorial Day, May 30, 1930. This remains the worst boating accident in the Santa Monica Bay.

A fire burns to Topanga Canyon Blvd.

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Firemen watch as a fire burns to Topanga Canyon Blvd. in Lower Topanga.

A flood engulfs a house in Lower Topanga

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The Topanga Creek flood engulfs a house and van in Brookside in Lower Topanga.

A hiking group walks down Topanga Canyon Blvd.

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A hiking group walks down Topanga Canyon Blvd. to the Time Tunnel.

A horse carriage pauses in front of Arch Rock

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A man stands beside a horse carriage, in front of Arch Rock

A horse wagon carries passengers across Topanga Creek

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A horse wagon carries passengers across Topanga Creek, while two women walk along the bank. The caption says, "Going up 'Topango' Canyon -- crossing a little stream is Emma and Jim on front seat, Mrs. H. Esther next, Mother S. sitting in back --…

A man in a suit and a woman in a dress stand beside a cave

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A man in a suit and a woman in a long dress stand beside a large rock with a shallow cave on Topanga Canyon Road in Lower Topanga.

A man watches a house wrecked by the flood

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A man watches a house that the Topanga Creek flood had carried for half a mile in Lower Topanga Canyon.

A new coast road is built through Cooper's Camp

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A new coast road is built through Cooper's Camp, and over a Native American burial mound.

A Nike missile stalls on its way to the Strawberry Festival

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A Nike Hercules anti-missile missile was stalled for several hours at the first turn up to the Community House, on its way to the Strawberry Festival. Vance Hoyt gives a helpful push.

A Pawlowski family picnic by Topanga Creek

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A Pawlowski family picnic by Topanga Creek. Peter and Pauline, with his parents Pelagia and Julius.

A prison camp in Lower Topanga housed a chain gang

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A prison camp in Lower Topanga housed a chain gang while they built the Topanga Canyon Road.

"The great dormitory sits in the center of what will soon be a beautiful garden. The prisoners have already marked off the plot for flower…

A stagecoach raises dust in the S-Turns

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A stagecoach, drawn by six horses, raises dust on the dirt road through the S-Turns.

A swimming hole in Topanga Creek, near Camp Wildwood

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The Greenleaf family stands beside a natural swimming hole in Topanga Creek, north of Camp Wildwood.

A woman in a dress stands under Arch Rock

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A woman in a dress stands under Arch Rock. The retaining wall has been erased from the colorized version of this photo.

A yucca plant flowers in the snow on Sycamore Drive

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A yucca plant flowers in the snow on Sycamore Drive, overlooking George Williams's Topanga Hardware store on Old Topanga Canyon Rd. at center, and Firman Gray's house on the left.

Abalone Shell Arch

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Black and white photo of abalone shell arch and "wedding cake rock turned" circa 1920

Abalone Shell Arch 1985

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Color Photograph of Santa Maria Ranch "Abalone" arch and yard. "Old Santa Maria Ranch - Taconis"

Abalone Shell Arch 1985 with Donkey

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Color Photograph of Santa Marina Abalone Arch and yard (with donkey)
"Santa Maria Ranch - Taconis"
"Photo by Bob Wiley"
"1984"

Actor Will Geer

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Actor Will Geer moved to Topanga to escape the Hollywood blacklist. He supported himself by growing and selling vegetables and plants.

Actors read Ziff's Magazine at the Topanga Post Office

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Cowboy actors, from Westwood Pictures, pose in an apparent advertisement for Ziff's Magazine (March 1925 issue) at the Topanga Post Office and General Store, at Pine Tree Circle. Ziff's Magazine was an irreverent joke book published in Chicago, IL…

Actress Lindsey Wagner at Topanga Beach

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Lindsey Wagner starred in "The Bionic Woman," a TV show that aired from January 14, 1976, to May 13, 1978.

Ad for Laura Way Mathiesen's Marmont Studio

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Marmont Studio
Topanga Canyon, One-Half Mile From the Beach
LAURA WAY MATHIESEN
ORIGINAL PAINTINGS
Montana, Yellowstone Park, Colorado, California
For Tourists—Souvenirs that are “different.’
For Residents—Home decorations that recall…

Adelaide Gibbon at her stone house

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William and Adelaide Gibbon built this stone house, which featured her wood carvings.

Adrian Santa Maria with Hunted Deer

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5"x9" photograph of Adrian (Teet) , age 12, with rifle and "1st deer"

Aerial photograph with close-ups, 1962

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Aerial photograph with close-ups of Fernwood, Pine Tree Circle, Trippet Ranch, and Hillside Drive.

Aerial Tanker Douses 1960 Fire

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The October 1960 fire on Hillside Drive was put down in record time. An aerial tanker is seen reflected against the smoke, dropping borate-fortified water.

Aerial view and map of Lower Topanga, 1970

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Lower Topanga aerial photo and map show Topanga Beach, the Snake Pit, the Rodeo Grounds, Brookside, and Sunset Mesa.

Aerial view of entrance to Topanga Canyon, 2022

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Aerial view of entrance to Topanga Canyon shows Oasis Imports, the Malibu Feed Bin, and 7-Eleven gas station.

Aerial view of Lower Topanga, 1926

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Aerial photo of Lower Topanga, 1926, showing Cooper's Camp (motel) and the Rodeo Grounds.

Aerial view of Lower Topanga, 1927

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Aerial photo of Lower Topanga, 1927, showing Cooper's Camp (motel) and the Rodeo Grounds.

Aerial view of Lower Topanga, 1928

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Aerial photo of Lower Topanga, 1928, showing Cooper's Camp (motel) and the Rodeo Grounds.

Aerial view of Lower Topanga, 1997

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Lower Topanga aerial photo shows Topanga Beach, the Snake Pit, the Rodeo Grounds, Brookside, and Sunset Mesa.

Aerial view of the Topanga Center, 1968

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Aerial view of the Topanga Center, location of the Pine Tree Circle and the Post Office.

Aerial view of Topanga Beach, 1925

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Aerial view of Topanga Beach, which is called "the probable future site of the finest Pacific coast estates."

Aerial view of Topanga Beach, 1938

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Aerial view of Topanga Beach shows the motel, Topanga Lagoon, Old Malibu Road, Topanga Lane, Shady Lane, and the Rodeo Grounds.

Aerial view of Topanga Beach, 1980s

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Aerial view of Topanga Beach, from Las Tunas Beach to the Charthouse Restaurant, along Pacific Coast Highway.

Agnes Venneman

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Agnes Venneman reared eight children in Topanga.

Al Martinez stands on a bridge

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Al Martinez stands on a bridge crafted by wood carver Barry Lysaght.

Albert Hoyt and Judge John Merrick at the first THS meeting

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Albert Hoyt, temporary president of the newly formed Topanga Historical Society, looks over a book with Judge John J. Merrick (right), president of the Malibu Historical Society. The book, "Happy Days in Southern California" by Frederick Rindge of…

Aldo Vidali

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In 1930, Aldo was born to an Italian family in Ixelles, Belgium. As a child he went to Italy and from there he began his life of traveling. His travels have taken him to almost every continent in the world. He has studied at the University of…

Alice Anderson and children play in the snow

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Alice Anderson and children play in the snow in the Winfield Road pasture. The children include Molly Anderson, Carol Haines, Lynn Haines, and Bruce Haines.

Alice Anderson skis in the Winfield Road pasture

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Alice Anderson skis in the Winfield Road pasture after The Big Snow. Children from left: Carol Haines, Lynn Haines (above), Molly Anderson, and Bruce Haines.