Browse Items (1196 total)

Geological map of Topanga Beach shows fault lines, 1964

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Preliminary geologic map of the unincorporated part of the Topanga quadrangle, Los Angeles Country, California.

Geological map of Topanga Beach shows fault lines, 1973

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Preliminary geologic map of the unincorporated part of the Topanga quadrangle, Los Angeles Country, California.

Dave Sanderson, Mayor of the Snake Pit

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Dave Sanderson, unofficial Mayor of the Snake Pit, at home, with a bougainvillea plant and two cats.

Lori Salkow Cleary, Bonnie Vincent, Victoria Andersen

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Lori Salkow Cleary models her scarf dresses, made from Mexican fabric, with Bonnie Vincent (on the horse) and Victoria Andersen (in pink), in the Rodeo Grounds.

State Parks's Lower Topanga "Battle Plan" cartoon

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A political cartoon shows State Parks's "Battle Plan" to evict the Lower Topanga community. Rangers in camouflage target the Malibu Feed Bin and say, "To subdue Malibu—first you 'take out' their landmarks!"

Princess Lois Radziwill at the Las Tunas Isle Motel

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Princess Lois Radziwill reports a $20,000 jewelry robbery to Malibu Detective Sergeant E. P. Ellson at the Las Tunas Isle Motel.

Cowgirl Dorothy Morrell smiles at her horse

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Cowgirl Dorothy Morrell smiles at her horse in a publicity photo for the Elks Rodeo, held at Topanga Beach in 1923. A world champion, she entertained with broncho busting and trick riding.

Cowboy “Skeeter” Bill Robbins rides a bucking steer

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Cowboy “Skeeter” Bill Robbins rides a bucking steer in the Rodeo Grounds to practice for the 1923 Elks Rodeo at Topanga Beach.

Elinore Hughes was in a beauty pageant at the Elks Rodeo

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Elinore Hughes was in a beauty pageant at the 1923 Elks Rodeo (Round-Up) at Topanga Beach.

Max Dupont's yacht at Topanga Beach

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Max Dupont's yacht at Topanga Beach. A cinematographer, Dupont invented DuPont Vitacolor in 1930. He is known for "The Third Alarm" (1930), "The Speed Classic" (1928) and "The Three Must-Get-Theres" (1922).

Strawberry Queen Sharon Brown, 1966

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Strawberry Queen Sharon Brown, 15, reigned over the two-day Topanga Strawberry Festival with her princesses (from left) Frances Trank, Shirley Hoover, Brenna, and unknown.

Lower Topanga aerial photo, 1970

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

Lower Topanga aerial photo, 1997

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

Michael Saenz and Darlene Shelton at the Saenz house

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Michael Saenz and Darlene Shelton at the Saenz house on Topanga Beach.

Topanga map, 1950

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Department of County Forester and Fire Warden. Divisional Map No. 1 - Battalion 5.

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…

Aerial photo of Lower Topanga, 1928

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

Frank Hudson with son Charles Hudson

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Frank Hudson with son Charles Hudson, who tried to canoe from Topanga Beach to Catalina Island.

Charles Hudson leaves Topanga Beach in a canoe

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A cartoon shows Charles Hudson leaving Topanga Beach in a canoe after boasting that he could reach Catalina Island.

Aerial photo of Lower Topanga, 1927

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

Aerial photo 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 Topanga Beach

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

Topanga Beach map, 1925

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Topanga Beach map, 1925, shows Brookside Drive, Shady Lane, The Rodeo Grounds, Topanga Lane (Topanga Canyon Lane), Old Malibu Road, and the former site of Arch Rock (Natural Arch).

Elks ride in a wagon to the Topanga Beach rodeo

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Prominent members of the Santa Monica Elks Lodge are shown riding in a wagon pulled by reindeer to the Topanga Beach rodeo. The photographic cartoon was created by Fred Coffey

Jack Curtis and Andy Andrews break ground for the rodeo

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Jack Curtis and Andy Andrews break ground for the Elks' Rodeo at Topanga Beach. The Elks built a frontier village.

Rodeo performer "Tuck" Gibson rides his horse

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Rodeo performer "Tuck" Gibson rides his horse Steamboat in the Rodeo Grounds.

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.

Florence Spence gives Edna Mae Spence a bath

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Florence Spence gives Edna Mae Spence a bath at their home on Topanga Lane, which would become Spence's Cabins.

Potter's Store at Topanga Beach

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Potter's Store at Topanga Beach was nicknamed "The Skyscraper." After it was damaged by floods, Charles Potter rebuilt it, then moved it across the street, and renamed it Potter's Topanga Trading Post.

Will Geer at his Theatricum Botanicum

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Will Geer breaks ground for the Shakespeare garden at his Theatricum Botanicum.

A hiking group walks down Topanga Canyon Blvd.

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

Topanga Ranch Motel key

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Topanga Ranch Motel cabin #19 was the home of Jack Lester Sr. and his sons Kim and Jack Jr. They lived in multiple cabins from 1963 until it closed in 2002... about half of the motel's existence!

Program for the Elks' Round-Up at Cooper's Ranch

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A program for the Elks' Round-Up at Cooper's Ranch shows a list of prizes.

On June 2-3, 1923, the Elks threw a two-day rodeo at Cooper's Ranch (behind Cooper's Camp, in the Rodeo Grounds). The stated purpose was to raise money to send their band…

Dick Sherman drives a tractor

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Richard "Dick" Sherman founded Topanga Underground in 1971, a business specializing in designing and installing septic systems, water mains, and underground utilities.

John Wiley and Laura Wiley sit on a motorcycle

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John Wiley and Laura Wiley sit on a Triumph motorcycle in a publicity photo for the film "Premonition," directed by Otto Preminger's son, Otto Preminger Jr. The film was not completed.

John Wiley and Marguerite Wiley sit on a motorcycle

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John Wiley and Marguerite Wiley sit on a Triumph motorcycle in a publicity photo for the film "Premonition," directed by Otto Preminger's son, Otto Preminger Jr. The film was not completed.

Grand Marshall Will Geer at Topanga Days

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Grand Marshall Will Geer presides at Topanga Days. Penny Peterson is next to him in a blue dress.

In the background are Jan Moore in a blue shirt, and Michelle Christensen with blond hair under the "Topanga Days" sign.

In the foreground is…

Herta Ware, Will Geer, and Anne Lanaro at the parade

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Grand Marshall Will Geer waits with ex-wife Herta Ware and Anne Lanaro for the start of the Topanga Days Parade.

Dolores Trujillo drives a wagon through Topanga Creek

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Topanga pioneer Dolores Trujillo (probably in the left front seat) drives through Topanga Creek in a horse-drawn wagon, transporting the chain gang's road-building equipment back to the beach.

Charlie Chaplin escapes from prison in "The Adventurer"

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Charlie Chaplin runs away from the chain gang and prison camp at Topanga Beach, in his film "The Adventurer," 1917

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 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.

Women sit beside a large rock, holding flowers

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Women, wearing dresses and large hats, hold flowers and sit with men in suits beside a large rock on the bank of Topanga Creek in Lower Topanga.

Men in suits and women in dresses on Topanga Canyon Road

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Men in suits and women in long dresses pause on Topanga Canyon Road in Lower Topanga.

Five men in suits pose beside Topanga Creek

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Five men in suits pose beside Topanga Creek in Lower Topanga. A jacket is draped over their car.

Two men in suits walk down Topanga Canyon Road

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Two men in suits walk down Topanga Canyon Road in Lower Topanga. They have draped their coats over their shoulders.

Two cars park on the newly widened Topanga Canyon Road

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Two cars full of people park on the newly widened Topanga Canyon Road in Lower Topanga. On the right, a man gets water from a spring.

Theodore Gegoux painting, "Topanga Canyon, Mountains on the Coast," 1915

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Theodore Gegoux's painting, "Topanga Canyon, Mountains on the Coast," shows Topanga Beach, Topanga Lagoon, and the entrance to Topanga Canyon.

Jack Rabbit Lodge, a long barn, and a plowed field

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Jack Rabbit Lodge, a long barn, and a plowed field were once beside the Topanga Lagoon at Topanga Beach.

The Topanga Canyon road between the coast and the grade

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The Topanga Canyon road was once a narrow dirt road, as seen here between the coast and the grade.

Topanga Beach before the automobile age

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Topanga Beach had only one house "before the automobile age." This photo was taken from Sunset Mesa.

D. W. Griffith directs a Western on horseback

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D. W. Griffith directed the Western "Crossing the American Prairies in the Early Fifties" in Lower Topanga. He spoke through a megaphone from the saddle of a cream-colored horse. He included 200 cowboys from nearby ranches, 50 women and children, 120…

Western actors play Native Americans and settlers

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D. W. Griffith directed the Western "Crossing the American Prairies in the Early Fifties" in Lower Topanga. He spoke through a megaphone from the saddle of a cream-colored horse. He included 200 cowboys from nearby ranches, 50 women and children, 120…

Western actors with rifles and wagons play settlers

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D. W. Griffith directed the Western "Crossing the American Prairies in the Early Fifties" in Lower Topanga. He spoke through a megaphone from the saddle of a cream-colored horse. He included 200 cowboys from nearby ranches, 50 women and children, 120…

Native-American skulls discovered in Lower Topanga

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William Wills Coolbaugh discovered the bones of Native Americans in a mound in Lower Topanga. At least one of the skulls had an arrowhead embedded in it. Others were crushed. A Stanford Archaeology class came to assist, and conjectured that the…

William Wills Coolbaugh holds a Native-American skull

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William Wills Coolbaugh holds a Native-American skull that he dug out of a mound in Lower Topanga.

Native-American artifacts discovered in Lower Topanga

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William Wills Coolbaugh discovered these Native-American artifacts in a mound in Lower Topanga. In addition to arrowheads, spearheads, necklaces, and skulls, they include an "idol" statue, made of polished bone, on which “The eyes and nose of the…

E. Roger Stearns fishes in Topanga Creek from his car

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Car salesman E. Roger Stearns made a publicity stunt out of fishing in Topanga Creek from the seat of his red Velie,

Rock riprap along Topanga Creek, near PCH

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Boulders were placed as rock riprap along the right bank of Topanga Creek, 600 feet upstream from Pacific Coast Highway.

Bridge over Topanga Creek, at the bottom of the S-Turns

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A man walks on the bridge over Topanga Creek, at the bottom of the S-Turns, where the water-level gauging station was.

Close-up of cable car 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 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.