Guest Column/Rick Wallace
ALONG THE PCH
I would guess that 99 percent of the people who drive along the PCH did not know there was parking at Solstice Park in the first place.
If you have not yet been to the Escondido Falls, you are missing a special and secret Malibu treat. They are less than a one-hour walk from PCH. You will be surprised at the surrounding wilderness and beauty of the falls, especially after a rain.
The trail is very easy. Park in the lot at PCH and east Winding Way. You must walk up Winding Way, less than one mile to the end. Access the trail and walk down to the creek. Turn left and head upstream about a mile to the lower falls, marveling at the virgin wilderness. The path is flat and wide.
Don’t stop there, where the wooden swing hangs. The best is yet to come. Ascend the trail to the right and scale the hills up to the falls. It is not difficult. Half way, you will catch your first glimpse of the ocean view, near small falls and pools. At the top, a large pond catches the dramatic falls that drop over 100 feet. It is a beautiful place for a picnic, swimming or meditation. An entire leisurely visit can be accomplished in less than three hours.
And speaking of secrets, many of us love Taco Bell, though few of us will admit it. The “Express” outlet is highly welcome!
“He had missed out on so much delicious coconut cream pie. Lawrence was not going to miss out on any more!” Where in Malibu are those words displayed? Answer below.
There is a condo unit on Las Flores Beach that has sold five times in the past eight years.
Only one person shows up on the list of local Realtors in 1951 and 2001: Louis Busch. It was Busch who wrote about real estate in the 1975 Chamber of Commerce Directory: “Home values may range from mid-$70,000 to $500,000. A popular choice of housing is a ranch style home on an acre estate site in the $125,000 price range. A moderate beach home may be acquired for $135,000, while a beach front estate may cost $750,000.”
I wonder how many millions of miles have been jogged on the Pepperdine athletic track.
Wouldn’t you agree it is a pleasant experience going to the Colony shopping plaza? I love visiting there. The only bad part is that parking gets more difficult. To be honest, sometimes I park at the opposite end of where I need to visit, just so I have an excuse to walk the length of the shops twice.
That little statue girl outside Diedrich’s keeps reading the same words over and over again, in her little statue book. You read them once already today, above. (Lawrence is a porcupine in the storybook of the same title, by Janet Morgan Stoele.)
Malibu was originally a cattle ranch of the Rindge/Adamson family. Through the years, several ranches later dotted the landscape of our fair town, particularly in Ramirez Canyon and the Paradise Cove ravine. Malibu’s final cattle operation was located at the back of Bonsall (Zuma) Canyon and closed down in the 1980s.
If you must cross PCH without a crosswalk, remember to do the whole width at once. Never stand in the middle!
Malibu has no structure that rises more than four stories, except for a few beach homes at the west end of town, built into a hillside. Pepperdine and the Hughes Lab aside, only three locations reach four stories. The condos along Civic Center have two four-story buildings built in 1972 and just above them the Deville townhouses, circa 1965, are all two-story units, one atop the other. Not even the still-fresh Malibu Beach Hotel has such height. Malibu’s original “high-rise,” however, began as a hotel.
The Outrigger condominiums on Carbon Beach were built in 1961 as the Malibu Terrace Hotel with 42 rooms. It lasted for a few years until it was converted to apartments. The final conversion to condos occurred in 1974. The Hawaiian-like complex has a pool, private patio and beach, and underwent an extensive remodel in 1990.
There are likely more hotel rooms in Malibu that no longer exist than do. There are unquestionably more locations of motels that were than are.
How in the world did the Coastal Commission allow Webb Way to be widened? Didn’t they know that valuable ESHA scrub and dirt was eliminated along the side of the road?
The original liquidation of the Marblehead Land Company in the 1930s was advertised in a suede-covered prospectus that promised, among a litany of claims, the new Rancho Malibu “indeed is an empire of breath-taking beauty … nature’s masterpiece framed by a towering background of majestic Mountains … The long years during which this property was inaccessible will now benefit the new residents … A general comprehensive plan has been made for the orderly development of the Rancho Malibu into an American Riviera.”
“This plan will assure every owner of private property the benefit of protected seclusion. Several hotel sites have been provided, with space for surrounding golf clubs and recreational facilities. Recreational parks have been set aside … Malibu now becomes the setting for the most distinctive beach community in the world…”
“Private community bathing beaches have been set aside for the perpetual use of residents … Breakwaters and yacht harbors will become available … Private beach club sites and a casino to attract world travelers form a part of the general plan…”
There is always a plan.