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Aerial view of Topanga Beach, 1925
Aerial view of Topanga Beach, which is called "the probable future site of the finest Pacific coast estates."
Topanga Beach map, 1925
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
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
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
Rodeo performer "Tuck" Gibson rides his horse Steamboat in the Rodeo Grounds.
A new coast road is built through Cooper's Camp
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
Florence Spence gives Edna Mae Spence a bath at their home on Topanga Lane, which would become Spence's Cabins.
Will Geer at his Theatricum Botanicum
Will Geer breaks ground for the Shakespeare garden at his Theatricum Botanicum.
Topanga Ranch Motel key
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
A program for the Elks' Round-Up (Elks Rodeo) 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…
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…
Dick Sherman drives a tractor
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
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
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.
Dolores Trujillo drives a wagon through Topanga Creek
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.
Cars pass Jack Rabbit Lodge at Topanga Beach
Cars pass Jack Rabbit Lodge and the Topanga Lagoon at Topanga Beach.
Charlie Chaplin escapes from prison in "The Adventurer"
Charlie Chaplin runs away from the chain gang and prison camp at Topanga Beach, in his film "The Adventurer," 1917
A car parks at the bottom of the S-Turns
A man and woman park their car on the curb of the newly widened Topanga Canyon Road, at the bottom of the S-Turns.
A man in a suit and a woman in a dress stand beside a cave
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
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
Men in suits and women in long dresses pause on Topanga Canyon Road in Lower Topanga.
Five men in suits pose beside Topanga Creek
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
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
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
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
Jack Rabbit Lodge, a long barn, and a plowed field were once beside the Topanga Lagoon at Topanga Beach.
Cars drive on a dirt road at Topanga Beach
Cars drive on a dirt road at Topanga Beach near the former site of Arch Rock.
The Topanga Canyon road between the coast and the grade
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
Topanga Beach had only one house "before the automobile age." This photo was taken from Sunset Mesa.
"The Last Drop of Water" shoots at Topanga Beach, 3/3
D. W. Griffith directed the Western "The Last Drop of Water" (working title: "Crossing the American Prairies in the Early Fifties" partly in Lower Topanga. He spoke through a megaphone from the saddle of a cream-colored horse. He included 200 cowboys…
"The Last Drop of Water" shoots at Topanga Beach, 2/3
D. W. Griffith directed the Western "The Last Drop of Water" (working title: "Crossing the American Prairies in the Early Fifties" partly in Lower Topanga. He spoke through a megaphone from the saddle of a cream-colored horse. He included 200 cowboys…
"The Last Drop of Water" shoots at Topanga Beach, 1/3
D. W. Griffith directed the Western "The Last Drop of Water" (working title: "Crossing the American Prairies in the Early Fifties" partly in Lower Topanga. He spoke through a megaphone from the saddle of a cream-colored horse. He included 200 cowboys…
Native-American skulls discovered in Lower Topanga
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
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
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
Car salesman E. Roger Stearns made a publicity stunt out of fishing in Topanga Creek from the seat of his red Velie,
Close-up of cable car used to measure Topanga Creek
A cable car was used to gauge the water level of Topanga Creek at the bottom of the S-Turns.
A swimming hole in Topanga Creek, near Camp Wildwood
The Greenleaf family stands beside a natural swimming hole in Topanga Creek, north of Camp Wildwood.
People gather at a day party at 3726 Rodeo Grounds, 2/15
People take a group photo on a couch at James Mathers's party at 3726 Rodeo Grounds.
BACK ROW:
Christoph Marquardsen, Michele Capra, Bernt Capra, Jean-Louis Bartoli, Kendall Perkins ("Lyf"), Robin Paz ("Lunch Lady").
FRONT ROW:
Daisy Duck…
BACK ROW:
Christoph Marquardsen, Michele Capra, Bernt Capra, Jean-Louis Bartoli, Kendall Perkins ("Lyf"), Robin Paz ("Lunch Lady").
FRONT ROW:
Daisy Duck…
People gather at a day party at 3726 Rodeo Grounds, 1/15
People take a group photo on a couch at James Mathers's party at 3726 Rodeo Grounds.
BACK ROW:
Michele Capra, Calvin Lunsford, Farengis Danesh, Kendall Perkins ("Lyf"), Robin Paz ("Lunch Lady"), Sam Rollins.
FRONT ROW:
Daisy Duck McCrackin,…
BACK ROW:
Michele Capra, Calvin Lunsford, Farengis Danesh, Kendall Perkins ("Lyf"), Robin Paz ("Lunch Lady"), Sam Rollins.
FRONT ROW:
Daisy Duck McCrackin,…
T. H. Webster painting, "Topango Canyon," 1934
This watercolor painting shows Marmont Studio, the home of painter Laura Way Mathiesen at Brookside. It burned in the 1938 fire.
Rancho San Vicente y Santa Monica map, 1840s
This Rancho San Vicente y Santa Monica map from the 1840s (specifically a diseño: a rough map required to accompany Spanish and Mexican land grant petitions), shows perhaps the earliest depiction of Topanga Canyon.
Costumed men ride horses on the beach
Costumed men ride horses (and maybe camels) in a line on Topanga Beach, near the former Arch Rock. This could be for a film.
Site of the recently collapsed Arch Rock
A dirt road winds past the site of the recently collapsed Arch Rock.
Site of the recently collapsed Arch Rock, red bicycle
A red bicycle lies at the side of the dirt road at the site of the recently collapsed Arch Rock.
Rancho Boca de Santa Monica map
Map shows boundary of the Rancho Boca de Santa Monica. Also included are the oil derricks of the Port Los Angeles Oil Company, the Port Los Angeles Pier ("Long Wharf"), Dryden's Well, Arroyo de Topango, Santa Monica Cañón, and the Santa Monica Pier.
Unknown artist painting, "Jack Rabbit Lodge," early 1900s
The lodge beside the Topanga Lagoon was inhabited by fishermen until prospector William Wills Coolbaugh bought it in 1909. A deputy sheriff burned it down on March 22, 1911, to evict the illegal homesteader.
A woman stands on a hill above the Topanga Lagoon
A woman stands on a hill above the Topanga Lagoon, holding flowers.
Mouth of the Topanga Creek
The mouth of the Topanga Creek empties into the ocean, with Jack Rabbit Lodge in the background.
A horse wagon carries passengers across Topanga Creek
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 --…
At the entrance to The Topango
The Topanga Creek and Lagoon are barely visible "at the entrance to The Topango." In the background are a field of crops and Jack Rabbit Lodge.
A woman in a dress stands under Arch Rock
A woman in a dress stands under Arch Rock. The retaining wall has been erased from the colorized version of this photo.
The White Squadron pauses for lunch in Brookside
The White Squadron pauses for lunch in Brookside. The trip of 15 steam cars, carrying 67 people, was organized by Col. F. C. Fenner of the “White garage.”
Topanga Beach map, 1903
A Topanga Beach map from 1903 shows four houses and the "Natural" Arch Rock.
Laurie Lanaro rides bike at Topanga Elementary School
Laurie Lanaro rides a Schwinn StingRay bicycle on the upper playground at Topanga Elementary School.
Boys play basketball at Topanga Elementary School
Perry Lanaro (white shirt) plays basketball with friends on the upper playground at Topanga Elementary School.
Barbara Luray painting, "April: B. (Dwarf Brodiaea?)," 1956
"Wild Flowers Topanga Canyon" is a series of 22 watercolor paintings by artist Barbara Luray, who lived in Topanga in the late '50s, '60s, and '70s.
Barbara Luray painting, "Untitled (Yucca)," 1956
"Wild Flowers Topanga Canyon" is a series of 22 watercolor paintings by artist Barbara Luray, who lived in Topanga in the late '50s, '60s, and '70s.
Barbara Luray painting, "Manzanita, Coast Chaparral in Spring," 1956
"Wild Flowers Topanga Canyon" is a series of 22 watercolor paintings by artist Barbara Luray, who lived in Topanga in the late '50s, '60s, and '70s.
Barbara Luray painting, "Manzanita," 1956
"Wild Flowers Topanga Canyon" is a series of 22 watercolor paintings by artist Barbara Luray, who lived in Topanga in the late '50s, '60s, and '70s.
Barbara Luray painting, "February-March: Acacia," 1956
"Wild Flowers Topanga Canyon" is a series of 22 watercolor paintings by artist Barbara Luray, who lived in Topanga in the late '50s, '60s, and '70s.
Barbara Luray painting, "February-March: Prickly Phlox," 1956
"Wild Flowers Topanga Canyon" is a series of 22 watercolor paintings by artist Barbara Luray, who lived in Topanga in the late '50s, '60s, and '70s.
Barbara Luray painting, "March: Chocolate Bells," 1956
"Wild Flowers Topanga Canyon" is a series of 22 watercolor paintings by artist Barbara Luray, who lived in Topanga in the late '50s, '60s, and '70s.
Barbara Luray painting, "February-March: Ceanothus," 1956
"Wild Flowers Topanga Canyon" is a series of 22 watercolor paintings by artist Barbara Luray, who lived in Topanga in the late '50s, '60s, and '70s.
Barbara Luray painting, "May: Buttercups," 1956
"Wild Flowers Topanga Canyon" is a series of 22 watercolor paintings by artist Barbara Luray, who lived in Topanga in the late '50s, '60s, and '70s.
Barbara Luray painting, "Late October: Toyon," 1956
"Wild Flowers Topanga Canyon" is a series of 22 watercolor paintings by artist Barbara Luray, who lived in Topanga in the late '50s, '60s, and '70s.
Barbara Luray painting, "October: Firecracker," 1956
"Wild Flowers Topanga Canyon" is a series of 22 watercolor paintings by artist Barbara Luray, who lived in Topanga in the late '50s, '60s, and '70s.
Barbara Luray painting, "March: Wild Peony," 1956
"Wild Flowers Topanga Canyon" is a series of 22 watercolor paintings by artist Barbara Luray, who lived in Topanga in the late '50s, '60s, and '70s.
Barbara Luray painting, "April: Lupin," 1956
"Wild Flowers Topanga Canyon" is a series of 22 watercolor paintings by artist Barbara Luray, who lived in Topanga in the late '50s, '60s, and '70s.
Barbara Luray painting, "April: Baby Blue Eyes," 1956
"Wild Flowers Topanga Canyon" is a series of 22 watercolor paintings by artist Barbara Luray, who lived in Topanga in the late '50s, '60s, and '70s.
Barbara Luray painting, "April: Rudbeckia," 1956
"Wild Flowers Topanga Canyon" is a series of 22 watercolor paintings by artist Barbara Luray, who lived in Topanga in the late '50s, '60s, and '70s.
Barbara Luray painting, "May: Indian Paintbrush," 1956
"Wild Flowers Topanga Canyon" is a series of 22 watercolor paintings by artist Barbara Luray, who lived in Topanga in the late '50s, '60s, and '70s.
Barbara Luray painting, "May: Wild Currant," 1956
"Wild Flowers Topanga Canyon" is a series of 22 watercolor paintings by artist Barbara Luray, who lived in Topanga in the late '50s, '60s, and '70s.
Barbara Luray painting, "May: Monkey Flower," 1956
"Wild Flowers Topanga Canyon" is a series of 22 watercolor paintings by artist Barbara Luray, who lived in Topanga in the late '50s, '60s, and '70s.
Barbara Luray painting, "All Year: Tobacco Bush," 1956
"Wild Flowers Topanga Canyon" is a series of 22 watercolor paintings by artist Barbara Luray, who lived in Topanga in the late '50s, '60s, and '70s.
Barbara Luray painting, "April: Mariposa Lily," 1956
"Wild Flowers Topanga Canyon" is a series of 22 watercolor paintings by artist Barbara Luray, who lived in Topanga in the late '50s, '60s, and '70s.
Barbara Luray painting, "May: Wild Cucumber," 1956
"Wild Flowers Topanga Canyon" is a series of 22 watercolor paintings by artist Barbara Luray, who lived in Topanga in the late '50s, '60s, and '70s.
Barbara Luray painting, "January: Buckthorne," 1956
"Wild Flowers Topanga Canyon" is a series of 22 watercolor paintings by artist Barbara Luray, who lived in Topanga in the late '50s, '60s, and '70s.
Snow covers a house and palm tree in Old Topanga
Snow covers a house and palm tree located at 1231 Old Topanga Canyon Road.
A yucca plant flowers in the snow on Sycamore Drive
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.
The Big Snow covers Old Topanga Canyon Rd. near Oak Dr.
The Big Snow on Old Topanga Canyon Rd. near Oak Drive covers trees, telephone poles, and mailboxes.
Snow covers Topanga Fire and Forestry Station
Snow covers the Topanga Fire and Forestry Station. A man stands by parked cars on Fernwood Pacific Dr.
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