Browse Items · Topanga Historical Society Digital Archive

Wes Armand is rescued from the flood, 4/9

Teacher Wes Armand and his daughter Thea, 3833 Topanga Lane, are rescued from the flood by being pulled over Topanga Creek on a stretcher.

Wes Armand is rescued from the flood, 3/9

Teacher Wes Armand, 3833 Topanga Lane, is rescued from the flood by being pulled over Topanga Creek on a stretcher.

"Wes Armand rescued his school report cards! He taught with Ed Stalcup for several years."
-- Ann Stalcup

Wes Armand is rescued from the flood, 2/9

Teacher Wes Armand and his son Kurt, 3833 Topanga Lane, are rescued from the flood by being pulled over Topanga Creek on a stretcher.

Wes Armand is rescued from the flood, 1/9

Teacher Wes Armand and his son Kurt, 3833 Topanga Lane, are rescued from the flood by being pulled over Topanga Creek on a stretcher.

Wendy and Jenny Wemple stand by the Malibu Feed Bin

Sisters Wendy and Jenny Wemple stand by the Malibu Feed Bin. Christmas decorations advertise, "Santa and his live reindeer."

Waves form lines at Topanga Beach

Waterlily Café

The Waterlily Café was one of the first businesses to open in the Pine Tree Circle mall.

Waterfalls on the S-Turns above Topanga Creek

Water tank in the shape of a milk bottle

Thomas W. ("Bill") Kneen built this water tank on Red Rock Road in the shape of a milk bottle in the 1930s.

Warren Roberts, Topanga Fish Market owner

Warren Roberts opened the Topanga Fish Market, a restaurant and market near the lumber store, which was in business from the 1970s-1990s. Warren also owned the Reel Inn on Pacific Coast Highway.

Wanda Gala sits on a tree stump in The Rodeo Grounds

Wanda Gala sits on the stump of the cottonwood tree at the entrance to The Rodeo Grounds after the eviction of the Lower Topanga community by State Parks. Non-native plants like this tree were also uprooted.

Walter Stunt with Boy Scouts at Stunt Ranch

Walter Oertel holds a flowering yucca plant

Walter Oertel holds a flowering yucca plant, while propping his foot on a boulder. Walter married Hedwig Schmidt, the daughter of beekeeper August Schmidt.

Walter Armacost and friends

Walter Armacost and friends trek through Topanga.

Walter "Buck" Buchanan

Walter "Buck" Buchanan, a businessman and minister, ran for 14 major political offices from 1934-1984, including President of the United States. He never won.

Wally High and Pat Burke

Wally High and Pat Burke at Pat's Topanga Grill in Coulson Center soon after it opened.

Wallace Berman, Shirley Morand, and Allen Ginsberg

Assemblage artist Wallace Berman enticed notables to Topanga, including poet Allen Ginsberg.

Waitresses at Rust's Barbecue restaurant (2/2)

Waitresses at Rust's Barbecue restaurant: Mabel, Dolly, and Cleo Wendill.

Waitresses at Rust's Barbecue restaurant (1/2)

Waitresses at at Rust's Barbecue restaurant: Dolly, Ina Rust, Mabel, and Cleo Wendill.

W. Topanga Beach Rd., "Private Property, No Trespassing"

Signs say, "West Topanga Beach Rd., 18622 to 18722. Private Property. No Trespassing. No Parking. Violators will be prosecuted by residents." Behind a fence, surfers enjoy the waves. The image is a still from the film "Topanga Style" by Scott…

W. H. Albert Realtor ad, 18741 PCH, Malibu

W. D. Hacker cabin in Fernwood Park

Weekend cabin of Dr. and Mrs. W. D. Hacker built in 1924 in the Fernwood Park development at the northwest corner of Fernwood Pacific and Horseshoe Drives.

Von Arnswaldts' cabin in Red Rock Canyon

Tony von Arnswaldt and his wife's cabin in Red Rock Canyon opened the area to development.

Volunteers clean up the creek

Twice a year, since 1998, volunteers clean up the creek.

Virgil Just, aircraft engineer

Virgil Just, aircraft engineer, spent three years building his home, at the pace that he could afford materials in. He said, "No lending institution would lend you a dime to build in Topanga."

Vintage cars in Kelly Gulch, a popular film set

Vines cover Norton Wisdom's gate in The Snake Pit

Reed Bernstein carries a grocery bag through the vine-covered gate to Norton Wisdom's house at 3948 Topanga Lane in The Snake Pit.

Viewridge Estates, fire company basecamp, 1993

Day 2 of the 1993 Old Topanga Fire, fire companies from throughout the Western U.S. line up at the Viewridge Estates neighborhood.

View through fence on PCH shows a Topanga Beach party

A view through the fence on PCH shows a Topanga Beach party, in a still from the surf film "Cosmic Children" by Hal Jepsen (1970).

View of Topanga Beach houses looks west, 1973

View of Topanga Beach houses looks west from the The Chart House restaurant. A catamaran is parked in front of Jeff Miller's house.

View of Topanga Beach houses looks east, 1973

View of Topanga Beach houses looks east from the Sherwood house, towards The Chart House restaurant. Surfboard fins are visible at left. Sig Wingard's house is next door. Personal belongings are stacked in a red boat on the sand, next to a…

View of Topanga Beach and Big Rock Beach, 1974

View of Topanga Beach houses, Big Rock Beach, and the Malibu coastline shows a glassy ocean. The Chart House is at bottom right.

View of San Fernando Valley from Topanga Summit

View of San Fernando Valley from Topanga Summit, with The Topanga Story's Preface by Kenneth H. York, and Introduction by Buz Tarlow.

View from Topanga Lane shows Topanga Creek flooding

View from Wes Armand's house on Topanga Lane shows Topanga Creek during a flood. Cars are parked on the Rodeo Grounds road.

View from the window of a VW van shows Topanga Beach

View from the window of a Volkswagen van shows Topanga Beach.

View from the Topanga Beach parking lot shows big waves

Surfers ride big waves. The Yellow House (at right) is one of the last Topanga Beach houses still standing. Cars park in a newly created parking lot, where the houses along PCH have already been demolished.

View from the stairs shows a wave break in an offshore wind

View from the Topanga Beach parking lot's stairs shows a wave break in an offshore wind.

View from The Point restaurant shows South Topanga Beach

View from The Point restaurant shows a broken fence, South Topanga Beach houses, and the Villa Leon.

View from the ocean shows Topanga Beach houses, 1973

View from the ocean shows Topanga Beach houses and the lagoon bridge. The hills have been burned by a fire.

Byron Lasky's house is at center.

View from the ocean shows Topanga Beach houses, 1970s

View from the ocean shows Topanga Beach houses.

1. Wheeler Coberly's house
2. Dr. Schweiger's house
3. Lloyd Ahern's house (The Yellow House)
4. Skip Smith, Bruce Lucoff, and Robbie Dick's house
5. John Puklus's house
6. Victoria Andersen's…

View from the ocean of Topanga Beach houses, 1970s, 9/9

View from the ocean shows Topanga Beach houses.

1. The Gulf gas station (in the background)
2. Tim Harvey's house
3. Austin McCann, Mike Howell, and Andy Mercer's house. (Al Wurtzel and John Dominico lived downstairs.)
4. Unknown house
5.…

View from the ocean of Topanga Beach houses, 1970s, 8/9

View from the ocean shows Topanga Beach houses.

1. Tim Harvey's house
2. Austin McCann, Mike Howell, and Andy Mercer's house. (Al Wurtzel and John Dominico lived downstairs.)
3. Unknown house
4. Unknown house

View from the ocean of Topanga Beach houses, 1970s, 7/9

View from the ocean shows Topanga Beach houses.

1. Tim Harvey's house
2. Austin McCann, Mike Howell, and Andy Mercer's house. (Al Wurtzel and John Dominico lived downstairs.)
3. Unknown house
4. Unknown house

View from the ocean of Topanga Beach houses, 1970s, 6/9

View from the ocean shows Topanga Beach houses.

1. John and Foster Sherwood's house (18638)
2. Sig Wingard's house
3. Doug Meredith's house (18630)

View from the ocean of Topanga Beach houses, 1970s, 5/9

View from the ocean shows Topanga Beach houses.

1. Michael Hamilburg's house
2. Bob Barrow's house (18644)

View from the ocean of Topanga Beach houses, 1970s, 4/9

View from the ocean shows Topanga Beach houses.

1. Doris Ollestad's house
2. Paul Randall's house (the lifeguard tower)
3. Carroll Pratt's house (18704)
4. Wheeler Coberly's house
5. Lloyd Ahern's house (18674, The Yellow House)

View from the ocean of Topanga Beach houses, 1970s, 3/9

View from the ocean shows Topanga Beach houses.

1. Unknown house, partly in frame
2. Sid Bernstein's house
3. Doris Ollestad's house
4. Paul Randall's house (the lifeguard tower)
5. Carroll Pratt's house (18704)
6. Wheeler Coberly's house
7.…

View from the ocean of Topanga Beach houses, 1970s, 2/9

View from the ocean shows Topanga Beach houses.

1. George's Market (in the background)
2. Unknown house
3. Sid Bernstein's house
4. Doris Ollestad's house
5. Paul Randall's house (the lifeguard tower)
6. Carroll Pratt's house (18704)
7.…

View from the ocean of Topanga Beach houses, 1970s, 1/9

View from the ocean shows Topanga Beach houses and the Topanga Lagoon and bridge.

1. Don James's house
2. George's Market (in the background)

View from the ocean of Las Tunas Beach houses, 1970s

View from the ocean of Las Tunas Beach houses shows the Flying "A" gas station and a billboard in the background.

View from the lifeguard tower shows rocks at low tide

View from the Topanga Beach lifeguard tower shows an umbrella and rocks at low tide.

View from the hill shows Topanga Canyon Blvd. and PCH

The view from the hill above Topanga Lane shows the gas station at the intersection of Topanga Canyon Blvd. and PCH.

View from the hill shows PCH and The Chart House

View from the hill shows PCH and The Chart House at Topanga Beach.

View from the back of a wave shows a man surfing at sunset

View from the back of a wave shows a man surfing at sunset. In the background is the American Apparel store.

View from Sid Bernstein's Topanga Beach house

The view from Sid Bernstein's Topanga Beach house shows a garden of potted plants, a surfboard leaning on a fence, and a surfer riding a wave in an offshore wind.

View from a Topanga Beach house window shows a surfer

The view from a Topanga Beach house window shows a surfer riding a wave.

Victoria Woodward wears a blue dress at Topanga Beach

Victoria Woodward rides a Makaha skateboard at the beach

Victoria Woodward, the sister of skateboarding world-champion Woody Woodward, rides a Makaha skateboard on their paddle-tennis court at Topanga Beach.

Victoria Woodward rides a horse at Topanga Beach

Victoria Woodward rides a horse by the pink house at Woody Woodward's birthday party at Topanga Beach. Woody stands beside them.

Victoria Woodward investigates a wrecked VW van

Victoria Woodward, 9, investigates a Volkswagen van that was carried to Topanga Beach by the flooding creek.

Victoria Anderson sunbathes at Topanga Beach

From the book Life Lived by Jim Ganzer (Indoek, 2024).

Victoria Andersen, Christian Andersen, and Cynthia Ho

Victoria Andersen, Christian Andersen, and Cynthia Ho take a group photo at the 1994 Topanga Beach residents reunion to remember the neighborhood that was demolished in 1979.

Victoria Andersen watches Bunny sew at Topanga Beach

Victoria Andersen wears a bikini and watches Anne Fuchs ("Bunny") embroider a shirt in front of Topanga Beach houses.

Victoria Andersen on Old Malibu Road

Victoria Andersen at Topanga Beach

Vera Wood sells her paintings at the Strawberry Festival

Vera Wood drawing, "Lannis Wood," 1961

Vera Wood drawing, "Karen Wood," 1961

Vera Wood drawing, "Ellen Geer," 1961

Vera Wood and daughter Karen Moran

Vance Hoyt on Red Rock Trail

Vance Hoyt on Red Rock Trail, near his home. He arrived in Topanga in 1910.

Vance Hoyt holds a gray fox

Vance Hoyt holds a gray fox at his Bonnell Park ranch.

Vance Hoyt and his gray fox

Vance Hoyt wrote his popular novel "Silver Boy" about the wild gray fox that learned to sleep by the hearth of his Bonnell Park home.

Valerie Spencer, owner of Abuelitas Mexican restaurant

Standing: Uncle Sal, Valerie Spencer, Michael Spencer, Adam Silbar, Debra Silbar. Seated: Valerie's abuelo, Valerie's abuelita Aurelia.

Valerie Cheney and Dog

Valerie Cheney walking with a dog in front of Jack Wood's stone house.

Unknown, Crumpet, and Jeff Miller sit on beach chairs

An unknown woman, John "Crumpet" Dabrowski, and Jeff Miller sit on beach chairs at Topanga Beach with a dog.

Unknown man smokes a cigarette in The Snake Pit

An unknown man smokes a cigarette and drinks beer on the dirt road in The Snake Pit. Behind him, a couple kisses.

Unknown artist painting, "Something's Fishy Here," 1970s

A watercolor painting shows The Spaghetti Joint, an Italian restaurant located at 18763 PCH, and Something's Fishy Here seafood restaurant at 18753 PCH, beside the Topanga Lagoon bridge.

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.

Unknown artist painting, "Girl with Balloons," 1990s?

The Reel Inn is decorated with string lights at 18661 PCH. In the rafters hangs a surfboard with a painting of a girl holding balloons. She rides a shark that swims through the clouds.

Unknown and Moonstar Greene peek out of her house

An unknown friend stands in the doorway and looks at Moonstar Greene, who peeks her head out of the window. They are at Moonstar's house at 3726 Rodeo Grounds.