CITIES WITHIN A CITY: DISCOVERING PALOS VERDES, CALIFORNIA WITH ICAA ON APRIL 6th -- It's spectacularly beautiful on a verdant peninsula, quietly rich and mysterious even to residents of Los Angeles situated just miles to the north -- and now you have an opportunity to get a delightful insider's view of that "hill town" Palos Verdes thanks to the Southern California Chapter of Institute of Classical Architecture & Art on Saturday, April 6th 2013. Many people are somewhat surprised to hear that Palos Verdes Estates (as it is properly called) was one of the earliest master-planned communities in the U.S. -- and that it is the 81st richest town in America, not to mention that it is the 47th most expensive housing area in the U.S. as well! Which makes the tour, luncheon and presentation this coming Saturday by the ICAA a very special treat indeed for those who have always wondered just how this once-exclusive enclave (owned entirely by Frank A. Vanderlip and a consortium of his associates) was transformed acre by acre into the tony town that it is today. "Palos Verdes is a superb example of 20th century urban planning in the Beaux Arts tradition," notes ICAA Southern California Chapter board member Andrew Tullis. "The strength of the original plan by the Olmsted brothers -- Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. and John C. Olmsted -- can still be seen today in much of the development of Palos Verdes and this tour will be seeing the best of it." This tour is the first in a series by ICAA titled "Cities within a City" which will focus on important historical towns, landmarks and architecture in and around the Los Angeles area -- an area that is absolutely rich with such, but all that will change as ICAA rolls out these tours over the coming year. "To have access to some of the grand homes in Palos Verdes by such noted architects as Olmsted, Myron Hunt, Frank Vanderlip and Gordon Kaufmann is a rarity," says Michael Grosswendt of All Coast Construction which is sponsoring the tour. "For anyone who has been inspired by this beautiful coastal city and its historic treasures, this tour will surpass expectations." The tour's starting place is, naturally, at one of the town's landmarks -- the public library (designed in 1930 by Myron Hunt) -- and then the tour continues onto the Neptune fountain (erected in 1930 in the town center) which is a replica of the famed La Fontana del Nettuno found in Bologna, Italy. From there, there are self-guided tours of gardens, interiors and studios which round out the day. This kind of opportunity to learn about a town's history is rare and getting inside the homes and gardens found in the beautiful, mysterious Palos Verdes is even rarer. Portuguese explorer Juan Cabrillo first caught glimpse of this breathtaking peninsula in 1542 while sailing the California coast -- and now you can discover Palos Verdes for yourself on April 6th -- sound like a plan?
Tour Info: http://www.classicist-socal.org./
