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CHistory
History · Malibu

Malibu’s post office opened in 1947, and 4 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 27% of U.S. towns · #373 of 847 in California. What drives it

Most of Malibu was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1976. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1929 on, and the census since 1980.

1947first post office
4on the National Register
3%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
11famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Malibu’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Malibu began

When was Malibu founded?

1947

The Malibu post office opened in 1947, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 2,438 in 19802020 census: 10,65479 years

How historic is Malibu?

C

More historic than 27% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Malibu post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Malibu’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Malibu is more historic than 27% of U.S. towns, #373 of 847 in California. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Malibu’s overall grade.
Founding era1947, from the first post office: founded 1945 or later, an older era than 2% of U.S. townsD−Homes built before 19403.3% of homes (±1.5) · typical CA town 3.4% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register4 listings, 5 historic buildings, 4.8 per 10,000 residents · typical CA town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 27%
NewerOlder
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 56%

Few California towns list much on the Register (a typical California town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Malibu’s 4.8 sits above most of its state (87% of California towns have fewer) while its 5 historic buildings outnumber those of 70% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B−. The pre-1940 share (±1.5 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Malibu’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages7 hamlets and corners are still on the map.Landmarks on the Register4 places on the National Register.Famous sons and daughtersNavi Rawat, Tom Schaar and 9 more were born here.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Malibu’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Malibu’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewP15730coll18 2907 large: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Old corners

Malibu’s post office has been open since 1947.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Las FloresMahou RivieraMalibu BeachMalibu WestParadise Cove Mobile Home ParkPoint Dume Mobile Home ParkTrancas

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

On the National Register

4 historic places in Malibu

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
5
each building in a district counts
first listed
1977
Adamson House
Adamson House, built 1930Stevens HouseMalibu Historic DistrictHunt House
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Modern Movement1
Adamson HouseBuilt 1930
All 4 listings
Stevens HouseBuilding · listed 2009Malibu Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2018Hunt HouseBuilding · listed 2019

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

The story

How Malibu came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Malibu.

Read it all →

The area is within the Ventureño Chumash territory, which extended from the San Joaquin Valley to San Luis Obispo to Malibu, as well as several islands off the southern coast of California. The Chumash called the settlement Humaliwo or "the surf sounds loudly". The city's name derives from this, as the "Hu" syllable is not stressed.

Humaliwo was an important regional center in prehistoric times. The village, which is identified as CA-LAN-264, was occupied from approximately 2500 BCE. It was the second-largest Chumash coastal settlement by the Santa Monica Mountains, after Muwu (Point Mugu). This pre-colonial village was next to Malibu Lagoon and is now part of the State Park.

ChaptersMalibu ColonyHigh technology in MalibuIncorporation

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Malibu, 1910 to 1999

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 20th century
  2. 1910In the archiveP15730coll18 2907 large
  3. 1929On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 1930BuiltAdamson House is built
  5. 1947Post officeThe Malibu post office opens
  6. 1952Born hereKristoffer Tabori is born here
  7. 1977Born hereNavi Rawat is born here
  8. 1994Born hereJordan Wilimovsky is born here
  9. 1999Born hereTom Schaar is born here
By decade

Malibu, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s1 item
P15730coll18 2907 large1910P15730coll18 2907 large
1920s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Date unknown1 to date
J. Paul Getty Museum, Ranch House, 17985 Pacific Coast HighwayDate?J. Paul Getty Museum, Ranch House, 17985 Pacific Coas…
Today9 recent
Shell2023ShellMalibu stilt houses with Santa Monica skyline2023Malibu stilt houses with Santa Monica skylineMalibeauty2018MalibeautyTrailer in Malibu mountains2013Trailer in Malibu mountainsWelcome to Malibu, (Californie)2012Welcome to Malibu, (Californie)Dragon over Point Dume2012Dragon over Point DumeClean ocean at Keller's Cove in Malibu, Los Angeles2012Clean ocean at Keller's Cove in Malibu, Los AngelesClean ocean at Keller's Cove in Malibu, Los Angeles 022012Clean ocean at Keller's Cove in Malibu, Los Angeles 02Saddle Rock Ranch Pictograph Site - main panel detail2012Saddle Rock Ranch Pictograph Site - main panel detail
On the map

Malibu on the map, 1929 to 1995

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Malibu. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Malibu on the 1929 USGS mapMalibu on the 1932 USGS mapMalibu on the 1950 USGS mapMalibu on the 1967 USGS mapMalibu on the 1981 USGS mapMalibu on the 1995 USGS map1929Dume Point sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Malibu.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

P15730coll18 2907 large
Retake this viewP15730coll18 2907 large, 1910

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Malibu’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Malibu, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,00014,000198020002020Peak: 12,645

Between 2,438 and 12,645 people in every census since 1980.

5 censuses, 1980–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Malibu’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

11 famous people were born in Malibu

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
N
Navi RawatAmerican actress · b. 1977
T
Tom SchaarAmerican skateboarder · b. 1999
J
Jordan WilimovskyAmerican swimmer · b. 1994
K
Kristoffer TaboriAmerican actor and director · b. 1952
R
Roxana ZalAmerican actress · b. 1969
J
Jesse WoodEnglish musician · b. 1976
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Pepperdine UniversityIts storyD−TopangaIts storyC−Los Angeles284 historic placesA

Questions about Malibu’s history

What year was Malibu founded?

The Malibu post office opened in 1947, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Malibu rank for history?

Malibu is more historic than 27% of U.S. towns, #373 of 847 in California. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Malibu?

4 listings: 3 buildings, among them the Adamson House (listed 1977, the first), and 1 historic district, the Malibu Historic District,. 5 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Malibu?

3% of Malibu’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.5 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1976.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (10), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (4), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.