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C+History
History · Palos Verdes Estates

Palos Verdes Estates dates to 1923, and 3 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 36% of U.S. towns · #277 of 847 in California. What drives it

Most of Palos Verdes Estates was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1964. 3 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 11 buildings between them. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1896 on, and the census since 1940.

1923founded
3on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Palos Verdes Estates began

When was Palos Verdes Estates founded?

1923

Palos Verdes Estates dates its founding to 1923 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1940.

First census: 987 in 19402020 census: 13,347103 years

How historic is Palos Verdes Estates?

C+

More historic than 36% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1880.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Palos Verdes Estates’ History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Palos Verdes Estates is more historic than 36% of U.S. towns, #277 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 Palos Verdes Estates’ overall grade.
Founding era1923, from Wikipedia: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 19404.5% of homes (±3.0) · typical CA town 3.4% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register3 listings, 13 historic buildings, 10.1 per 10,000 residents · typical CA town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 36%
NewerOlder
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 67%

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 Palos Verdes Estates’ 10.1 sits above most of its state (91% of California towns have fewer) while its 13 historic buildings outnumber those of 77% 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 is a Census survey estimate (±3.0 points). Two sources give 1923.

Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Palos Verdes Estates’ past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18967 editions of the USGS map, 1896 to 1996. Watch Palos Verdes Estates change.Old housesHalf of Palos Verdes Estates’ homes were built before 1964.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Palos Verdes Estates’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Palos Verdes Estates’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Palos Verdes Estates on the map, 1896 to 1996

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

Palos Verdes Estates on the 1896 USGS mapPalos Verdes Estates on the 1944 USGS mapPalos Verdes Estates on the 1951 USGS mapPalos Verdes Estates on the 1963 USGS mapPalos Verdes Estates on the 1972 USGS mapPalos Verdes Estates on the 1981 USGS mapPalos Verdes Estates on the 1996 USGS map1896Redondo sheet · 1:62,500

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

The story

How Palos Verdes Estates came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Palos Verdes Estates.

Read it all →

Palos Verdes Estates was established as a planned community in 1923, with 3,200 acres (1,300 ha) carved out of the former Rancho de los Palos Verdes property of over 16,000 acres (6,500 ha). Frank A. Vanderlip established both a land syndicate holding the Palos Verdes Peninsula, and a real estate development trust for the Palos Verdes Estates subdivision. The Commonwealth Trust Company filed the Palos Verdes Protective Restrictions in Los Angeles County in 1923. These restrictions established rules for the developer and all land owners. The developer was required to set aside half of the land for common use, including roads and parks, but also to build bridle paths, a golf course, and retain several miles of coastline free of development. No less than ninety percent of the remaining land was required to be used for single-family homes.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Palos Verdes Estates, 1880 to 1962

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1880Post officeThe Palos Verdes post office opens
  3. 1880Post officeThe Palos Verdes post office closes
  4. 1896On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 20th century
  6. 1923
    FoundingPalos Verdes Estates is established
  7. 1925Post officeThe Palos Verdes Estates post office opens
  8. 1962Post officeThe Palos Verdes Estates post office closes
By decade

Palos Verdes Estates, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
"Palos Verdes The City of Dreams come true"Date?"Palos Verdes The City of Dreams come true"Book
Today13 recent
Goodyear Blimp low over Torrance2026Goodyear Blimp low over TorranceLower Malaga Cove and RAT Beach2023Lower Malaga Cove and RAT BeachLunada bay coast2019Lunada bay coastPalos Verdes2016Palos VerdesPalos Verdes2016Palos VerdesPortugese Bend Area on Palos Verde Peninsula - Aerial2015Portugese Bend Area on Palos Verde Peninsula - AerialPalos Verde Peninsula - Aerial2015Palos Verde Peninsula - AerialPalos Verdes Estates, California2011Palos Verdes Estates, CaliforniaPalos Verdes Estates, California2011Palos Verdes Estates, CaliforniaRed Ford Panel Truck2010Red Ford Panel TruckPalos Verdes2010Palos VerdesWild Peacock in California2006Wild Peacock in CaliforniaCAMap-doton-Palos Verdes Estates2006CAMap-doton-Palos Verdes Estates
On the National Register

3 listings protect 13 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
13
each building in a district counts
first listed
1995
Palos Verdes Public Library and Art Gallery
Palos Verdes Public Library and Art GalleryPalos Verdes Public Library and Art Gallery-Farnham Martin's ParkMirlo Gate Lodge TowerMalaga Cove Plaza
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Mediterranean Revival2
Palos Verdes Public Library and Art GalleryMediterranean Revival
Palos Verdes Public Library and Art Gallery-Farnham Martin's ParkMediterranean Revival
All 4 listings
Mirlo Gate Lodge TowerBuilding · listed 2019Malaga Cove PlazaDistrict · listed 2021

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

People over time

Palos Verdes Estates, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,00014,00016,00019401960198020002020Peak: 14,376

Between 987 and 14,376 people in every census since 1940.

9 censuses, 1940–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Palos Verdes Estates’ Wikipedia page.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Palos Verdes Estates had its own post office from 1925 to 1962. Another post office, Palos Verdes, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Palos Verdes
1880–1880
Palos Verdes Estates
1925–1962
18801950today

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Rancho Palos Verdes3 historic placesC−Rolling Hills EstatesIts storyD−Torrance6 historic placesC

Questions about Palos Verdes Estates’ history

What year was Palos Verdes Estates founded?

In 1923, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Palos Verdes Estates’ post office opened in 1880, and the census of 1940 counted 987 people here.

How does Palos Verdes Estates rank for history?

Palos Verdes Estates is more historic than 36% of U.S. towns, #277 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 Palos Verdes Estates?

3 listings: 2 buildings, among them the Palos Verdes Public Library and Art Gallery (listed 1995, the first), and 2 historic districts, the Palos Verdes Public Library and Art Gallery-Farnham Martin's Park and the Malaga Cove Plaza, with 11 contributing buildings. 13 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Palos Verdes Estates?

5% of Palos Verdes Estates’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.0 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1964.

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 (14), the National Register of Historic Places (4), Wikipedia, 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.