Bygone Times of La Venta Inn by Dana Graham

From Entry.jpg — Bygone Times of La Venta Inn

By: Dana Graham

La Venta Inn, sitting on 3 acres atop a promontory at the northwest corner of the Palos Verdes Peninsula, was the first permanent structure built by the Palos Verdes Project, completed in 1924. Its original purpose was as a combination real estate sales office (la venta means “the sale” in Spanish) and a small inn for those coming from West Adams and a new development called Beverly Hills, to look at property in Palos Verdes.

In those days nearly all the roads in Palos Verdes were dirt, as was the case with Via Del Monte. Sitting near the 1920’s end of Via Del Monte, motorists would wind up the hill to be greeted at La Venta with refreshments before setting out (often on horses) to view prospective home sites. There were few, if any, roads at the top of the hill. If the hour was late, they could avail themselves of one of the private rooms on either side of the front parking lot and stay overnight before setting out on what was then a half-day drive back to the West Side. It’s still a half-day drive today, though for different reasons.

On a personal note, my family arrived in Palos Verdes in 1947. My parents were broke, but then-prominent realtor Howard Towle took them on a tour of what is now Montemalaga, where there were still no roads – Via Del Monte then ended at Via Nogales and the rest was fields – where lots were selling for $500 each. My dad told Mr Towle he was crazy as there were no roads or utilities, and he didn't have an extra $500 in any event. The chance at an inheritance to which I came so close was thus lost. It is important to pick your parents carefully.

During the 1930's and '40's the Inn also hosted black tie parties for luminaries who were beginning to call Palos Verdes home – Ethel Barrymore, Charles Laughton, Ray Milland, Tyrone Power, Joan Crawford, Charlie Chaplin (who housed his mistress on the Peninsula), Leo Carrillo, and others. During World War Two the tower was used by the Coast Guard to keep an eye out for enemy submarines or even the invasion feared in early 1942. The USO used the lower level to host parties.

The Depression and War hit the Palos Verdes Project hard and, in 1941, La Venta Inn was sold to actor Frank Conroy, who in turn sold it to Mr & Mrs Stanley Schnetzler in 1945. The Schnetzler family still owns the property. It was the Schnetzlers’ private family home until 1954, when they opened it again to the public.

La Venta Inn is run by Made by Meg.

Let’s wish La Venta Inn another 100 years of successful service to the community.