La Venta Inn, Palos Verdes Estates, California

Image shows view of La Venta Inn, located at 796 Via del Monte on lots 4, 5, and 6, block 1536. An automobile is visible at right on Via del Monte, beneath the hillside shrubbery and La Venta Inn observation tower at far right. The Redondo Beach coastline is visible in background at left. The Inn, originally built as a club house (named "Clubhouse 764") to entertain realtors and prospective land owners, opened in the summer of 1923 and was the first permanent building constructed by the Palos Verdes Project. The name was soon changed to La Venta (meaning "The Sale" in Spanish) and the inn served as a sales office and architectural prototype for the peninsula. During the 1930s it became a weekend retreat for notable celebrities such as Charles Lindbergh, Erroll Flynn, Betty Grable, Bob Hope, Tyrone Power, Cary Grant, and Gloria Swanson. Briefly in 1942 the Inn became the central observation post of the coastal artillery. From 1944 to 1954 the property was the residence of Commander and Mrs. Stanley Schnetzler, and was re-established as an inn in 1955. On November 11, 1978, La Venta Inn became the first structure designated as an historical landmark by the Rancho de los Palos Verdes Historical Society. In 1992 the New York Food Company took over management of the property.

Date Built: 1923

Photo Source: Palos Verdes Homes Association

Citation: Palos Verdes Bulletin, March 1931, p. 21.

PVH building permit #4.