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Palos Verdes Homes Association

320 Palos Verdes Drive West
Palos Verdes Estates, CA 90274

Why Palos Verdes Estates

A paradise on the peninsula
with a vibrant history.

Landscape Design: Frederick Olmsted

Soon after acquiring the 16,000 acres of the peninsula in 1913, Frank A. Vanderlip, Sr. contacted the Olmsted Brothers landscape design firm of Brookline, Massachusetts, managed by the sons of Frederick Law Olmsted Sr., co-designer of New York City’s Central Park.

Vanderlip had selected the Olmsted Brothers to design the grounds for an 18-acre subdivision beside Beechwood, his 147-acre family estate at Scarborough-on-the-Hudson, New York.

John C. Olmsted, stepbrother of Frederick Law Olmsted Jr., took the lead on the project initially, but progress was interrupted by the events of World War I. Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. joined the war effort, but John had physical ailments that prevented him from enlisting and eventually led to his demise in 1920.

With the project recommencing under the direction of E. G. Lewis in 1921, Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. took control of the Olmsted Brothers firm and carried on with the work at Palos Verdes. He was instrumental in drafting the far-reaching protective restrictions that would shape the city of Palos Verdes Estates.

Reprinted with permission from: Phillips, John. Palos Verdes Estates (Images of America). Arcadia Publishing Inc.

Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. is seen in a photograph from 1925.

Photo courtesy of: Phillips, John. Palos Verdes Estates (Images of America) (p. 22). Arcadia Publishing Inc.

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