Davis, Francis Pierpont (architect) Davis, Walter Swindell, 1887- (architect) Risley, Winchton Leamon (architect) Olmsted Associates (architect) Shattuch Construction Co. (builder) Lawyer, Jay (builder) Lewis, Edward Gardner (builder) Chaney, Charles H. (builder) Lawyer, Donald K. (builder)
Electronically digitized by the Palos Verdes Library District from the Palos Verdes Library Local History Room Photo Collection. Copyright status must be investigated before publishing or commercial use. To obtain permission and images for publication purposes please contact the Palos Verdes Library District.
Description
Image shows view of Miss Reba Willis standing in courtyard of La Venta Inn, located at 796 Via del Monte on lots 4, 5, and 6, block 1536. Visible is Miss Wallis, holding a flower and standing on a stonework walkway beneath the vine-covered pergola. Miss Willis was hostess and manager of La Venta for 17 years, from October 1924 until July 1941, when Don Lawyer (son of Jay Lawyer, who built La Venta), vice president and general manager of The Estates Mortgage and Building Co., owners of the property, assumed the duties of manager. 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, October 1928, p. 7. PVH building permit #4.
Type
Text
Format
1 photographic print (b/w); 7.25 x 9 in.
Identifier
pvld:2718 bar code: 000026112 negative number: 873
Subject
Willis, Reba (1887-1977) Historic buildings--California--Palos Verdes Estates Hotels--California, Southern Portraits Patios--California--Palos Verdes Estates La Venta Inn (Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.)
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