Discover 11 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Rancho Palos Verdes (United States). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Trump National Golf Club, Point Vicente Light, and Wayfarers Chapel. Also, be sure to include Old St. Peter's Episcopal Church in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Rancho Palos Verdes (California).
Table of Contents
Trump National Golf Club
Golf facility in Rancho Palos Verdes, California. Trump National Golf Club, Los Angeles is a public golf club in Rancho Palos Verdes, California with a 7,242-yard course designed by Pete Dye and Donald J. Trump Signature Design. It is owned by The Trump Organization.
Trump National Golf Club Los Angeles was formerly known as Ocean Trails Golf Club, an 18–hole course designed by Pete Dye, which was about to open when a landslide occurred in June 1999, and the 18th hole slid toward the Pacific Ocean. The Ocean Trails Golf Club subsequently went into bankruptcy, and on November 26, 2002, Trump bought the property for $27 million, intending to redesign the course. It includes a 45,000 sq ft clubhouse.
It is ranked among the Top 100 Courses You Can Play by Golf Magazine.
The club is known for its views of the Pacific Ocean and Catalina Island. It is not the only ocean-front golf course in LA County. Nearby is also the Los Verdes Golf Course. The course featured three artificial waterfalls until they were removed during the 2012–15 drought. The Michael Douglas Pro-Celebrity and Friends Golf Tournament takes place there annually, in April.
At a total cost of $264 million, Trump National Golf Club, Los Angeles would be the most expensive golf course ever constructed. Trump's representatives claimed the course was worth $10 million in dealing with the L.A. County property tax assessor two years after the course opened.[1]
Address: 1 Trump National Dr, 90275 Rancho Palos Verdes (South Bay)
Point Vicente Light
Lighthouse in Rancho Palos Verdes, California. Point Vicente Lighthouse is a lighthouse in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, United States, north of Los Angeles Harbor. It is 67 feet tall and stands on a cliff with a height of 130 feet. It is between Point Loma Lighthouse to the south and Point Conception Lighthouse to the north. The lighthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. The lighthouse is owned by the United States federal government and is managed by the United States Coast Guard. It is not usually open to the public, but the Coast Guard Auxiliary run tours once per month and it is used annually for the city's "Whale of a Day" festival.[2]
Address: 31550 Palos Verdes Dr W, 90275 Rancho Palos Verdes (South Bay)
Wayfarers Chapel
Stone-&-glass chapel in a redwood grove. Wayfarers Chapel, also known as "The Glass Church" is located in Rancho Palos Verdes, California. It is noted for its unique organic architecture and location on cliffs above the Pacific Ocean. It is part of the Swedenborgian Church of North America and serves as a memorial to the 18th century scientist and theosopher, Emanuel Swedenborg.[3]
Address: 5755 Palos Verdes Dr S, 90275 Rancho Palos Verdes (South Bay)
Old St. Peter's Episcopal Church
Church in Los Angeles, California. Old St. Peter's Episcopal Church is a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument located in the San Pedro section of Los Angeles, California, near the Port of Los Angeles. Built in 1883 in the Carpenter Gothic Victorian architecture style, it is San Pedro's oldest church.[4]
Mary Star of the Sea Catholic Church
Mary Star of the Sea Catholic Church is a Roman Catholic parish located in San Pedro, California, dedicated to Our Lady, Star of the Sea. Located on a hill overlooking the Port of Los Angeles, Mary Star of the Sea has sometimes been known as the "Fishermen’s Parish" because of its close ties with the fishing and cannery community in San Pedro. Established in 1889, the parish is one of the oldest in the Los Angeles Archdiocese. The present church, built in 1958, is the third church to serve the parish.
Mary Star of the Sea serves approximately 5,500 registered families. For many decades, the parish community was made up largely of Croatian and Italian fishermen, ethnic groups that remain large presences in the parish, along with more recently arrived groups from Latin America and Asia, especially the Philippines.[5]
Address: 870 West 7th Street, Rancho Palos Verdes (Harbor)
Norwegian Seamen's Church
The Norwegian Seamen's Church is a Norwegian Church Abroad that doubles as the Church of Sweden Los Angeles, also known as the Swedish Seamen's Church. It is located at 1035 South Beacon Street in the San Pedro area of Los Angeles, California and is also part of the Church of Sweden Abroad. A print on the wall of the lounge area shows an architectural painting indicating Kemper Nomland as the architect.
The Norwegian church was founded by Elbjørg Amundsen Baardsen and her husband Sig. It opened in 1946 and in 1951 moved to its present location at 1035 South Beacon Street. The building cost $80,000 to complete. Since 1952 there has also been a Swedish staff at the church, and a Swedish service takes place once every month. Lutheran baptisms, confirmations, weddings, and funerals are performed at the Norwegian Seamen's Church, but the church is open to everyone and not only to Lutherans.
The Norwegian Seamen's Church provides a place for Swedes and Norwegians who are away from the homeland. Since it is located in a harbor area, it serves many people involved in the shipping business. The church gets visits from around 160 Norwegian ships every year, often with one to fifteen Norwegian crew members per ship.
The Norwegian Seamen's Church, which attracts around 15,000 visitors each year, is also visited by Norwegian descendants living in the area, and by several of the thousands of Norwegian inhabitants in Los Angeles. The Norwegian Seamen's Church is the closest connection to Norway for many of these people. The church has regular contact with 500–1,000 families, and sends its newsletter to around 2000 families. There is a school at the church where adults and children can learn Norwegian.[6]
Ralph J. Scott
Historical landmark in Los Angeles, California. Ralph J. Scott, also formerly known as Fireboat #2, is a 100-foot fireboat that was attached to the Los Angeles Fire Department serving the Port of Los Angeles. She was retired in 2003 after 78 years and replaced by Warner L. Lawrence. Ralph J. Scott is undergoing restoration near the Los Angeles Maritime Museum in San Pedro. On 30 June 1989, she was listed as a National Historic Landmark. She is currently located at the Los Angeles Fire Department, Fire Station 112, at 444 South Harbor Blvd, Berth 86, San Pedro, California.[7]
Warner Grand Theatre
Theatre in Los Angeles, California. The Warner Grand Theatre is a historic movie palace that opened on January 20, 1931. It is located in San Pedro, Los Angeles, California, at 478 West 6th Street.
The design of the Warner Grand Theatre was a collaboration by architect B. Marcus Priteca and interior designer Anthony Heinsbergen, in the Art Deco—Moderne style. It was one of three similarly lavish Los Angeles area Art Deco movie palaces on which Priteca and Heinsbergen collaborated for the Warner Bros. company in the early 1930s. The others were located in Beverly Hills and Huntington Park. Priteca later designed Hollywood's famous Pantages Theatre.
The theatre was purchased in 1996 and is still currently managed by the City of Los Angeles, Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA).[8]
Rolling Hills
City in California. Rolling Hills is a city on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Rolling Hills is a gated community with private roads with three entry gates. Homes are single-story 19th century California ranch or Spanish haciendas exemplified by architect Wallace Neff. Incorporated in 1957, Rolling Hills maintains a rural and equestrian character, with no traffic lights, multi-acre lots with ample space between homes, and wide equestrian paths along streets and property lines.
Rolling Hills has the third highest median house value in the United States. Homes are required to have white exterior paint. Homeowners are also required to maintain horse property on their lots, or at minimum keep land where stalls could be built. The community was developed by A. E. Hanson, who also developed Hidden Hills.
Residents work, shop, attend school, and obtain other services in the other towns on the Palos Verdes Peninsula as the only commercially zoned land within the city is occupied by the Rolling Hills City Hall and Rolling Hills Community Association. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 1,860, down from 1,871 at the 2000 census.[9]
Palos Verdes Art Center
Museum
Address: 5504 Crestridge Rd, 90275-4905 Rancho Palos Verdes (South Bay)
San Pedro Boatworks
San Pedro Boatworks also called the San Pedro Boat and Yacht Company was a boatyard in San Pedro, California the entrance to the West Channel of Los Angeles Harbor, at berth 44 and next to fire station 110. The boatyard opened in 1923 and closed in 2002, the site has been abandoned since then. The address is 210 Whalers Walk, San Pedro, with the office at 2945 Miner Street. L.A Harbor Marine operated the site from 1965 to 1969. Pacific American also operated the boatyard for many years, owned by San Pedro Boatworks. In 1974 the operation was taken over by Marin Vincent. Later Billfish Inc. took over operations. In 1993, BCI Coca-Cola took over operations. Over the years the yard continued to build and repair boats including military boats, purse seiners, yachts, fireboats, and lifeboats.
Port of Los Angeles is looking to reopen the site as the L.A. Shipyard to serve the local boats. The project is part of the Berth 44 Boatyard Development project. The new yard would work on boats from 40 to 150 feet and maybe larger. The proposed site would be 3 acres of land and one acre of water, located between Berth 46 and the Cabrillo Way Marina. Currently Al Larson Boat Shop is the only operating boatyard in LA.[10]