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Malaga Cove
Malaga Cove
The heart of Palos Verdes Estates, Malaga Cove is characterized by its 1920’s Mediterranean and Spanish Revival style architecture. The red clay roof tiles and archways of the Plaza are a defining feature that contributes to the feeling of Palos Verdes. One of five business centers originally planned for the city, Malaga Cove Plaza is the only one that was fully realized. The Malaga Cove Plaza Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2021.
One of my strongest impressions of Palos Verdes was when I was seven years old and my mother drove me to Lunada Bay to see our new home. We entered Palos Verdes Estates through the Malaga Cove entrance and rounded the bend to see this beautiful white marble fountain. I couldn’t believe that we were moving to such a beautiful place. The fountain came to represent everything I loved about this place and has been such a perfect example of how to develop an area while promoting classical traditions and beauty.
Neptune Statue, Malaga Cove Plaza, Palos Verdes Estates, California
Image shows view looking south at a detail of the King Neptune sculpture in Malaga Cove Plaza. Visible are a pair of marble mermaids riding dolphins, with decorative carved shells and lion heads on the base of the sculpture. Created by an unknown artist in the 17th century as a copy after the original 16th century bronze fountain by Giambologna, the sculpture was imported from Italy by the collector, Arnoldo Adolfo di Segni in the late 1920s, purchased from him by the Palos Verdes Project and dedicated in Malaga Plaza on February 16, 1930. The sculpture was restored and rededicated in 1969 and 1999.
Many summer mornings we would take the path down to Rat Beach to spend a day with friends. We would play touch football, go surfing or explore along the shoreline toward Haggerty’s. Many years later, Linda and I taught our kids to surf there and now we are taking our grandkids there. It’s nice to have a place from your past that you can return to and still find it unchanged. It puts things into perspective.
Malaga Cove, Palos Verdes Estates, California
Image shows view looking south west of the Malaga Cove coastline with the Palos Verdes Bathhouse and Beach Club at center and the Haggarty residence and pier at right. Major roads visible are Paseo del Mar, Via Almar, and Granvia La Costa (later Palos Verdes Drive West).
When the tide ran high the night before we would find seaweed strewn across the footpath to the beach. You would even find it on the embankment of the hill. The mist still hung in the air and the scent of the foliage mixed with the sea was strong.
Malaga Cove, Palos Verdes Estates, California.
Image shows view looking northeast along the coastal cliffs of Malaga Cove. The residence of Frederick Law Olmsted, located at 2101 Rosita Place and built in 1925, is visible overlooking the cove at upper far right. The house was demolished in 1971 due to bluff erosion.
