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Palos Verdes Estates, California
Malaga Cove by Abby Lanes.jpg
Malaga Cove Library .jpg
PalosVerdesMalagaCovePlaza2.jpg
Clockwise: Malaga Cove Plaza; Plaza archway; Malaga Cove Library
Official seal of Palos Verdes Estates, California
Seal
Location of Palos Verdes Estates in Los Angeles County, California
Location of Palos Verdes Estates in Los Angeles County, California
Palos Verdes Estates, California is located in the United States
Palos Verdes Estates, California
Palos Verdes Estates, California
Location in the United States
Country  United States
State  California
County Los Angeles
Incorporated December 20, 1939
Government
 • Type Council–manager
Area
 • Total 4.77 sq mi (12.36 km2)
 • Land 4.77 sq mi (12.36 km2)
 • Water 0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)  0.01%
Elevation
210 ft (64 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total 13,347
 • Density 2,798.1/sq mi (1,079.9/km2)
Time zone UTC−08:00 (PST)
 • Summer (DST) UTC−07:00 (PDT)
ZIP Code
90274
Area codes 310/424
FIPS code 06-55380
GNIS feature IDs 1652770, 2411363

Palos Verdes Estates is a coastal city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, situated on the Palos Verdes Peninsula and neighboring Rancho Palos Verdes and Rolling Hills Estates. The city was master-planned by the noted American landscape architect and planner Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. The city is located along the Southern California coastline of the Pacific Ocean.

The population was 13,347 at the 2020 census, a slight decrease from its 2010 population of 13,438. Palos Verdes Estates is one of the wealthiest cities in the United States. The 90274 ZIP code (covering the cities of Palos Verdes Estates and Rolling Hills) is considered some of the most exclusive and expensive neighborhoods in the United States. The city is also known for its high-performing school district, hiking trails, and oceanfront properties.

History

Manuel Domínguez of California
Manuel Domínguez, a signer of the Californian Constitution and owner of Rancho San Pedro, which included all of Palos Verdes.
José Loreto Sepúlveda
In 1846, Rancho de los Palos Verdes was separated from Rancho San Pedro and granted to José Loreto Sepúlveda (shown) and Juan Capistrano Sepúlveda.

Palos Verdes Estates was established as a planned community in 1923, with 3,200 acres (1,300 ha) carved out of the former Rancho Palos Verdes property of over 16,000 acres (6,500 ha). Frank Vanderlip established both a land syndicate holding the Palos Verdes Peninsula, and a real estate development trust for the Palos Verdes Estates subdivision. The Commonwealth Trust Company filed the Palos Verdes Protective Restrictions in Los Angeles County in 1923. These restrictions established rules for the developer and all land owners. The developer was required to set aside half of the land for common use, including roads and parks, but also to build bridle paths, a golf course, and retain several miles of coastline free of development. No less than ninety percent of the remaining land was required to be used for single-family homes.

The designers of Palos Verdes Estates, Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. and Charles Cheney, used deed restrictions as a method of controlling development of the subdivision, even after many of the lots would have already been sold. The deed restrictions prohibited nuisance businesses, such as polluting industries, but also bars and cemeteries. The deed restrictions also included an exclusionary racial covenant which forbid an owner from selling or renting a house to anyone who wasn't white. They were also not permitted to have African-Americans on their property with the exception of chauffeurs, gardeners, and domestic servants. The “sundown rule” was strictly in effect, and it wasn’t until 1948 when such restrictions were declared unconstitutional. Yet, it took 20 more years until the Fair Housing Act was passed in 1968 for the reality of the civil rights protections to take hold. An art jury reviewed all building plans, regulating any structure in regard to style, material, and even small details like color and the pitch of the roof. The construction of fences and hedges were subject to evaluation by the art jury.

The city's oldest building is La Venta Inn built in 1923 as a sales office for Vanderlip and his business associates. Other buildings were erected mostly around the shopping area in Malaga Cove. Palos Verdes Estates was finally incorporate in 1939. The Malaga Cove Plaza building of the Palos Verdes Public Library, designed by Pasadena architect Myron Hunt, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.8 square miles (12 km2), over 99% of it land. The city is bordered by Torrance to the north and east, Rancho Palos Verdes to the south, and Rolling Hills Estates to the southeast.

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop.
1940 987
1950 1,963 98.9%
1960 9,564 387.2%
1970 13,631 42.5%
1980 14,376 5.5%
1990 13,512 −6.0%
2000 13,340 −1.3%
2010 13,438 0.7%
2020 13,347 −0.7%
U.S. Decennial Census

2010

Neighborhood Church of Palos Verdes (62)
The Neighborhood Church.

The 2010 United States Census reported that Palos Verdes Estates had a population of 13,438. The population density was 2,814.8 inhabitants per square mile (1,086.8/km2). The racial makeup of Palos Verdes Estates was 10,346 (77.0%) White (73.4% Non-Hispanic White), 161 (1.2%) African American, 21 (0.2%) Native American, 2,322 (17.3%) Asian, 8 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 94 (0.7%) from other races, and 486 (3.6%) from two or more races. There were 631 people (4.7%) of Hispanic or Latino origin, of any race.

The Census reported that 13,421 people (99.9% of the population) lived in households, 17 (0.1%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized.

There were 5,066 households, out of which 1,686 (33.3%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 3,649 (72.0%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 296 (5.8%) had a female householder with no husband present, 138 (2.7%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 91 (1.8%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 26 (0.5%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 848 households (16.7%) were made up of individuals, and 534 (10.5%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65. There were 4,083 families (80.6% of all households); the average family size was 2.97.

The population was spread out, with 3,113 people (23.2%) under the age of 18, 588 people (4.4%) aged 18 to 24, 1,787 people (13.3%) aged 25 to 44, 4,702 people (35.0%) aged 45 to 64, and 3,248 people (24.2%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 49.9 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.0 males.

There were 5,283 housing units at an average density of 1,106.6 per square mile (427.3/km2), of which 4,496 (88.7%) were owner-occupied, and 570 (11.3%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.7%; the rental vacancy rate was 5.6%. 11,958 people (89.0% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 1,463 people (10.9%) lived in rental housing units.

According to the 2010-2014 U.S. Census, the median income for a household in Palos Verdes Estates was $171,328. The per capita income for the city was $87,408.

2000

As of the census of 2000, there were 13,340 people, 4,993 households, and 4,119 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,784.9 inhabitants per square mile (1,075.3/km2). There were 5,202 housing units at an average density of 1,086.0 per square mile (419.3/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 78.3% White, 17.1% Asian, 2.0% African American, 0.1% Native American, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 0.6% from other races, and 2.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.8% of the population.

There were 4,993 households, out of which 32.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 75.7% were married couples living together, 4.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 17.5% were non-families. 15.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 2.96.

PalosVerdesMalagaCovePlaza2
Malaga Cove Plaza was built in a Spanish Renaissance style in 1925.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 23.2% under the age of 18, 4.1% from 18 to 24, 19.8% from 25 to 44, 33.0% from 45 to 64, and 19.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 47 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.8 males.

Neptune Fountain Malaga Cove
Neptune Fountain, Malaga Cove Plaza

Education

Primary and secondary schools

Public schools

The city is served by the Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District. A previous The Washington Post study ranked the nearby Palos Verdes Peninsula High School (the "Panthers"; enrollment 2,400) as the #8 best among public and private high schools in the United States. U.S. News & World Report recently academically ranks it # 89 among 18,500 U.S. high schools, and Newsweek ranks it # 146. In 2014, thedailybeast.com ranked the two area high schools as the 44th and 121st best high schools in the country.

Palos Verdes Peninsula High School also annually honors the largest collection of National Merit Scholar recipients (usually 50–60) enrolled in a U.S. high school in any year. In any given year there is routinely a dozen-way or more tie for the valedictorian (highest grade point average) honors in the graduating class. The smaller enrollment Palos Verdes High School (the "Sea Kings"; enrollment 1,900) achieved the same API score as Palos Verdes Peninsula High School (898). Both schools' students and faculties in science and computer science curricula are participants in national robotic engineering advancement, and have competed against universities (Caltech, Stanford, Princeton, Cornell) and defense contractor firms in government-sponsored robotic science application challenges (example: The Sea Kings competed in the 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge; the only U.S. high school to do so).

Private schools

Chadwick School is another well known school in the area. It is a K-12 independent, nonsectarian school which was established in 1935.

In 1992 the International Bilingual School, a Japanese preparatory school for grades K-9, moved to Palos Verdes Estates. By 2002 the PVUSD had filed suit to force the International Bilingual School to leave the property that the school was located in. The PVUSD owned the school building.

Public libraries

The Palos Verdes Library District operates the Malaga Cove Library in Palos Verdes Estates.

Notable people

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Palos Verdes Estates para niños

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