Murphy Ranch Buildings to be Razed by Feb. 23

By MICHAEL AUSHENKER | Contributing Writer

An ugly part of Pacific Palisades history is finally being leveled for good.

For decades a visual and emotional eyesore, the long-decaying Murphy Ranch, some of the graffiti-riddled buildings of a compound long rumored to be a sanctuary for Nazi sympathizers during World War II, is going to be demolished this month.

The City of Los Angeles’ Recreation and Parks department has closed the area until the structures’ demolition meets completion by Feb. 23.

In a statement, District 11 City Councilmember Mike Bonin called the site “a hazardous nuisance” and detailed why some of the structures have been condemned. The city will not demolish the prefacing gates, created by noted architect Paul R. Williams.

“I support the Rec and Parks general manager’s decision to remove dangerous structures at Murphy Ranch,” Bonin said. “The structures at the site were a hazardous nuisance that generated a lot of concerned calls into my office, LAPD and the park manager from people in the Palisades. We worked with the Department to ensure we are preserving historic elements of Murphy Ranch, such as the gates leading into the site, but we need to put safety first and I’m happy the site is being made safe for hikers to enjoy.”

Named after Jessie M. Murphy, the stated owner who purchased the secluded 50-acre property in 1933, Murphy Ranch has a tagged-up structure that may appear colorful courtesy of layers of spray paint. Its history is also colorful, albeit not in a positive way.

According to a Los Angeles Magazine report, Murphy Ranch’s history took a dark turn in the 1930s when a German identified as “Herr Schmidt” recruited wealthy socialites Norman and Winona Stephens to finance a $4-million, four-story mansion and use the ranch to promote a Nazi agenda.

Featured on the Travel Channel show “Off Limits,” this compound was intended to be a self-sustaining complex with a 395,000-gallon water tank, a 20,000-gallon fuel tank and a power station that could generate enough electricity to support a small burg.

However, Schmidt’s vision never came into fruition. A Los Angeles Times article speculated that the compound would have been home to some 40 local Nazis had it been completed, but after funding ran out, the master plan ended in 1941 with federal agents storming the property and arresting Schmidt as an alleged Nazi spy. (It is unclear what happened to Schmidt following his arrest.)

The Stephenses remained on the property until 1948, selling it to the Huntington Hartford Foundation. In the early 1970s, the city of Los Angeles claimed the property, turning the bunker into an artists’ colony.

California State Parks acquired the land surrounding the complex in 1971 while the compound itself remained LA City property. According to a local historian in 2013, State Parks did not claim ownership of the compound property because of potential liability issues.

Alas, a 1978 fire ushered its abandonment and the vandalized building on the site has been steadily decaying ever since.

In 2013 Bonin led a large hiking group (including a Palisadian-Post reporter) on a trek up to Murphy Ranch, partly in response to some recently raised concerns from a group of Upper Riviera residents regarding graffiti vandals.