Welcome to Will Rogers’ Neighborhood

In the early 1930s, actor Will Rogers was the largest individual landowner in Pacific Palisades. In his ’50s at the time he owned over 400 acres, which included his ranch in Rustic Canyon, the west side of Chautauqua from Corona del Mar down to PCH, and over a mile of beachfront property that extended from Santa Monica Canyon to Temescal Canyon, and which is named after him. ‘Will also owned part of the Riviera and Rivas Canyon, as well as Evans Road and the land where Villa Woods, Villa Grove and Villa View are today,’ said local historian Randy Young. How Rogers came to own these properties is well documented by Young, who continues to work closely with the Rogers family to protect the actor’s main real estate legacy’Will Rogers State Historic Park. One-quarter Cherokee, Will Rogers grew up on his family’s 60,000-acre ranch in Oklahoma where he learned to ride horses and toss a lasso at an early age. His show business career began in his early 20s when he toured with Texas Jack’s Wild West Show. Called the ‘Cherokee Kid,’ he was known for his roping prowess. In 1915, while performing with the Ziegfield Follies in New York, Rogers was offered a job acting in silent movies, which is what brought him to California. He later appeared in talkies, and by the early ’30s had a contract to make three films a year for Fox Studios. In 1934 his career was at its height. ‘Will was really the first multimedia star,’ said Young. ‘He was busy writing both a weekly and daily syndicated newspaper column, entertaining audiences with his witty commentary on American politics, as well as being on radio and in the movies. After Shirley Temple, Will was the leading box-office attraction at the time.’ Rogers, who had the good fortune of working all through the Depression, wrote his column at his ranch house in front of a large window which looked out over the land that he was painstakingly developing. Known for his kind and generous spirit, he became America’s ambassador of good will, exemplified in quotes such as ‘I never met a man I didn’t like.’ Rogers had been living at his beloved Rustic Canyon ranch for less than a decade when, on a trip to Alaska with his friend Wiley Post, he was killed in an airplane crash in August 1935. Will Rogers’ Ranch Holdings In 1925 Rogers, his wife Betty and their three children (Will, Jr., Mary and Jimmy) were living in Beverly Hills when he made his first real estate purchase in the Palisades. Rogers bought 176 acres from Alphonzo Bell on the western slopes of Rustic Canyon, north of Beverly Drive (now Sunset). At the time there was only a narrow, hilly dirt road which led to a clearing, and the canyons beyond were densely covered with native chaparral. Rogers immediately had a mile-long winding road built up to the mesa, as well as a simple one-story weekend cabin, a roping corral, a temporary stable and a polo field. Delighted with his acquisition, in 1928 he announced that he and his family would make the ranch their permanent home. His crews went to work building a six-mile system of roads, five miles of bridle paths, and a nine-hole golf course. He eventually enlarged the house and purchased 60 more acres of land. In August 1935, on the Sunday before he left on his fateful trip to Alaska, he and Betty took a long ride around the ranch discussing the work that needed to be done while he was away. Rogers was always improving the ranch, which at that point consisted of nearly 240 acres. The massive landscaping alone had already gone through three stages. During the first stage (1926-30) rows of eucalyptus were planted along the roads and around all the corrals and fields. During the second stage (1930-32), large trees were planted in front of the ranch house and the lawn was installed. Then came the vine period (1932-35), when an arbor was built in front of the patio to hold the large number of climbers. Betty continued to live at the ranch after Will died, and in 1944 gave the buildings and 127 acres of land to the state for a park as a memorial to her husband. For a time the family retained the property on the western mesa overlooking Santa Monica Canyon, which later became the site of several architecturally significant residences, including the world-famous Eames house. This 60th anniversary of Will Rogers State Historic Park finds the ranch in the midst of a major restoration. While hikers can still enjoy Inspiration Loop Trail and picnic on the grounds, the ranch house and stable are slated to reopen early next year ‘and will look exactly as they did when Will and his family lived here,’ said Young, who along with the Rogers family is involved in every aspect of the restoration, from approving the new irrigation system to picking up a hammer to help rebuild the horse barn. ‘We have to be,’ he explained. While the ranch was donated to the state, it includes a ‘reversionary’ clause, which means that if the property is not restored, maintained and used as Betty Rogers intended it to be, it could be taken back by the family. While there have been problems in the past (most recently regarding the boarding of horses at the ranch), ‘right now things are going well,’ Young said. ‘I think Will would be proud of what we are trying to do here.’ Will Rogers’ Beach Quest In 1926, Rogers bought his first piece of beach property for $977,372. Dr. Charles Holmes Scott, founder of Pacific Palisades, and developer Robert C. Gillis arranged for the sale of 2,000 feet of beach frontage at the mouth of Santa Monica Canyon that belonged to the Pacific Land Corporation and the Pacific Palisades Association, which had both fallen on hard times. At the time a string of newly built beach clubs lined the sand from Santa Monica to the Palisades. Within two years, Rogers’ holdings extended both east and west along the beach at Santa Monica Canyon. He subsequently acquired the new Bundy bathhouse at the base of Chautauqua and entered into negotiations to purchase five acres of land that extended up the west side of the hill, opposite Vance Place. But Rogers soon found he had some formidable competition for the beach. By 1930 the State of California had acquired over a mile of beachfront, the result of a countywide study that encouraged public agencies to acquire as much unimproved beach property as possible while it was still available. At the mouth of Santa Monica Canyon, on a parcel of land purchased for public use from Rogers that same year, the state built one of the first ‘modern’ lifeguard stations’a two-story, tile-roofed facility with public restrooms and a food concession. However, Rogers’ development plans for his own beach property collapsed in 1931 when he tried, and failed, to have his land rezoned for commercial use. So he ceased payments, arguing that commercial prospects for his beachfront had been misrepresented to him. As a result of this action, he lost title to the bathhouse, but retained his beachfront, even though it was now of limited use to him. Interestingly, the zoning setback did not deter Rogers from investing in more beach property. Having once made a handsome profit on one particular piece of Santa Monica beachfront (which he sold to William Randolph Hearst for three times what he had paid so Hearst could expand the estate he had built for his mistress Marion Davies), Rogers later purchased a much larger parcel at the base of Temescal Canyon, which he saw as an investment in his family’s future, implying plans either for resale or eventual development. That anticipated transaction took place in 1940, in a land swap in which the Rogers family agreed to exchange their remaining beachfront property for a piece of land in downtown L.A. Sand for cement? What kind of real estate deal is that? ‘Well, as it turns out, a good one,’ said Young, who is currently writing a book on Will Rogers. ‘The family had the building they were given by the state, which was opposite City Hall on Flower Street, torn down and turned into a parking lot, providing much-needed cash for the estate. They sold the lot in the ’60s for a sizable profit. Will Rogers himself called real estate ‘the greatest game I ever saw. You can’t lose.’ Well, he turned out to be right on this one.’