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26 DIGS.NET | 9.17.2021 TDon Wallace, a ham radio pioneer who worked as an amateur radio operator since 1913, operated W6AM as a ham radio operation from his land atop the Palos Verdes Peninsula at the junction of Armaga Springs road and Highridge road in Rolling Hills Estates. His antennae farm included a huge installation of rhombics antennas each perched upon telephone poles, some over 150 feet tall. The site was originally acquired in the 1930's by Press-Wireless, owned by a group of newspapers to receive news dispatches from around the world. During WW II, the War Department used the facilities to communicate with battle operations in the Pacific, relayed to Pearl Harbor. In 1942, William Arthur Schuler, 23, who lived in Palos Verdes Estates and worked for Pre s s-Wire le s s , was arrested by the FBI for spying. He had offered to transmit messages to foreign agents using the P r e s s-W i r e l e s s t r a n s m i t t e r s . He got six years in the federal penitentiary. In 1945, Don Wallace bought the land from Kelvin Vanderlip, president of the Palos Verdes Corp. who, in order to control deed restrictions, had bought the land from Press-Wireless. The station in 1945 had 120 acres of land with 16 rhombics antennae, the longest being 1500 feet (end to end). This 1500 foot rhombic is widely believed to have been the largest beam antenna ever in amateur service. He had 61 telephone poles, each at 80 feet and another 90 feed line poles (25 feet high each). These antennas were fed by 52 MILES of feed lines. In 1962, Don had to sell 95 of the acres (to pay the property taxes) and he collected the grand sum of $100K for the 95 acres. Don then consolidated his antennas. Don continued to operate his radio station until his death in 1986 when his family sold the land to real estate developers.. The land which Mr. Wallace owned is today several condominium and luxury home developments including The Ranch. In 1960, General Telephone and Great Lakes Property Inc. proposed a 400 acre "campus like science center" near the intersection of Hawthorne Boulevard and Crest Road just down the road from the Wallace antennae farm. The first tenant was Nortronics division of Northrop Corp., which planned a 100 acre development. Great Lakes Property Inc., after no other companies followed Northrop's interest in the property, announced that it would sell 107 acres of land as a site for what was then being called "Palos Verdes State College". This sale was never completed, and the new college became Cal State Dominquez. Gradually, the balance of the land originally planned for the Palos Verdes Research Park was parceled off and sold for home development. In 1991, Northrop decided to sell its 34 acres that it still occupied, and this land was later developed into the Vantage Point subdivision. The above is an excerpt from my book "Historic Tales of Palos Verdes and the South Bay". For more info see http://www.southbayhistory.com. S O U T H B A Y History Tidbits DRE#: 01368971 Maureen Megowan 310.541.6416 mdmegowan@gmail.com THE WALLACE RANCH AREA OF PALOS VERDES SEPTEMBER 17, 2021 | ISSUE 262 TO OUR READERS South Bay DIGS welcomes your feedback and encourages reader response to our editorial features. Please send your letters to the Publisher at 722 1st Street, Unit D, Hermosa Beach, California, 90254 or via email to WDOW@southbaydigs.com. Please include your name and contact information. Letters may be published and we reserve the right to edit. ADVERTISING For inquiries, please contact Publisher Warren Dow at 310.373.0142. EDITORIAL For editorial inquiries, please email Editorial@SouthBayDIGS.com On The Cover FIND YOUR PLACE. JULY 23, 2021 DIGS.NET PRESENTED BY GER ARD BISIGNANO OF THE BISIGNANO GROUP | VISTA SOTHEBY'S INTERNATIONAL REALT Y F E A T U R E O N P A G E X X Splendor Lunada Bay Bluff top coastal views and a sunlit, classical residence add up to one of the most exclusive properties in Palos Verdes F I N D YO U R P L AC E SEPTEMBER 17, 2021 DIGS.NET I N S I D E A S Y M M E T R I C A L B A L A N C E | T H E P R I D E O F P A L M B E A C H PRESENTED BY GGERARD BISIGNANO OF THE BISIGNANO GROUP | VISTA SOTHEBY'S INTERNATIONAL REALTY LIST PRICE $8,650,000 FEATURED ON PAGE 70 722 1st Street, Unit D, Hermosa Beach, California, 90254 Office: 310.373.0142 South Bay Digs Magazine is published every other Friday by m3 Media, LLC. Reproduction in any form or by any means is strictly prohibited without the prior written consent from m3 Media LLC. The Publisher and advertisers are not responsible or liable for misinformation, misprints, or typographical errors. All advertised properties are subject to prior sale or withdrawal without notice. Real estate advertised in this publication is subject to the Federal Fair Housing Act. M3 Media will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate which is in violation of the law. All persons are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised are available on an equal opportunity basis. Any and all submissions to this publication become the property of m3 Media, LLC and may be used in any media. CREATIVE SERVICES & AD DESIGN/ORIGINAL ARTWORK PROVIDED EXCLUSIVELY BY SOUTH BAY DIGS. © 2021 Micro Market Media, LLC. All rights reserved. Publisher Marketing Director Business Development Director Digital Media Director Video Editor Senior Graphic Designer Graphic Designer Contributing Writers Senior Staff Photographer Warren J. 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