DIGS is the premiere luxury real estate lifestyle magazine serving the most affluent neighborhoods in the South Bay and Westside of Los Angeles, California.
Issue link: https://www.southbaydiggs.com/i/1517745
MARCH 22, 2024 | ISSUE 322 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 Contact@WestsideDIGS.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 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. © 2024 Micro Market Media, LLC. All rights reserved. C O N N E C T W I T H U S Listen & subscribe on iTunes, digs.net or your favorite podcast provider. The Titans of Real Estate INFLUENCERS PODCAST .net Founder & CEO / Publisher President & COO Digital Media Director Video Editor Senior Graphic Designer Contributing Writers Senior Staff Photographer Warren J. Dow William Bud Moore Kieron McKay Matt Polizzi Rufus Agbede Jenn Thornton Constance Dunn Karine Monié Abigail Stone Paul Jonason QUINTESSENTIAL CONTEMPORARY A sleek architectural home in East Manhattan Beach is keenly crafted as a fresh-air haven for family and friends. Feature story on Page 50. PRESENTED BY ALEXANDRA GAUSS AND JENNIFER OZAR OF OZAR & GAUSS REAL ESTATE GROUP | STRAND HILL PROPERTIES COVER STORY WRITTEN BY CONSTANCE DUNN COVER PHOTOGRAPHY BY PAUL JONASON DRE#: 01368971 Maureen Megowan 310.541.6416 mdmegowan@gmail.com PORTUGUESE BEND LANDMARKS S O U T H B A Y History Tidbits Portuguese Bend Gatehouse: The Gatehouse at the entrance gate to the Portuguese Bend community was built by Mr. Vanderlip and was modeled after an Italian roadside chapel used by Michelangelo when he painted the Sistine Chapel. It has one bedroom, two courtyards, one with a rose garden with a fountain and a high ceilinged living room. It is currently occupied and is being beautifully restored by the current owners. "Villa Francesca" Gatehouse: Harry Benedict, the personal secretary for Frank Vanderlip, built the "Villa Francesca" as a gatehouse to the other entrance to the Portuguese Bend gated community on Peppertree Drive. He had planned to build a more palatial estate further up the hill, but as the Depression hit, he abandoned his plans. Elin Vanderlip, in her memoirs tells the story that Frank Vanderlip Sr. , while vacationing in Paris, had cabled Mr. Benedict just prior to the 1929 stock market crash to sell his stocks, but Mr. Benedict thought better of it and did not, thus costing Mr. Vanderlip millions of dollars. Mr. Benedict also had control of the Palos Verdes Corporation from 1943 to 1945, which owned the Vanderlip family's remaining ownership of the Palos Verdes Peninsula. The Harden House: Across the street from the Portuguese Bend Gatehouse and the entrance to the Portuguese Bend community is a house behind a beautiful Gatehouse. This gatehouse was also modeled after one in Italy. The house, known as "The Harden House", was built by Frank Vanderlip's beloved sister Ruth and her husband Eddie Harden, a business partner of Vanderlip Vanderlip had given Ruth the 48 acres of coastal land on the ocean side of Palos Verdes Drive South. They constructed a four bedroom home with a 6 car garage. They had planned to build a grand villa out on Portuguese Point, but again the Great Depression foiled those plans. Interestingly, the gate entrance to the estate was used in the movie "It's a mad, mad, mad world" as the entrance to the fictitious "Santa Rosita State Park" and the scene with the crossed palm trees was also filmed on the Harden House grounds. After Ruth died, the Harden House estate was reduced from 48 acres to approx. 2 acres, with the balance of the property acquired by the City of Rancho Palos Verdes as The Abalone Cove Shoreline Park. The above is an excerpt from my book "Historic Tales of Palos Verdes and the South Bay," which can be purchased at www.southbayhistory.com. 20 DIGS.NET | 3.22.24