A hidden cultural enclave
Pacific Palisades, an enclave tucked into California’s winding canyons and hills between Malibu and Santa Monica, is “the valley that time forgot,” said Finn-Olaf Jones in the Los Angeles Times. Founded in 1922 as a Methodist retreat, the village does not contain a single hotel, despite three extraordinary attractions. Sitting on the inland side of the village is the Will Rogers Ranch House—a “Western-art-and-antlers-filled 31-room compound” that recently underwent a $5 million renovation. The Getty Villa, on the Pacific side, is a sprawling reproduction of a Roman nobleman’s home, brimming with Greek, Roman, and Etruscan masterpieces. Then there is the Villa Aurora, a Spanish-style colonial home once owned by German expatriates and known locally as “Weimar by the Sea.” It hosted several notable exiles during World War II, including Thomas Mann, Bertolt Brecht, and the filmmaker Fritz Lang. It is now a cultural center offering readings, concerts, and screenings.
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