About Rancho Palos Verdes' Portuguese Bend

Rancho Palos Verdes City Council members at their meeting Tuesday night approved a motion for city staff to prepare documentation for a trial period turning Rancho Palos Verdes Beach into an off-leash dog beach, a move that would officially OK the longtime use of the beach by dog lovers.

The City Counciol instructed staff to explore the possibility of creating a licensing/permit program for the use of the beach which could raise funds to maintain the beach and enforce use regulations.The Council sent the matter to the city's Planning Commission so members could look at other mitigating measures, including restricting off-leash hours, restricting sections of the beach for off-leash use, requiring special permits for off-leash use, among others.

Although dogs are currently prohibited on Rancho Palos Verdes beaches, Gina Padilla, left, and her daughter Andrea Herron are hardly unique when they exercise Indy and Jack on the somewhat isolated beach area below Trump National Golf Course. (Robert Casillas, Staff Photographer)

For additional info see http://palosverdes.patch.com/articles/rpv-city-council-takes-first-steps-toward-dog-beach

This issue as to a dog beach is separate from our efforts to have a dog park built somewhere on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. The City Council is still evaluating potential locations for a regular dog park.

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Today, my husband Bruce and I were fortunate to hold an open house of my listing of the historic Vanderlip Cottage in Rancho Palos Verdes ( CLICK HERE FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THIS PROPERTY) in the Portuguese Bend area and to welcome approx. 60 members of the Association of Historic Homes of Palos Verdes . My husband Bruce gave a presentation on Palos Verdes History and little known Secrets of the Palos Verdes Peninsula, and the members of the association seemed to really enjoy the tours of the historic property.

THE VANDERLIP COTTAGE
99 VANDERLIP DR. RANCHO PALOS VERDES, CA.
Reduced $500,000 to $ 1,999,000 !!!!

Once in a lifetime opportunity to own both a beautiful home as well as a piece of history. Frank Vanderlip, the original developer of Palos Verdes, constructed this home as his first estate on the Peninsula in 1916 in the Portuguese Bend area, which he called the "Old Ranch Cottage", now known as the "Cottage". This was one of the first homes on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. The Cottage, located at 99 Vanderlip Drive, is ideally situated at the top of the Portuguese Bend community behind private gates, and adjacent to the famous Vanderlip Mansion. The home has incredible ocean and Catalina views, and the site was hand-picked by Mr. Vanderlip as the ideal location on the Peninsula for views and the consistency of its delightful climate.

The Cottage has 4 bedrooms ,4 bathrooms, and is approx. 3,866 sq. ft. There is also an adjacent 1 bedroom 1 bath approx. 478 sq. ft. guest house. Both the dining room and living room exude a Victorian style of the 1920´s. The 3 upstairs bedrooms are very large, especially the Master Bedroom, with spectacular ocean views. The private entrance drive is up a beautiful tree lined promenade ending at the entrance to the Vanderlip Mansion and The Cottage. The sense of history and exclusivity of the home , combined with it´s beautiful architecture, pool area, and views, makes The Cottage one of the most unique homes on the Palos Verdes Peninsula.

Click Here for a Virtual Tour

CLICK HERE FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION?ON THIS PROPERTY

To schedule a showing of this property, contact me at 310-259-7124

Frank Vanderlip Sr. at his aviary

Regardless of their origins, these birds were maintained at the Vanderlip Estate in Portuguese Bend. It is suspected that some of the birds were introduced to Palos Verdes Estates by former mayor Fred Roessler sometime in the period from 1960-65. There are now numberous colonies in Rancho Palos Verdes in the Crestridge, Vista Grande, and the Portuguese Bend areas, as well as in the Lunada Bay and Malaga Cove areas of Palos Verdes Estates.

For more secrets and little know facts about the Palos Verdes Peninsula go to my website at http://www.maureenmegowan.com/PageManager/Default.aspx/PageID=1824011&NF=1

Despite persistent rumors that the Vanderlip estate is haunted., there is absolutely nothing factual about these rumors. The home was built by Frank Vanderlip Sr., the original developer of the Palos Verdes Peninsula who, with an investment group, purchased the entire Palos Verdes Peninsula in 1913. Two completely untrue stories have circulated on the internet that the wife of Frank Vanderlip went crazy there, or that a daughter of Frank Vanderlip had an illicit affair and was put into an insane asylum across the street. These stories are ridiculous but the stories still appear on several websites devoted to haunted places.

Mr. Vanderlip built the home in the early 1920's, and came for frequnt visits from his home in New York. After Mr. Vanderlip died in 1937, Narcissa Vanderlip , the wife of Frank Vanderlip, only stayed briefly on vacations in the Cottage next door to the mansion. She lived to a ripe old age on the East Coast and was a very sane and clever lady who did much public good works, including founding the League of Women Voters, and chairing the New York infirmary for many years. Through her friendship with Eleanor Roosevelt, she was instrumental in Mrs. Roosevelt's participation in the womens suffrage movement and other political activities. Frank Frank Vanderlip and his wife Narcissa had 6 children, all of whom led normal lives

One of Frank Vanderlip's sons, Kelvin, and his wife Elin, lived in the Villetta, as it was known, ( or the Cottage next door ) since their marriage in 1946. After Kelvin's death in 1956, Elin continued to live in the home, which she renamed the Villa Narcissa in honor of her mother-in-law Mrs. Frank A. Vanderlip, Sr., until her death at the age of 90 in 2009. Elin's children continue to own and occupy the home.