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For nearly 4,000 years Malibu was inhabited by Chumash
Indians. They named the stretch of beach at the mouth of
Malibu Creek "Humaliwo" or "the surf sounds loudly."
It was here in 1542 that Spanish explorer Juan Rodriguez
Cabrillo may have stopped to get fresh water on his journey
north. Cabrillo saw a large Indian village at the foot of
the canyon, where the Malibu city offices stand today. The
Cabrillo expedition observed that the Chumash had bustling
towns of considerable prosperity and sophistication. Stories
of the Indians portray them as a handsome, intelligent and
flourishing people.
While the Spanish mission period in the 1700's marked the
end of their civilization, the first legal claim to land in
Malibu was made in 1802 by Spanish Settler Jose Bartoleme
Tapia. Tapia, given grazing rights by the King of Spain,
established a ranch and built a large adobe in Malibu
Canyon. These property holdings became known as the "Rancho
Topanga Malibu Simi Sequit."
Passed down through family inheritance, the rancho was
eventually sold by Henry Keller to Frederick Hastings Rindge
in 1891 for the reputed figure of $300,000. As one of the
last Spanish Land Grants to remain intact, it served as the
ideal country home for the Rindge family. This cultured and
wealthy New England family fiercely guarded their private
domain. In fact, Rhoda May Rindge, Frederick's widow, spent
her fortune in court costs to keep the Southern Pacific
Railroad, the State and neighboring homesteaders from
encroaching. The stories of May and her cowhands, rifles at
the ready, facing down the representatives of the County of
Los Angeles, are part of Malibu's folklore. After 17 years
of litigation, the State of California was victorious and
the Roosevelt Highway (now Pacific Coast Highway) was open
for through traffic to the public between Santa Moncia and
Oxnard in June 1929, ushering in a new era.
This final court battle forced May Rindge to begin leasing,
then selling property north of the mouth of Malibu Creek.
The first lots were offered for lease to movie celebrities
along a strand of beach known as the Malibu Colony.
Beautiful homes were built as lots were made available for
sale in the 1930's.
During that time, May's daughter Rhoda Agatha, married
Merritt Huntley Adamson. They built their summer home on
Vaquero Hill by the sea and another home in Serra Retreat.
In order to provide tiles for the two homes, May Rindge
brought in the finest craftsmen and established the Malibu
Tile Works.
The Adamson House, located in Malibu Lagoon State Park
overlooks the Malibu Pier and Surfrider Beach. It is a true
showplace of Malibu historical artifacts, featuring the
collection of hand-made Mediterranean-style tiles used in
their two Malibu homes as well as many buildings throughout
Southern California.
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HISTORIC MALIBU PIER MAY HAVE FACELIFT by Julia Foster
A California State Parks project on restoration of the
Malibu Pier and buildings is headed by John W. Foster,
senior archeologist for State Parks, and former resident of
Palos Verdes. Foster, a marine archeologist and diver, with
a team from Indiana University, began underwater inspections
on the historic pier which served as base for Alice's
restaurants and other historic buildings. Conditions of the
pilings and wood deck , tower and wall structures as well as
the buildings are being assessed.
The original historic Malibu pier, once a narrow structure
built by the Frederick Rindge family for a yacht dockage,
dates back to the turn of the century, when the beauty of
the golden sand beaches, a peaceful lagoon , mountains and
magnificent vistas caused the area to be called the Riviera
of America. Malibu pier, at the northern edge of Santa
Monica Bay extends to 780 feet, was acquired by the
California State parks in 1980, then closed from storm and
erosion damage for a few years. Now it's the long looked for
subject of a major face lift. A team of archeology experts,
recently back from a unique Dominican Republic marine site,
is headed by Prof. Charles Beeker of Indiana University. It
is investigating the conditions of pilings on the Malibu
pier. Some 200 of the underwater supports are probed,
measured and recorded for the restoration project.
For the most part, according to Beeker, the pilings are
found to be in fairly good condition. The project of
restoration just began with two man teams of divers going
down . At a depth of only 15-20 feet the surging waters at
the famous Surf Riders Beach can produce tricky conditions.
"You can feel yourself slapped around a bit," said diver
Deke Hager. His partner , Rob Richardson, dive master, was
on the other side of each piling, as they carefully assessed
the conditions. Others on the team include an Italian diver
Ivan Orlandinio, from Venice, Italy. He has made dives for
the sunken steam vessel, the Pomona, at Fort Ross State
Park... A graduate student/diving expert and anthropologist,
Harley Meier, is the only woman member of the marine team.
"The Malibu pier is regarded as historically significant and
one of the great piers of California," according to Foster,
who is familiar with the history of the Malibu area. Here
the Chumash Indians rode their own sea highway in tomolo
canoes. They lived as fine a life as today's residents,
including the Malibu Colony celebrities. All appreciate the
24 miles of spectacular, circling coastline. once a Spanish
land grant.
The famous "Alice's" restaurant, with stained glass door and
enclosed view of the bay and lagoon, once graced the land
end of the pier. It was part of two structures built in 1945
as restaurant and food preparation buildings. Now in decay
it is thought that they could be restored to their original
blue and white glory. This land end of the pier includes two
of the four historic buildings. The seaward end includes a
second twin building and tower. These buildings used to
house a bait and tackle shop, restaurant and snack bar.
From the pier you can see the red tiled roof of the Adamson
house, Spanish colonial home built by Rhoda Rindge Adamson,
descendant of the last owners of the Malibu Spanish land
grant.
Chumash called the area "Humaliwo," which means "where the
surf sounds loudly." With the restoration of the Malibu pier
, one may appreciate more than ever these sights and sounds.
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