About Opentopia
Opentopia Directory Encyclopedia Tools

Topanga, California

Encyclopedia : T : TO : TOP : Topanga, California

This article is about a town in Los Angeles County. For the music album by Colin Hay, see Topanga (album). For the TV show character named Topanga Lawrence-Matthews, see Boy Meets World.
Topanga, California is an unincorporated neighborhood in western Los Angeles County, USA. It is located in the Santa Monica Mountains and occupies Topanga Canyon. Topanga is 12,748 acres (52 km²) in size, and is bounded on three sides by State Park or conservancy lands, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean and a small strip of Malibu, which is the main community to the west. On the east is Pacific Palisades. Topanga has a population of 5,441 as of 2000. The ZIP Code is 90290 and the area code is 310. It is in the 3rd County Supervisorial district.

Contents

Topanga Canyon

Topanga Creek drains Topanga Canyon and is the third largest watershed entering the Santa Monica Bay. The creek is one of the few remaining undammed waterways in the area, and is a spawning ground of the endangered steelhead trout. The area typically receives about 22" of rain annually. Topanga State Beach lies on the coast at the outlet of Topanga Creek. Topanga Canyon Boulevard, California State Route 27, is the principal thoroughfare, connecting the Ventura Freeway with Pacific Coast Highway. The road largely follows Topanga Creek.

Topanga Canyon contains lands of both Topanga State Park, which is the largest park in the Santa Monica Mountains, and the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy. It is part of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.

History

Topanga is the name given to the area by the Tongva tribe, and may mean "a place above." It was the western border of their territory, abutting the Chumash tribe that occupied the coast from Malibu northwards. Bedrock mortars can be found carved into rock outcroppings in many locations.

Topanga was settled by Whites beginning in 1839. The first ranch was homesteaded in 1885.

In the 1950s blacklisted actor Will Geer had to sell his large Santa Monica home and move his family to small plot in the canyon where they could grow their own produce. Geer's friend Woody Guthrie had a small shack on the property. They unintentionally founded what became an artists' colony.

Members of Charles Manson's "family" began their campaign of murder on July 31, 1969 with the torture and murder of Topanga resident Gary Hinman, a music teacher who had opened his home to anyone needing shelter.

The Old Topanga Fire began on November 2 1993. Within an hour it was already burning 1,000 acres (4 km²). It resulted in the largest mobilization of emergency resources in a twenty-four hour period in California history. By the time it was extinguished ten days later 16,516 acres (67nbsp;km²) of watershed and at least 388 structures were burned in Topanga and adjoining areas.

Culture

The most notable cultural attraction is the Theatricum Botanicum, founded by Will Geer in 1973. It has grown into an Equity theater, and occupies a natural outdoor amphitheater. It features Shakespearean plays, modern classics, and original productions, as well as musical concerts. Performers have included Pete Seeger, Arlo Guthrie, Della Reese, and Burl Ives.

The area is known as a bohemian enclave attracting artists, musicians, and others. Numerous music festivals have been organized in the canyon, including the Topanga Banjo Fiddle Contest that has been held annually since 1961.

A famous venue in the canyon was the Elysium Institute, also known as Elysium Fields, a nudist club for 30 years. After surviving extended battles with county officials the 9-acre property was sold in 2002 by its founder's heirs. [link]

Topanga has an annual fair and parade.

Notable Residents

Woody Guthrie was one of the first musicians who found a home there. As nearby Los Angeles grew into a major music capital, Topanga became a preferred residence for many performers, including Neil Young, Billy Preston, Joni Mitchell, Steven Stills, Bernie Leadon of the Eagles, Jim Morrison and John Densmore of the Doors, Mick Fleetwood, Spanky Macfarlane, Lowell George, Julia Fordham, Richie Hayward and Fred Tackett of Little Feat, Taj Mahal, Pee Wee Crayton, Big Joe Turner, Alice Cooper, and Mark Andes, Jay Ferguson and John Locke of Spirit (band). Children's musician residents include Hap Palmer and Peter Alsop. So many orchestral musicians live in the canyon that the Topanga Symphony Orchestra was formed in 1982.

Actors who have lived in Topanga include Will Geer, Dean Stockwell, Lisa Bonet, Wendie Malick, Eric Mabius, and Dennis Hopper. Russ Tamblyn raised his daughter, Amber Tamblyn in Topanga, Jennifer Holden from the movie "Jailhouse Rock" with Elvis Presley.

Demographics

As of the Census 2000 for the zip code 90290 the following Demographics are applicable.

Population

The population of the Topanga is 5441 as of of which 2,754 (50.6%) are male and 2,687 (49.4%) female.

Housing

There are 2332 housing units of which

Education

Economics

Lower Topanga Canyon

The bottom of Topanga Canyon, where it meets Pacific Coast Highway and the ocean, was owned for many years by the Los Angeles Athletic Club, a wealthy private club in downtown Los Angeles. The 1,659 acre (6.7 km²) parcel was rented out to a variety of businesses and residents for decades at very low rents. In 2001 the property was purchased by the State of California. The state is in the process of evicting tenants, and will subsequently rehabilitate the area and add it to Topanga State Park.

Disasters

External links

 

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.

Search Titles
0123456789
ABCDEFGHIJ
KLMNOPQRST
UVWXYZ?

E-mail this article to:

Personal Message: