A motel, also known as a motor hotel, motor inn or motor lodge, is a hotel designed for motorists, usually having each room entered directly from the parking area for motor vehicles rather than through a central lobby. Entering dictionaries after World War II, the word motel, coined as a portmanteau of "motor hotel", originates from the defunct lodging compound establishment; The Milestone Mo-Tel in San Luis Obispo, California, which was built in 1925. The term referred to a type of hotel consisting of a single building of connected rooms whose doors faced a parking lot and in some circumstances, a common area or a series of small cabins with common parking. Motels are often individually owned, though motel chains do exist.
Malibu is a beach city in the Santa Monica Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, about 30 miles (48 km) west of Downtown Los Angeles. It is known for its Mediterranean climate, its strip of beaches stretching 21 miles along the Pacific Ocean coast, and for its longtime status as the home of numerous affluent Hollywood celebrities and executives. Although a high proportion of its residents are entertainment industry figures with multi-million dollar mansions, Malibu also features several middle- and upper-middle-class neighborhoods. The Pacific Coast Highway traverses the city, following along the South Coast of California. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 10,654. The ongoing 2025 Palisades Fire devastated Malibu, with almost all of the beachfront homes near its center destroyed.
The Hacienda is the current designation for a historic hotel in Monterey County, near the town of Jolon, California. It was completed in 1930 for use by William Randolph Hearst as temporary housing for his employees and guests and headquarters for activities taking place on the surrounding land. The lodge building, designed by architect Julia Morgan, replaced and expanded upon an earlier wooden structure known as the Milpitas Ranch House which was destroyed by fire in the 1920s. The 1930 hotel has also been known as Milpitas Hacienda, Hacienda Guest Lodge and Milpitas Ranchhouse, under which name the property was placed in the National Register of Historic Places on December 2, 1977.
Andrew Molera State Park is a 4,800 acres (1,900 ha), relatively undeveloped state park on the Big Sur coast of California, United States, preserving land as requested by former owner Frances Molera. Situated at the mouth of the Big Sur River, the property was part of the Rancho El Sur land grant, and later owned by Californio pioneer John Bautista Rogers Cooper and his descendants. Cooper's grandchildren Andrew and Frances Molera inherited the property from their mother in 1918. Andrew popularized the artichoke in California in 1922, and died in 1931. In 1965, Frances sold the property to The Nature Conservancy, stipulating that the park to be created should be named for her brother.
Pacific Palisades is a neighborhood in the Westside region of Los Angeles, California, situated about 20 miles (32 km) west of downtown Los Angeles. Starting on January 7, 2025, the majority of Pacific Palisades was severely affected and destroyed by the Palisades Fire, a part of the wider, and ongoing, Southern California wildfires.
Will Rogers State Historic Park is a California State Historic Park in the Santa Monica Mountains, in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles. The 186-acre (75 ha) park was established in 1944 to preserve the estate of American humorist Will Rogers, including his ranch and the surrounding countryside. The ranch house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971. The ranch house and other structures were destroyed in the 2025 Palisades Wildfire.
Topanga is an unincorporated community in western Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located in the Santa Monica Mountains, the community exists in Topanga Canyon and the surrounding hills. The narrow southern portion of Topanga at the coast is between the city of Malibu and the Los Angeles neighborhood of Pacific Palisades. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined Topanga as a census-designated place (CDP). As of the 2020 census the population of the Topanga CDP was 8,560. The ZIP code is 90290 and the area code is primarily 310, with 818 only at the north end of the canyon. It is in the 3rd County Supervisorial district.
Topanga State Park is a California state park located in the Santa Monica Mountains, within Los Angeles County, California. It is part of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.
The Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area is a United States national recreation area containing many individual parks and open space preserves, located primarily in the Santa Monica Mountains of Southern California. The SMMNRA is in the greater Los Angeles region, with two thirds of the parklands in northwest Los Angeles County, and the remaining third, including a Simi Hills extension, in southeastern Ventura County.
The Western Los Angeles County Council (WLACC) (#051) is one of five Boy Scouts of America councils in Los Angeles County, California. Headquartered in Van Nuys, the council services over 30,000 youth spanning six districts including the San Fernando Valley, Santa Clarita Valley, Antelope Valley, Malibu, and much of West Los Angeles.
Rustic Canyon is a residential neighborhood and canyon in eastern Pacific Palisades, on the west side of Los Angeles, California. It is along Rustic Creek, in the Santa Monica Mountains.
William Randolph Hearst Memorial State Beach is located near the historic town of San Simeon along California State Route 1, in San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. It is named for newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst (1863–1951), whose family is closely associated with the area.
Piedras Blancas Motel is a vintage roadside motel-and-diner complex located along the Central Coast of California approximately seven miles north of the historic village of San Simeon. It is a part of the Hearst San Simeon State Park, and has been considered for reuse as a campground and budget lodging.
Camp Curry, now known as Curry Village, was established in 1899 at the base of Glacier Point in Yosemite National Park. Developed as an alternative to the first-class Sentinel Hotel, it offered a more affordable, rustic lodging experience. The camp became an iconic part of Yosemite's history, known for its family-oriented atmosphere, nightly campfires, signature tent cabins, and the reinstitution of the Yosemite Firefall. Camp Curry’s success helped lay the foundation for modern park accommodations and had a lasting influence on the development of national park concessions.
The El Sur Ranch, located on the Big Sur coast of California, has been continuously operated as a cattle ranch since 1834. The approximately 7,100 acres (2,873 ha) ranch straddles Highway 1 for 6 miles (9.7 km) from the mouth of the Little Sur River to the mouth of the Big Sur River and Andrew Molera State Park. Both the ranch and the park originally comprised the Rancho El Sur land grant given in 1834 by Governor José Figueroa to Juan Bautista Alvarado. It has been owned by the Hill family since 1955, who operate a commercial cow-calf operation.
Historic Hotels of America is a program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation that was founded in 1989 with 32 charter members; the program identifies hotels in the United States that have maintained authenticity, sense of place, and architectural integrity from their respective time periods.
Lucia is a hamlet located 22 miles (35 km) south of Big Sur Village and 38 miles (61 km) north of Hearst Castle. The area is sparsely settled
The Palisades Fire is a wildfire burning in the Santa Monica Mountains of Los Angeles County in Southern California which has killed at least 10 people. As of January 17, 2025, at 5:53 p.m. PST, the fire had spread to 23,713 acres, destroying large areas of Pacific Palisades, Topanga and Malibu. It is the first and largest of a series of wildfires in and around the city of Los Angeles being driven by an extreme Santa Ana wind event. On January 8, Wildfire Alliance statistics indicated that the fire is the most destructive fire in Los Angeles history, surpassing the Sayre Fire in Sylmar in 2008 which destroyed 604 structures. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
Community United Methodist Church of Pacific Palisades is a United Methodist church in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. The community of Pacific Palisades was laid out as a result of Methodist church planters selecting an area on the bluffs north of Santa Monica as the location of their new Southern California camp meeting, inspired by the Chautauqua movement. The congregation initially worshipped in tents set up in Temescal Canyon. The first Community Methodist church building was dedicated in 1930, with substantial expansions in 1952 and the late 1960s. The church was badly damaged during the Palisades Fire on January 8, 2025.
Topanga Beach is a state beach at 18700 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu, CA 90265, situated at the mouth of Topanga Canyon, approximately half way between Santa Monica and Malibu; it is known for its closeness by automobile to the San Fernando Valley, its windsurfing and SCUBA diving, and its reputation for welcoming a bohemian lifestyle. It consistently ranks among the healthiest beaches for clean water conditions in Los Angeles County.
