8/3/2019 Looking Back - The Timeless Charm of La Venta Inn
1/2
20 SuTBGS.M | 10.28.2011
wriTTen by denise Kano.
phoTo courTesy of palos verdes library disTricT, local hisTory
collecTion.
T h e
o f
When most of s think of la Venta nn, we robaby reca a reatives
wedding
recetion, a comany hoiday arty, or some other festive occasion
at the intimate
ocation. owever, the inn boasts an imressive and varied history
for its 88 years,
from serving as a famos back-tie restarant to a rivate
residence.
onstrcted in 1923 at a cost of $17,000, the la Venta nn, aso
referred to
in some eary historica docments as the Wayside nn, was the rst
ermanent
biding constrcted in paos Verdes. Given the name, la Venta,
meaning the sae,
it was originay bit by the managers of the paos Verdes project
to entertain
otentia and byers. The project, a rea estate trst nanced by
4,000 investors,
soght to deveo paos Verdes whie at the same time reserving the
ands niqe
beaty. The rst arge la Venta arty was hed in 1924 on the
three-acre site, when
200 reators were wined and dined in the beatif setting. The
projects an was a
hge sccess, and soon homes started aearing on the andscae, a
foowing the
Mediterranean architectra exame of the inn.
The inn was sed as a backdro for severa sient movies and in the
ate 1920s
it became known as a back-tie restarant, and ater as a weekend
retreat. The
wedding of obert owey and Midred shby, both of ermosa Beach, was
the rst
to take ace at la Venta nn, hed on Jne 6, 1925.
n the 1930s and 40s, notabe eoe of that era, sch as hares
lindbergh,
Tyrone power, ary Grant, Goria Swanson, rro ynn, Betty Grabe,
lana Trner,
and Bob oe, visited and dined at the inn, and it soon became the
ace to see and
be seen, with reaxing days taking tea in the garden, and
evenings sent siing
chamagne and enjoying smtos dinners near the roaring reace.
ring the Great eression, a was qiet for severa years. rank
onroy, a
Broadway stage actor, rchased the inn in 1941 and hosted avish
oywood arties,
bt with the onset of Word War , bomb scares and backots revented
visitors
from attemting the ong, winding drive to the inn, and it was a
bt abandoned.
t the end of Word War , the inn was rchased by the Schnetzer
famiy, and
they converted it into their own rivate residence. They worked
on renovations,
and ovingy broght the exansive gardens back to ife. They were
aso reortedy
aways friendy to crios assersby who didnt know the inn was now a
rivate
home. orie Matthews, former owner and daghter of the Schnetzers,
tod the aiy
Breeze that there were occasions when eoe wod jst come in the
front door,
sit down and ask for a men. The Schnetzers eventay reoened the
inn to the
bic in 1957, and for ten years, Mrs. Schnetzer assisted with
arranging weddings
and ceebrations on the gronds, acting as innkeeer.
ver the years there have been instances in which deveoers made
overtres
toward this vaabe roerty, bt the commnity consistenty raied to
reserve
the inn and its history, and it was eventay designated a
nationay recognized
historica andmark. Since 1992, the ew ork ood omany has managed
the
roerty, and hosts nmeros rivate arty fnctions every year.
The la Venta nn contines to stand majesticay overooking the
sectacar
Soth Bay coastine, with Santa Monica in the distance; its
stnning view affectionatey
known as The Qeens eckace for its shae, as we as the shimmering
nighttime
ights. Whatever occasion brings yo to la Venta, yo aways fee as
thogh yore
steing back into time and the charm remains the same.
l K G B K
Charles Lindbergh, Tyrone Power, Cary Grant, Gloria Swanson,
Errol Flynn, Betty Grable, Lana Turner, and Bob Hope, visited
and
dined at the inn, and it soon became the place to see and be
seen.
La Venta Inn
tImeLess Charm
