HOMES FOR SALE IN LAUREL CANYON

Tongva Indigenous Peoples

The Tongva people, a native tribe of California’s indigenous peoples, inhabited the Laurel Canyon region for thousands of years. A perennial spring-fed stream provided fresh water. 

The constant water supply attracted Spanish ranchers, who began grazing sheep on the slopes in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Following the Mexican–American War and California’s US statehood in 1850, Americans looking for water rights immigrated to the region.

Lookout Mountain

The route was originally accessible only by foot or mule until the twentieth century. In 1907, an 82-mile dirt road, which became known as Laurel Canyon Boulevard, was built. It ran up the canyon, dividing at what is now Lookout Mountain Road; the left road went up to the summit of Lookout Mountain, and the right branch of the road went to the top of the Santa Monica Mountains and then down to the San Fernando Valley.

In 1908, the Lookout Mountain Park and Water Company was formed to acquire 280 acres on Lookout Mountain, just west of Laurel Canyon, and subdivide and sell them as vacation houses. The Los Angeles Times announced on August 14, 1908, that the firm would construct Lookout Mountain Inn at the peak of Lookout Mountain and Sunset Plaza roads, as well as Lookout Mountain Park, Bungalow Land at Laurel Canyon Boulevard and Lookout Mountain Avenue, and Wonderland Park. The company expanded the dirt road to the top of Lookout Mountain when it built the Lookout Mountain Inn two years later.

The trackless electric trolley bus service that began operation in 1912 between the Laurel Canyon Pacific Electric Shuttle terminus at Sunset Boulevard and the top of Laurel Canyon was built by Charles Mann, a real estate developer, and Richard Shoemaker, an engineer. The Laurel Canyon Pacific Electric Shuttle was a one-way shuttle that ran from Sunset Boulevard at the base of Lookout Mountain Road to Gardner Junction on Sunset Boulevard and the Beverly Hills Pacific Electric Railway station (1451 N. Gardner St., West Hollywood, CA 90046), making stops along the way.

The vehicle had two trolley poles, one for each of the vehicle’s two overhead wires: a positive overhead wire and a ground overhead wire. It was able to shift to either side of the road solely by drawing power from above. The trolley was originally a 1912 Oldsmobile with an electric motor and capacity of ten passengers. Around 1915, the overhead wires were pulled down and the service was supplanted by Stanley Steamers. The trackless trolley ran up and down Laurel Canyon every half hour to Los Angeles until 1918. When Pacific Electric discontinued its streetcars between Gardner Junction and Laurel Canyon Boulevard, demand for the route fell short of sufficient patronage.

The Lookout Mountain Inn, which is now a museum, was totally destroyed in a fire on October 26, 1918. At the summit of Lookout Mountain Avenue and Sunset Plaza Drive, the fire burned about 200 acres and completely destroyed the inn.

Because the roads were developed, people could go there by vehicle.

The corner of Lookout Mountain Avenue and Laurel Canyon Boulevard (2401 Laurel Canyon Blvd) now serves as a vacant lot, where the Tavern, a renowned 1915 “Log Cabin” mansion once stood. With its 80-foot living area, floor-to-ceiling fireplace, bowling alley, and indoor sunken swimming pool. It was previously home to silent film star Tom Mix, but it was on the rental market for years. In 1968, Frank Zappa leased it as a recording studio and celebrity hangout. Zappa, on the other hand, moved out after six months. On Halloween 1981, the home was destroyed by a fire.

Harry Houdini may have rented a home on the site of the current structure, which was built in 1930 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, as early as 1919. It had been the Walker estate beforehand.

The counterculture of the 1960s & 70s

Laurel Canyon became a hotspot of counterculture activity and attitudes in the mid-late 1960s and early 1970s, becoming known as the home of many L.A. rock stars, such as Cass Elliot of the Mama’s & The Papas; Joni Mitchell; Frank Zappa; Jim Morrison of The Doors; and Carole King It; The Byrds; Buffalo Springfield; Canned Heat; John Mayall; members of the band The Eagles; the band Love; Neil Young; Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys as well as James Taylor, Jackson Browne, Ned Doheny, Bonnie Raitt, Linda Ronstadt, Harry Nilsson; and Micky Dolenz & Peter Tork of The Monkees. The house of Cass Elliot, one of Laurel Canyon’s most popular party houses during the 1960s and 1970s, was famous for all-night, drug-fueled sleepovers attended by some of the era’s most fashionable musicians and movie stars.

For the song “Twelve Thirty (Young Girls Are Coming to the Canyon)” (released in 1967), John Phillips, also of the Mamas and the Papas, drew inspiration from their Laurel Canyon residence. In 1964, John Mayall recorded and published the album Blues From Laurel Canyon, based on his experiences during a holiday he took in the Canyon.

The area and its inhabitants have provided inspiration for a number of works, the most prominent being Joni Mitchell’s third album, Ladies of the Canyon, which was released in 1970. The house she resided in is remembered in the Crosby, Stills, and Nash song “Our House” (1970), which was written by Graham Nash when he was her lover. It’s said that the group initially met and sang together in Mitchell’s living room.

The spacious Canyon backdrop was also utilized by legendary rock photographer Henry Diltz for many of his historic photographs of musicians hanging out in nature. Several of his photographs became iconic representations of the West Coast music scene in the 1960s and 1970s; others, including CSN’s debut album, Crosby, Stills, & Nash (seen in West Hollywood), became famous album cover designs.