History
Playa Del Rey – is a village in Los Angeles City. Widely popular in the 1970’s as a great surfing spot, Playa Del Rey is a portion of beachfront at the south of the Bellona Wetlands and Bellona Creek and Marina Del Rey. Playa Del Rey’s population is divided between the said areas. Playa Del Rey is surrounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west, Marina Del Rey to the north, Playa Vista to the northeast, Westchester to the east, and El Segundo to the south. Playa Del Rey is elevated 56 feet above sea level.

The name of Playa Del Rey can be directly translated to “beach of the king.” Playa Del Rey can be found two miles south of Kinney’s Venice of America resort. Playa Del Rey was once the mouth of the Los Angeles River. This changed when the river began to shift course. The river began emptying itself in Los Alamitos bay in Long Beach. This caused the formation of a lagoon more than two miles wide. The Lagoon was named Del Rey Lagoon.

During the 1830’s, land was being divided to parcels called Ranchos. These Ranchos included the Rancho La Bellona whose southwest corner was formed mainly by the Playa Del Rey Lagoon. The Rancho La Bellona was awarded to Ygnacio, Agustin Machado, Felipe, and Tomas Talamantes. The land grant was a huge 13,920 acre land which now constitutes Palm and Culver City, and is at the south of Pico Boulevard in Santa Monica.

The drought of the 1860’s in Playa Del Rey wreaked havoc in the rancho’s cattle; and it was then that squatters began to settle in the rancho. A German shopkeeper named Will Tell is among those squatters and Tell filed preemption claim to 150 acres of marsh lands at the Mouth of Bellona Creek. In that portion of the Rancho in the Playa Del Rey area, Tell built a shack at the Playa Del Rey Lagoon’s edge. He stockpiled his shack with food and drinks and became popular among Los Angeles sportsmen as “Tell’s Place” where they could rent one of Tell’s 10 small boats to hunt for ducks. However, Tell had to say goodbye to Playa Del Rey when the widow of Agustin Machado managed to successfully evict Tell in 1874. His small venture was taken over by an Irishman named Michael Duffy in 1877 and Duffy rechristened “Tell’s Place” as “Hunter’s Cottage.”

Playa Del Rey benefited from the South Californian land boom in the 1880’s, when an innovative man named Moye L. Wicks saw Playa Del Rey as a promising harbor. Wicks organized the Ballona Harbor and Improvement Company with a capital of $300,000 to develop Playa Del Rey’s “Port Bellona.” However, this project was abandoned in 1889 due to exhaustion of funds and many difficulties brought about by storms and a hard layer of red clay at the channel bottom.

The Sherman and Clark announced the formation of the Beach Land Company in June, 1902. A Member of this company is Henry P. Barbour, the owner of 1000 acres of land around the Playa Del Rey Lagoon. Barbour is also the one who gave name to the Playa Del Rey Community. The company intended to make Playa Del Rey a resort. The Playa Del Rey resort enjoyed a moderate success in attracting day tourists.

The Playa Del Rey soon grew into a bedroom community along the beach. Much of the Playa Del Rey Lagoon was lost when Bellona Creek was channeled by the Army Corp of Engineering. Another cause of the Playa Del Rey Lagoon’s reduction is the Marina Del Rey’s wide entrance channel that cut the Playa Del Rey Lagoon in the early 1960’s. Playa Del Rey is under the council district 11 of the city of Los Angeles. Council district 11 is responsible, not only of Playa Del Rey, but also of neighboring communities of Westchester and Marina Del Rey.

Schools
Schools in Playa Del Rey are under the Los Angeles Unified School District. Playa Del Rey is home to two schools. One of the schools in Playa Del Rey is the Paseo Del Rey Fundamental. Playa Del Rey’s Paseo Del Rey is a public school that caters to the needs of children at elementary level. As of 2006, Playa Del Ray’s public school educates 527 students. There are 25 teachers that nurture the young minds of Playa Del Rey. Playa Del Rey’s Paseo Del Rey Fundamental can be found at 7751 Paseo Del Rey, Playa Del Rey, California.

The other school in Playa Del Rey is the Saint Bernard’s High School. Saint Bernard’s High School is a private high school. Playa Del Rey’s private high school was founded by the first mission of the Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the United States. Playa Del Rey’s private high school currently caters to the needs of 569 students at the high school level. It can be found at 9100 Falmouth Avenue, Playa Del Rey, California.

The nearest library to Playa Del Rey is the Loyola Village Branch Library in Westchester. A notable restaurant in Playa Del Rey is the Caffé Pinguini. Caffé Pinguini is an excellent hideaway in Playa Del Rey. The Italian cuisine in Caffé Pinguini is something that makes Playa Del Rey worth visiting. Playa Del Rey’s Caffé Pinguini also offers good wine and is a good place to look for “undercover” celebrities. Caffé Pinguini can be found at 6935 Pacific Avenue, Playa Del Rey, California.

Entertainment Industry
Perhaps the most notable resident of Playa Del Ray is the late Anissa Jones. Mary Anissa Jones is known and loved as Buffy in the CBS television show, Family Affair, which aired from September 12, 1966 to September 9, 1971. Anissa was born in West Lafayette, Indiana. Her parents eventually moved to Playa Del Rey. Playa Del Rey’s Anissa Jones was easily one of the most recognizable child stars in Hollywood during her time. Playa Del Rey’s Anissa Jones also had a movie alongside Elvis Presley in the 1969 movie, The Trouble with Girls .Playa Del Rey’s Anissa Jones passed away on August 28, 1976 at the young age of 18. Playa Del Rey’s Anissa Jones was so popular that several songs like The Diodes’ Child Star were made in reference to her life.

It is rumored that Gilligan’s Island was filmed in Playa Del Rey.

DR. JOHN CHAVES
5312 Comercio Lane, Suite A
Woodland Hills, CA 91364
Phone 818-999-2707
Fax 818-703-1998
appointment@cosmeticdentalservices.com