Malibu

Malibu offers the best in Southern California living. This small

town is situated close to Los Angeles and Hollywood, but far

enough away from the traffic and stress of big-city life. All the clichés of

Southern California come true in Malibu: the swimming pools, movie

stars, paparazzi, and fancy cars. It's the land of champagne wishes and

caviar dreams. But Malibu is also a beautiful, quiet, and surprisingly rural

beachfront community. In a desirable location going back to the time of

the Chumash Indians, the peace and environment of Malibu have been

protected by city fathers with a vision. This is the California Riviera, a

thin slice of la dolce vita located between the Santa Monica Mountains

and the deep blue sea.

Ben Marcus, a former editor of Surfer magazine, has lived in Malibu since 1995. A native of Santa Cruz, Marcus finds Malibu hard to argue with and has researched and written about Malibu's history for many publications, including the Los Angeles Times, LA Weekly, Malibu magazine, the Malibu Times, and Malibu Patch. Marcus finds Malibu a productive place to live and work and has written 13 books on subjects ranging from surfing to Las Vegas. Marc Wanamaker is a founding member of the Hollywood Heritage Museum and is the owner of Bison Archives, a historical research resource, from which these images were drawn. His books for Arcadia Publishing include two-volume sets on historic Beverly Hills and Hollywood.