Will Rogers' ranch house and motel owned by William Randolph Hearst consumed by Palisades fire

[ad_1] Among the many carnage wrought by the devastating Palisades hearth had been two items of California historical past relationship to a bygone period.

Will Rogers’ historic ranch home, owned by the well-known social commentator, actor and performer, and the Topanga Ranch Motel, constructed by newspaper baron William Randolph Hearst, had been victims of the fires which have wreaked havoc all through Southern California during the last two days, in response to California State Parks Director Armando Quintero.

Each had been consumed by the fireplace that has charred a complete of almost 16,000 acres and devoured a further 300 buildings — together with houses and companies — as of Wednesday afternoon.

“California State Parks mourns the lack of these treasured pure and cultural assets, and our hearts exit to everybody impacted by the devastating fires within the Los Angeles space,” Quintero stated in an announcement.

Each buildings had been a part of the harm sustained all through Topanga State Park and Will Rogers State Park as hearth destroyed state worker residences, together with greater than 30 different structural losses.

Rogers, recognized towards the later a part of his life for his political commentary, was as soon as certainly one of Hollywood’s highest-paid actors. He began his profession as a vaudeville performer and was a famed humorist.

<img class="image" alt="A run-down "Topanga Ranch Motel" sign in a parking lot with a few cars." srcset="https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/921c640/2147483647/strip/true/crop/638x353+0+0/resize/320x177!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F1e%2Fcf%2F797fab824450bc50052678deaaf1%2Fla-me-will-rogers-park-palisades-fire-2.jpg 320w,https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/61b4182/2147483647/strip/true/crop/638x353+0+0/resize/568x314!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F1e%2Fcf%2F797fab824450bc50052678deaaf1%2Fla-me-will-rogers-park-palisades-fire-2.jpg 568w,https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/66114ec/2147483647/strip/true/crop/638x353+0+0/resize/768x425!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F1e%2Fcf%2F797fab824450bc50052678deaaf1%2Fla-me-will-rogers-park-palisades-fire-2.jpg 768w,https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/80484f8/2147483647/strip/true/crop/638x353+0+0/resize/1024x567!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F1e%2Fcf%2F797fab824450bc50052678deaaf1%2Fla-me-will-rogers-park-palisades-fire-2.jpg 1024w,https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/fa69e29/2147483647/strip/true/crop/638x353+0+0/resize/1200x664!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F1e%2Fcf%2F797fab824450bc50052678deaaf1%2Fla-me-will-rogers-park-palisades-fire-2.jpg 1200w" sizes="100vw" width="1200" height="664" src="https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/fa69e29/2147483647/strip/true/crop/638x353+0+0/resize/1200x664!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F1e%2Fcf%2F797fab824450bc50052678deaaf1%2Fla-me-will-rogers-park-palisades-fire-2.jpg" decoding="async" loading="lazy"/> The aftermath of a fireplace on the historic Topanga Ranch Motel on Jan. 8, 2025.

(California State Parks)

Through the Twenties, Rogers bought land in Santa Monica, growing what turned a 359-acre ranch that overlooks the Pacific Ocean in what's now Pacific Palisades.

The precise ranch dwelling consisted of 31 rooms, with an adjoining guesthouse, a steady, corrals, a golf course and climbing trails.

Rogers died on the age of 55 in a aircraft crash in Alaska in 1935.

His widow, Betty, finally donated the ranch to the state in 1944, and it turned the historic state park.

The household stated in an announcement Wednesday that it was deeply saddened that Rogers’ historic dwelling and the “the Barn that Jokes constructed” had been destroyed.

“Whereas the loss to the Will Rogers Ranch is devastating, it pales compared to the lack of the property and companies and, extra importantly, the lives of these within the surrounding space,” Jennifer Rogers, a Rogers household consultant, stated in an announcement.

Rogers was born to a Cherokee household in Oklahoma and was considered “amongst our most beloved Cherokees,” stated Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. of the Cherokee Nation.

“The … lack of Will Rogers’ historic house is definitely a tragedy, and your complete Cherokee Nation is sending our ideas and prayers to great-granddaughter Jennifer Rogers-Etcheverry and household,” Hoskin stated in an announcement.

<img class="image" alt="A long, one-story bungalow-style building." srcset="https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/cb838b0/2147483647/strip/true/crop/377x235+0+0/resize/320x199!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F84%2F84%2F85c933af40d49967425f8475b5cb%2Fla-me-will-rogers-park-palisades-fire-3.jpg 320w,https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/caf559b/2147483647/strip/true/crop/377x235+0+0/resize/568x354!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F84%2F84%2F85c933af40d49967425f8475b5cb%2Fla-me-will-rogers-park-palisades-fire-3.jpg 568w,https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/198acf2/2147483647/strip/true/crop/377x235+0+0/resize/768x479!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F84%2F84%2F85c933af40d49967425f8475b5cb%2Fla-me-will-rogers-park-palisades-fire-3.jpg 768w,https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/8b23398/2147483647/strip/true/crop/377x235+0+0/resize/1024x638!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F84%2F84%2F85c933af40d49967425f8475b5cb%2Fla-me-will-rogers-park-palisades-fire-3.jpg 1024w,https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/3bdb4da/2147483647/strip/true/crop/377x235+0+0/resize/1200x748!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F84%2F84%2F85c933af40d49967425f8475b5cb%2Fla-me-will-rogers-park-palisades-fire-3.jpg 1200w" sizes="100vw" width="1200" height="748" src="https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/3bdb4da/2147483647/strip/true/crop/377x235+0+0/resize/1200x748!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F84%2F84%2F85c933af40d49967425f8475b5cb%2Fla-me-will-rogers-park-palisades-fire-3.jpg" decoding="async" loading="lazy"/> The Topanga Ranch Motel earlier than the Palisades hearth.

(California State Parks)

In 1929, San Francisco native Hearst constructed the bungalow-style Topanga Ranch Motel, which was throughout the road from Topanga Seashore.

The motel included 30 rooms and as soon as housed building staff constructing Pacific Coast Freeway.

Whereas space inns had been dear, Topanga Ranch Motel provided a cheap seaside trip.

Vacationers, households and writers stayed there for many years. The power was acquired by California State Parks in 2001.

There had been plans to revive 20 of the bungalows for public use once more.

State Parks closed down Topanga and Will Roger state park and seaside shortly after the Palisades hearth started Tuesday, Quintero stated.

Different historic or notable losses embody:

Palisades Constitution Excessive College

The three,000-student campus suffered important harm, together with to the college’s athletic amenities and bungalows. Adjoining Palisades Constitution Elementary and close by Marquez Constitution Elementary are feared to be whole losses.

Pasadena Jewish Temple and Middle

Torah scrolls had been saved, however the temple and heart had been destroyed for a neighborhood that has known as Pasadena dwelling for greater than 100 years.

Pierson Playhouse inside Theatre Palisades

Performances date to the Nineteen Sixties, with the playhouse being constructed within the Eighties. The board of administrators has suspended all operations due to critical harm suffered within the hearth, in response to an announcement.

The Reel Inn

One in every of Malibu’s famed “seafood shacks,” the Reel Inn burned down, its house owners confirmed on Instagram. The institution had stood for 36 years.