37 stories, landmarks & places within ~20 miles — the same local lore RoadyGoat plays as you drive through.
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Malibu, CA
· Local history
Malibu’s name whispers of its deep connection to the land's original inhabitants, the Chumash people. Long before the Pacific Coast Highway snaked its way along the coast, opening the area to the world, a Chumash…
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Adamson House
· 5.9 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Prepare to be amazed by the Adamson House, a true architectural gem overlooking the Pacific! Built in 1929 for Rhoda Rindge Adamson and her husband Merritt, this stunning home is a prime example of Spanish Colonial…
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Agoura Hills, CA
· 7.7 mi · Local history
Agoura Hills owes much of its character to a blend of geography and accessibility. Nestled in the foothills of the Santa Monica Mountains at nearly a thousand feet, the area offered a more secluded, almost rural feel…
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Agora Hills, CA
· 9.2 mi · Local history
Agora Hills, nestled in the foothills of the Santa Monica Mountains, owes its existence to a confluence of factors that transformed it from ranch land to a desirable suburb. Its location, strategically positioned…
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Thousand Oaks, CA
· 10.5 mi · Local history
Thousand Oaks wasn't always the planned community it is today. Long before Amgen or the construction of Highway 101, this area was home to the Chumash people. Their presence isn't as visible as the oak trees that gave…
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Topanga, CA
· 11.3 mi · Local history
A lone hawk circles above Topanga Canyon, riding the thermal updrafts that funnel through the narrow gorge. Below, nestled among the scrub oak and chaparral, are scattered homes, art studios, and small farms – a…
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Calabasas, CA
· 11.3 mi
Calabasas wasn't always the meticulously planned community it is today. The name, derived from the Spanish word for pumpkin, hints at its agricultural past, a history largely erased by the explosive growth fueled by the…
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Case Study House No. 28
· 11.6 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Pull over for a peek at a piece of architectural history: Case Study House Number 28, right here in Thousand Oaks. This house, designed by Conrad Buff and Donald Hensman, was built between 1965 and 1966 as part of the…
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Hidden Hills, CA
· 11.8 mi · Local history
Hidden Hills, despite its modern sheen of celebrity and manicured lawns, carries whispers of an earlier California. Before Drake and gated estates, this land belonged to the Tongva people, who lived in villages…
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Leonis Adobe
· 12.1 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Pull over here for a glimpse into old California – the Leonis Adobe! This is one of the oldest surviving homes in Los Angeles County. It was built around 1844 by a wealthy rancher named Miguel Leonis. He lived here…
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Stagecoach Inn (California)
· 12.9 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Imagine stagecoach travelers resting here on their journey between Los Angeles and Santa Barbara in this preserved 19th-century hotel. Back then, this spot was known as the Grand Union Hotel, a welcome sight for weary…
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Newbury Park, CA
· 13.2 mi · Local history
Newbury Park wasn't exactly born; it sort of accumulated, like sediment at the bottom of a slow-moving river. The Chumash people, of course, knew this land long before any European boots trod on its sun-baked hills.…
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Eames House
· 14.9 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Prepare to be inspired: this house redefined modern living. The Eames House, also known as Case Study House Number 8, was built in 1949 by the legendary design duo Charles and Ray Eames. Commissioned by Arts &…
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Will Rogers State Historic Park
· 15.5 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Imagine living like a Hollywood star from the Golden Age! Will Rogers State Historic Park lets you step back in time to the ranch of the beloved actor and humorist, Will Rogers. Rogers purchased land here in the 1920s…
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Joel McCrea Ranch
· 15.6 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Imagine a time when cattle ranches stretched as far as the eye could see across Southern California. This is the Joel McCrea Ranch, a rare surviving glimpse into that era. In 1933, the famous actor Joel McCrea and his…
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Canoga Park, CA
· 15.9 mi · Local history
Canoga Park wasn't always the sprawling suburb it is today. Long before the freeways sliced through the San Fernando Valley, this area was known by another name, a name echoing its Native American roots: Ka-nuga,…
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Charmont Apartments
· 16.1 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Ever wonder what "Med-Deco" looks like? Look no further than the Charmont Apartments, a stunning example of blended architectural styles. Built in 1928, the Charmont was designed by architect Max Maltzman. It uniquely…
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Santa Monica Looff Hippodrome
· 16.4 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Step back in time at this whimsical carousel building, a landmark of Santa Monica's pier since 1916. That's when Charles I. D. Looff and his son Arthur designed and built this beautiful Hippodrome. It was specifically…
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Santa Monica, CA
· 16.6 mi
Santa Monica has always been a place of reinvention, from its boomtown origins thanks to the Pacific Electric Railway to its current identity as a relaxed yet affluent beach city. Recently, this spirit of change has…
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Simi Valley, CA
· 16.8 mi · Local history
Simi Valley wasn't always the suburban expanse it is today. Long before tract homes and shopping centers, the area belonged to the Chumash people, who thrived on the oak-studded hills and fertile valley floor. They…
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Tarzana, CA
· 17.1 mi
Imagine a valley landscape, once choked by chaparral, suddenly ablaze in 1934. The Tarzana brush fire swept through, reshaping the land and its future. But even before the flames, this place was already being forged in…
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Simi Adobe–Strathearn House
· 17.2 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Ever wonder who owned all this land back in the day? This spot was the heart of Rancho Simi, a massive Spanish land grant. In the early 1840s, Rancho Simi was a sprawling estate, granted by the Spanish government. It…
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Grandma Prisbrey's Bottle Village
· 18.0 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Ever wonder what you'd do with thousands of discarded bottles? Grandma Prisbrey knew! From the 1950s to the 1970s, Tressa Prisbrey, affectionately known as Grandma Prisbrey, used bottles and other recycled materials to…
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Venice, CA
· 18.1 mi
Venice, California, started as one man's dream. Abbot Kinney wanted to build a "Venice of America," and in the early 1900s, his canals drew tourists eager for a taste of Italy on the Pacific coast. That initial boom…
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Venice Canal Historic District
· 18.3 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Prepare to be transported to Italy, right here in Los Angeles! The Venice Canal Historic District is a quirky reminder of a time when someone tried to recreate the magic of Venice, Italy, in Southern California. In…
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Reseda, CA
· 18.3 mi
Reseda’s story is one of calculated expansion colliding with the realities of suburban life. Its very existence owes itself to the Pacific Electric Railway, the “Red Cars” that snaked their way across the San Fernando…
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Encino, CA
· 18.4 mi · Local history
Encino, a pocket of the San Fernando Valley, breathes a relaxed kind of affluence. Its streets, climbing to 719 feet above sea level, offer cleaner air and valley views that stretch toward the horizon. Though now known…
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Rancho Los Encinos
· 18.5 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Pull over here and you're stepping back in time to when California was a *very* different place. Rancho Los Encinos was a vital stop on the El Camino Real, the old road connecting the California missions. In 1845, the…
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Spahn Ranch
· 19.0 mi
What is now a quiet section of Santa Susana Pass State Historic Park, in the hills above Chatsworth, was for decades a working movie ranch. Gunsmoke, Bonanza, and dozens of Westerns were filmed among its rock outcrops…
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Sawtelle, CA
· 19.0 mi · Local history
Sawtelle Boulevard shimmers in the afternoon heat, its false fronts echoing a Hollywood past that never quite arrived. The Pacific Branch of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, a sprawling campus,…
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Camarillo Ranch House
· 19.0 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Imagine a California where cattle roamed freely and lima beans stretched as far as the eye could see. That was life at Camarillo Ranch, and this stunning house was its heart. In 1892, Adolfo Camarillo, a prominent…
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Marina Del Rey, CA
· 19.1 mi · Local history
Marina Del Rey’s identity is inseparable from its glistening harbor. It wasn’t always this way, of course. Before the 1950s, this area was largely marshland, prone to flooding despite its low elevation. The Los Angeles…
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Strathmore Apartments
· 19.1 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Imagine living in the same building as Orson Welles! The Strathmore Apartments, right here in Westwood, has seen its share of famous faces. Built in the late 1930s, the Strathmore was designed by renowned modernist…
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Chatsworth, CA
· 19.4 mi
Chatsworth, tucked into the northwestern corner of the San Fernando Valley, holds a unique place in California's cultural landscape. Named in 1888 for an English estate, its slightly elevated position gives it a…
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Ralphs Grocery Store (Los Angeles, California)
· 19.4 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Believe it or not, you're looking at grocery store history! This building, now a CVS, was one of the very first structures in Westwood Village. Built in 1929, it was originally a Ralphs Grocery Store. Westwood Village…
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Mar Vista, CA
· 19.6 mi
Mar Vista, a neighborhood whose name promised a 'sea view' back in 1924, has seen a lot of changes, but the last few years have been particularly transformative. While aerospace once hummed near the Santa Monica…
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Northridge, CA
· 19.8 mi
Northridge, California, a place defined by its position and people, rests just north of the Santa Susana Mountains. That elevation, over a thousand feet, gives the air a certain crispness, a clarity often missing closer…