Towering Over Valmonte

At 4420 Via Valmonte stands the Gate Lodge Tower, distinct in its rustic stone setting conjuring images of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. The stalwart sentry guarding the eastern entrance to Palos Verdes Estates was originally intended to be the guard house for a gated community that was then called the “New Palos Verdes Project”.

Built in 1926 the tower is a two story, 15 feet wide, round construction with 18 inch thick walls of PV Stone. Upstairs is a room with a view, though trees have grown high and obscure its vista. Downstairs, there is a kitchen and living room area complete with fireplace, and over the years this romantic scene has belonged to a few renters.

Overlooking PV’s eastern border with Torrance, the property commanded a majestic panorama over Los Angeles and a part of what was once Frank Vanderlip’s 16,000 acres. As the New Palos Verdes Project progressed, the section of Hawthorne that snaked up the hill was renamed Via Mirlo, reestablishing the guard tower as the “Mirlo Gate Lodge”. Shortly after the tower was finished, the street was renamed Hawthorne and continued on to the golf course. Although the tower has had many names since, ‘Hawthorne’ has never been one of them.

The Great Depression and World War II changed everything; this and many other projects poised to be built in PV were brought to an end and the New Palos Verdes Project became nothing more than drawings on paper.

Over the next decade the Great Lakes Carbon Corporation leased about 300 acres from Vanderlip. Dicalite (diatomaceous earth) was mined from the quarry at the bottom of the Valmonte bluff (now Hawthorne and Via Valmonte) and extended into what is now the Hillside Plaza, a part of Torrance. The mining company wanted to own the land and in 1953 the purchase of 6,800 acres from Vanderlip’s holdings caused the company investors to reassess their plans and the land was developed into a business and residential area. In 1965 Hawthorne was extended up and over the top of the hill to join Palos Verdes Drive South and what was once Via Mirlo became Via Valmonte.

In 1939 the City of Palos Verdes Estates took possession of the tower when the city was incorporated. No longer a sellable piece of real estate, it yet remains a symbol of our piece of the hill - Valmonte. Quaint on its pepper tree lined property, the tower is a quiet reminder of strength, safety and grandeur – exactly what we love about Palos Verdes and for the select few who have lived there, a man’s home actually can be his castle!

Source for this article: Palos Verdes Library’s Local History

BuzzNet Tags: Valmonte Living Magazine ~ March 2010 issue,PV tower,Palos Verdes Gatehouse, Palos Verdes Library, Niki Chanel