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 Playa del Rey is a friendly, down-to-earth beach town surrounded by the Ballona
Wetlands to the east, the Pacific Ocean to the west, Marina del Rey to the north
and El Segundo and Manhattan Beach to the south. One of the greatest attributes
of Playa del Rey is you don’t need a car once you’re here. Its cafes,
restaurants & shops are all easily within walking distance. In addition, a
pedestrian bridge connects Playa del Rey to Marina del Rey -- one of the
greatest recreational harbors on the Pacific Ocean. Walk over the bridge and
view the boats coming and going out of the harbor.
There’s so much to do in Playa del Rey. Ocean breezes keep “Playa” 10-15 degrees
cooler than the rest of Los Angeles’ temperatures. The beach here is wide and
open with the bike path running through it that extends from Pacific Palisades
all the way to Redondo Beach. Activities include swimming, boating, volleyball,
biking, kite flying and sometimes surfing.
Playa used to be a great surf spot until the storms of the 80’s scattered the
jetty rocks bringing tons of sand out of Ballona Creek into the boater’s pathway
to the marina. The city dredged out the sand to allow boats to get into the
marina and changed the surf there indefinitely. Some still hope the situation
can be remedied to bring back local surfing to this little town near the big
city.
Playa del Rey was once the mouth of the Los Angeles River, but the river’s path
was diverted years ago and now empties into the Los Alamitos Bay in Long Beach.
It left behind a sleepy lagoon which is now home to the local ducks who can be
found walking casually around the neighborhood and the adjacent community park.
There are three distinct neighborhoods within Playa del Rey each offering its
own delights of beachside living. The homes located on the bluffs overlooking
the ocean offer spectacular ocean and some city views.
The bluffs also offer a hilly, quiet neighborhood set away from busy streets
that is perfect for families.
Playa del Rey also has beachfront homes right on the sand in addition to homes
situated around the pastoral Del Rey Lagoon Park.
The Ballona Wetlands is one of the last remaining
saltwater wetlands in southern California. The 16.3
acre tidal wetland is a nursery and habitat for marine and mudflat creatures, a
refuge for migrating birds and a source of peace and serenity for local
residents. The last open land of its size on the Westside, the wetlands have
been considered sacred ground by native peoples for thousands of years.
Please see the AUDUBON IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA or FRIENDS OF BALLONA WETLANDS
websites for further information on this unique, natural treasure. The Playa
Vista development has restored and maintained a large area of the wetlands and
provided a footpath that surrounds the area for spectators.
 Playa Vista
is situated
on 1,087 acres in West Los Angeles the current home of the Playa Vista
development was once agriculture fields with the nation’s longest private
runway. In 1940 visionary entrepreneur Howard Hughes acquired the farm lands
between Playa del Rey and Marina del Rey, now the location of the Playa Vista
development, seeing its potential to be the home of his new aviation center. A
few years later, Hughes was building the Spruce Goose and manufacturing
war-related aircraft and components there.
Now it is a dynamically-planned community for the future – balancing development
needs with environmental sensitivity. Some of the historic buildings have even
been converted into movie production sound stages harkening back to Hughes’
movie days when he owned the land. As part of the project the adjacent natural
wetlands have been restored and preserved to give mother nature a new lease on
life.
The project has been selected as one of five communities in the U.S. for its
commitment to sustainable development under the leadership of the U.S.
Department of Energy’s Building America program.
It also has received a coveted Ahwahnee Award for recognition as a model ‘smart
growth’ project.
It is a mix of residential housing -- from affordable to luxury -- plus office
and commercial space. A major component will be an entertainment, new media and
technology complex that will include sound stages and production facilities plus
parks and recreational amenities all set next to the Ballona Wetlands and
Wildlife Preserve whose restoration project has improved habitat for many
species of flora and fauna and restored a portion of Centinela creek along the
Westchester bluffs to a natural state.
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