Will Rogers State Beach

Will Rogers State Beach
Location Pacific Palisades, California
Coordinates 34°2′23″N 118°33′37″W / 34.03972°N 118.56028°W / 34.03972; -118.56028Coordinates: 34°2′23″N 118°33′37″W / 34.03972°N 118.56028°W / 34.03972; -118.56028
Governing body California Department of Parks and Recreation
www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=625

Will Rogers State Beach is a beach park on the Santa Monica Bay, at the Pacific coast of Southern California. It is located in Pacific Palisades and is protected as part of the California Department of Parks and Recreation. A section just south of the intersection of Pacific Coast Highway and Entrada Drive (34°01′34″N 118°31′08″W / 34.026053°N 118.518824°W / 34.026053; -118.518824 (Los Angeles Gay Beach)) is popular within the LGBT community and is therefore considered Los Angeles' unofficial gay beach; this section is often referred to as Ginger Rogers Beach.

Overview

Part of Will Rogers State Beach

The beach extends one and three quarters miles along the coast. It has many facilities, including volleyball courts, gymnastic equipment, restrooms, a playground, and a bike path. The bike path is part of the South Bay Bicycle Trail and extends 19.1 miles (30.7 km) along the shore to Torrance, California.[1] The Beach is also a popular surf spot.

Many films and television shows have been filmed at the beach, including Creature from the Black Lagoon, The Kiss, La Belle dame sans merci, Summer Children, Holidays with Heather, and Hangman.[2] Also, the television show Baywatch was shot at the beach before it moved to Hawaii.[3]

In the sea near Will Rogers State Beach at Sunset Blvd., there is the grounding electrode of the Pacific DC Intertie.[4]

History

The beach is named after actor Will Rogers. In the 1920s, Rogers bought the land and developed a ranch along the coast. He owned 186 acres (0.75 km2) along the coast in what is now Pacific Palisades. Rogers died in a plane crash in 1935. Then when his widow, Betty, died in 1944, the ranch became a state park.[5]

See also

References

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