Palms (originally "The Palms") is a community in the Westside region of Los Angeles, California, founded in 1886 and the oldest neighborhood annexed to the city, in 1915. The 1886 tract was marketed as an agricultural and vacation community.Garrigues, back cover. Today it is a primarily residential area, with many apartment buildings, ribbons of commercial zoning and a single-family residential area in its northwest corner.
History Before 1887 Rancho La Ballona In Spanish and Mexican days, the area that later became Palms was a part of the Rancho La Ballona, where in 1819 Agustín and Ygnacio Machado, along with Felipe Talamantes and his son, Tomás, acquired grazing rights to of land. It was thenceforth used as grazing land for cattle and sheep.Ingersoll's Century History, Santa Monica Bay Cities According to Culver City History, a 2001 work by Julie Lugo Cerra, published for the Culver City Unified School District: The family lore relates that Agustín was chosen, by virtue of his skill as a horseman to ride his fastest steed, from dawn until dusk, beginning at the foot of the Playa del Rey hills to claim Rancho La Ballona, or Paso de las Carretas. It stretched to Pico Boulevard (abutting Rancho San Vicente y Santa Monica) and to what we know as Ince Boulevard, where Rancho Rincón de los Bueyes began.
Agustin Machado died in 1865, the same year La Ballona School was constructed to serve all elementary-age children within the Ballona School District.Cerra, Timeline section, p. 1. In 1871, Ygnacio Saenz established a general store at the crossing which later became Washington Boulevard and Overland Avenue. (Three corners of that intersection are in Culver City and one is in Palms.Los Angeles County Thomas Guide, page 672.) The store, which was also a way stop on the county road between Los Angeles and the ocean, also housed the area's first post office.David Worsfold article, Los Angeles Times, April 28, 1960, Section E, p. 1.
By 1882, the county's electoral district serving Palms was known as Ballona, with voting at La Ballona School.Los Angeles Times, October 29, 1882.
Land rush and land division Deke Keasbey, real estate investment specialist for Tierra Properties, has noted that:
The Southern Pacific completed its Los Angeles route in 1883, and only three years later the Santa Fe finished its Los Angeles spur. With a huge investment in their new coast-to-coast rail lines and large Los Angeles land holdings, the railroads set forth a long-term plan for growth. Southern California citrus farming was born. Tourism and the building of towns were promoted to attract investors, to raise land values, and to increase the value of railroad shipmentsA short history of Los Angeles real estate
La Ballona Valley was part of that land rush. In 1882, several Midwestern families chartered a reconditioned freight car and left their homes in Le Mars, Iowa, to settle in the valley. They held their first Sunday school in the old La Ballona School on Washington Boulevard, and in fall 1883 they organized a United Brethren Church with 11 members.Los Angeles Times, May 1, 1958, Section B, p. 1
About that time the valley drew the attention of three speculators – Joseph Curtis, Edward H. Sweetser and C.J. Harrison. They paid $40,000 for . They surveyed their land and cut it up, and then they sold it to the new arrivals. They planted 5,000 trees along of graded streets. They named it The Palms, even though they had to bring in palm trees and plant them near the train station." "The local of this paper the other day had a look at the 'Palms,' an incipient town on the line of the S. P. road, some five miles from Santa Monica. It is no longer a misnomer as the proprietors have planted two large palms near the depot and some 160 plants on the various driveways. A force is grading the streets and we are told that it is the intention to plant all the avenues with shade trees of various kinds." — Newspaper account quoted in Ingersoll's Century History, Santa Monica Bay Cities, p. 353. Their first tract map was dated December 26, 1886, which is now considered the birth date of Palms. During this time, the Palms-Southern Pacific Railroad Depot was constructed, serving as one of only two depots between Los Angeles and Santa Monica. It was moved to the Heritage Square Museum in 1976.
The site was midway between Los Angeles and Santa Monica on the Los Angeles and Independence Railroad (now the E Line light rail line.). Before the massive urban growth engendered by the Los Angeles Aqueduct, Palms was located within a farming and ranching area.
Since 1886
The subdividers gave the United Brethren Church two lots and $200 in cash to get started. In 1887 the church building was completed, and in 1889 the parsonage was built. In 1908 the old chapel was moved to the rear of the lot and new sanctuary built. In 1916 the old parsonage sold and a new one built. Later a bungalow was added next door to be a Sunday school.Los Angeles Times, May 1, 1958, Section B, p. 1.
Although its exact location has been lost, contemporary sources indicate the existence of a Palms Villa, Palm Villa, or Villa Hotel at least from no later than 1890Los Angeles Times (1886–1922) March 21, 1890: 5. through 1904.George Wharton James. Travelers' Handbook To Southern California. GWJ, Pasadena: 1904, p. 314 It may have stood on Tabor Street, which was known as Villa Avenue at the time.Sanborn Map of The Palms, 1910 p. 3
Annexation
The residential development of a vast area west of the Los Angeles city limits brought a pressure for annexation to the city. Particularly noted was, first, the construction by L.A. of a new outfall sewer that could serve the area and, second, plans by the city engineer for a flood control project for the La Cienega region. Agitation for annexation was begun by Palms residents, but the reach was extended all the way west to the then-separate city of Sawtelle limits so that municipality could be annexed later."Ten Thousand on the Way," Los Angeles Times, March 15, 1914, Part 1, p. 12.
There were two annexation elections. Both were hard fought. The first, on April 28, 1914, was voted down, according to the Los Angeles Times, "because the people in the suburban territory are afraid of the municipal bond craze, of which the power scheme is the last straw, and the threatened burden of extra high taxation." The vote was 387 in favor and 264 against; a two-thirds vote was needed, so the "yes" vote was shy by 47."They Conclude to Stay Out," Los Angeles Times, April 29, 1914, Part II, p. 1.
A new petition was almost immediately submitted, leaving out all the areas that had voted against annexation. Nevertheless, Harry Culver, the founder of Culver City, denounced the new plan as a gerrymander and opposed it."Opposes Annexation," Los Angeles Times, May 30, 1914, Part 1, p. 10. But The Times wrote:
This district comprises some of the richest country between the city and the sea and is directly in the path of the residence expansion westward. Because its growth is inevitable and its population certain to be greatly increased soon, advocates of annexation believe the necessity for securing adequate and permanent water rights is urgent and are working diligently to secure the required two-thirds vote"Hot Fight on Annexation," Los Angeles Times, May 24, 1914, Part II, p. 1.
On June 1, 1914, the annexation succeeded, by a 342–136 vote,"Palms District Votes to Annex to City," Los Angeles Times, June 2, 1914, Part II, p. 1. and on May 4, 1915, Los Angeles voters approved the annexation of the Palms district, as well as that of the extensive San Fernando Valley."City Adds to Itself Vast, Rich Territory," Los Angeles Times, May 5, 1915, Part I, p. 6. Both Palms and the Valley entered Los Angeles on May 22, 1915.
Naming The Travelers' Handbook to Southern California, published in 1904, stated that "The Palms" was "named from the number of large palms which dot the region for quite a distance near the Southern Pacific depot"https://archive.org/details/travelershandboo00jame p. 314 and that "The Los Angeles and Pacific road has [been] built via The Palms and Ocean Park to Santa Monica, making its line a belt of sixteen miles or more on each lap."https://archive.org/details/travelershandboo00jame p. 178
Over the decades following the turn of the 20th century, the definite article was dropped from the place name. By the 1920s, the name was simply "Palms" on local transit maps.http://www.bigmapblog.com/2012/pacific-electric-map-of-los-angeles-1920 Pacific Electric map
Geography Palms has no official boundaries,Garrigues, page 11 but as of 2026 is generally defined as Zone 1 of the Mar Vista Community Council (aka Westside Village), plus the Palms Neighborhood Council.Garrigues, p. 123. The 1886 subdivision map filed with Los Angeles County showed Palms as bounded on the northeast by what would today be Manning Avenue. When Palms was annexed to the city of Los Angeles in 1915, the bounds extended westward from Arlington Avenue on the southeast and about Rimpau Boulevard and Wilshire Boulevard on the northeast to Pico and Exposition Boulevards on the northwest. West of Overland Avenue wasn't annexed until 1927.Garrigues, pp. 15 and 54.
The portion of Palms girded by Overland, Sepulveda, National, and Charnock Road was developed just before World War II as Westside Village. The City of Los Angeles has posted official neighborhood signs for Westside Village, and it has its own homeowner's association: the Westside Village Homeowners Association.
Population As of 2024, the population of Palms was estimated to be 41,710. The median household income (population-weighted) is estimated to be $101,971. Two thirds (67.8%) of residents 25+ have a four-year degree, or higher. The estimated median age is approximately 34 years.Population, income, educational attainment, and age figures are calculated by summing/aggregating U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2019–2023 5-Year Estimates (Tables B01003, B19013, B15003, B01002, B03002) across 15 census tracts approximating the combined area of the Palms Neighborhood Council and Westside Village: Tracts 2699.03, 2699.05, 2699.06, 2699.07, 2699.08, 2699.09, 2701.01, 2701.02, 2702, 2717.02, 2717.03, 2717.04, 2718.01, 2718.03, and 2718.04, Los Angeles County, California. Median household income and median age are population-weighted averages of tract-level medians, not official combined-area statistics. Retrieved via the Census Bureau API, June 2026.
Demographic Breakdown (2024 estimate) White (non-Hispanic) 40.2% Hispanic/Latino (any race) 23.1% Asian (non-Hispanic) 21.8% Black/African American (non-Hispanic) 8.3% Other/multiracial/NHPI (non-Hispanic, remainder) 6.6% American Indian/Alaska Native (non-Hispanic) 0.1%
Housing