Tongva indigenous peoples The Laurel Canyon area was inhabited by the
Tongva people, a regional tribe of the
indigenous peoples of California, for thousands of years. A
spring-fed stream flowed year-round providing water. The reliable water supply attracted colonial Spanish ranchers who started grazing sheep on the hillsides in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. After the
Mexican–American War and the advent of
U.S. statehood for
California in 1850, the area was settled by Americans interested in water rights.
Lookout Mountain Until the 20th century, passage up the canyon was made on foot or by mule. In 1907, an , later named
Laurel Canyon Boulevard, was built. It ran up the canyon, dividing at what is now Lookout Mountain Road; the left road went up to the summit of Lookout Mountain, and the right branch of the road went to the top of the Santa Monica Mountains and then down to the San Fernando Valley. In 1908, the Lookout Mountain Park and Water Co. was formed to purchase on Lookout Mountain, just west of Laurel Canyon, subdivided and marketed as mountain vacation properties. On August 14, 1908, the
Los Angeles Times announced that the company would build Lookout Mountain Inn at the summit of Lookout Mountain and Sunset Plaza roads, and Lookout Mountain Park, Bungalow Land at Laurel Canyon Boulevard and Lookout Mountain Avenue and Wonderland Park. Two years later, the company widened the winding dirt road to the top of Lookout Mountain where they built the Lookout Mountain Inn. In 1910, Charles Spencer Mann, a real estate developer, and Richard Shoemaker, an electrical engineer, built a "trackless trolley" (
trolley bus) line, starting passenger service on September 11 as the first commercial trolley bus operation (
Electric road) in the United States. It ran up Laurel Canyon Road from the
Pacific Electric Laurel Canyon Shuttle stop at
Sunset Boulevard to the Tavern at the top of Lookout Mountain Road, a road house serving visitors. Each of the two 16-passenger cars had two
trolley poles, one to a positive overhead wire and one to a ground overhead wire, and were able to sway to either side of the street, only using power uphill. Each trolley was actually an
Oldsmobile bus whose gasoline engine was replaced with a 15-horsepower electric motor. in 1924. On October 26, 1918, a fire, fanned by strong
Santa Ana winds, burned about 200 acres and totally destroyed Lookout Mountain Inn at the summit of Lookout Mountain Avenue and Sunset Plaza Drive. Another major fire occurred in July 1959, destroying some 38 homes. As the roads were improved, access was possible by automobile.
Early Hollywood celebrity enclave With the establishment of the Hollywood film industry in 1910, Laurel Canyon became home to numerous silent film stars, including
Clara Bow,
Harry Houdini,
Bessie Love,
Ramon Navarro, and
Wallace Reid. The canyon's remote location and proximity to Hollywood studios made it an ideal retreat for entertainment industry figures seeking privacy from the growing celebrity culture. In 1915,
Ralf Marc Walker, built a Mediterranean-style villa at 2398 Laurel Canyon Blvd (the address later became 2400 Laurel Canyon Blvd).
Bungalow Inn At Bungalow Land, a housing subdivision, Bungalow Inn at 2401 Laurel Canyon Boulevard, was built in 1907, as a roadhouse tavern with an living room, floor-to-ceiling fireplace, and bowling alley. Actress
Bessie Love purchased the property in 1920, and it was later rented by actress
Clara Bow. In 1958, Fania Pearson, bought it to build a girls school. marking the neighborhood's transition from Hollywood enclave to counterculture music scene. The mansion burned down on Halloween 1981, and, , the lot remains vacant.
Citizens for Los Angeles Wildlife and the
Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority purchased the approximately 2.5-acre parcel, home to
Laurel Spring.
Counterculture of the 1960s and 1970s Laurel Canyon became a nexus of
counterculture activity and attitudes in the mid-late 1960s and early 1970s, becoming famous as home to many of L.A.'s rock musicians, such as
Cass Elliot of the
Mamas & the Papas;
Joni Mitchell;
Frank Zappa;
Jim Morrison of
the Doors;
Carole King;
the Byrds;
Gram Parsons;
Buffalo Springfield;
Canned Heat;
John Mayall; members of the band
The Eagles; the band
Love;
Neil Young;
Brian Wilson of
the Beach Boys as well as
James Taylor,
Jackson Browne,
JD Souther,
Judee Sill,
Linda Ronstadt and
Stone Poneys,
Ned Doheny,
Bonnie Raitt,
Harry Nilsson;, David Cassidy and
Micky Dolenz and
Peter Tork of
the Monkees. Cass Elliot's home was considered one of Laurel Canyon's party houses with all-night, drug-fueled sleepovers, attended by musicians and movie stars of the era.
John Phillips, also of the Mamas & the Papas, took inspiration from his home in Laurel Canyon for the song "
Twelve Thirty (Young Girls Are Coming to the Canyon)", released in 1967. The following year,
blues artist
John Mayall recorded and released the album
Blues from Laurel Canyon, based on his experiences during a vacation that he spent there. The area and its denizens served as inspiration for
Joni Mitchell's third album
Ladies of the Canyon, released in 1970. Her house was immortalized in the
Crosby, Stills, and Nash song "
Our House" (1970), written by her lover
Graham Nash. The group is reputed to have met and first sung together in Mitchell's living room. Rock photographer
Henry Diltz was also a resident and used the scenic Canyon backdrop for many of his historic photos of rock musicians. Several of his photos became representations of the West Coast music scene during the 1960s and 1970s; other of his photos became album sleeve covers, such the one used for as CSN's debut album
Crosby, Stills & Nash (photographed in nearby West Hollywood).
Josh Tillman Musician
Josh Tillman has said that his output under the moniker Father John Misty was partly inspired by a move to Laurel Canyon. The song "I Went to the Store One Day" from his 2015 album
I Love You, Honeybear, recounts the story of how Tillman met his wife, Emma, in the parking lot of the Laurel Canyon Country Store.
Wonderland murders On July 1, 1981, three members and one associate of the
Wonderland Gang, so-called because they were based at 8763 Wonderland Avenue, died in the
Wonderland murders (also known as the "Four on the Floor murders" or the "Laurel Canyon murders"). Salón stated "The massacre took place just down the street from what was then the home of
Jerry Brown, who was California's governor at the time. The 8763 Wonderland Avenue address is said to have been inhabited at one time by
Paul Revere & the Raiders." ==Notable people==