On a clear day, a drive north from Pacific Palisades on PCH reveals an array of wildlife, historic and architectural treasures expanding from the 27-mile strip that is Malibu. Marian Hall’s new book “Malibu: California’s Most Famous Seaside Community” takes readers on an illuminating journey through the colorful and abundant enclave as locals know and love it. In addition to dramatic images by photographer Nick Rodionoff, the book includes sharp aerial photographs by Lou Bruhnke, which help situate readers in their exploration of the coastal and mountain areas. Hall, a longtime Malibuite, says she wrote the book to capture the peace, privacy and beauty of this seaside paradise. She was inspired by Frederick Hastings Rindge’s 1898 book “Happy Days in Southern California,” a book that she writes “came from his heart, describing with pure joy and love the Malibu that he knew so well.” Rindge was a businessman, the last private owner of the Malibu Rancho, more than 17,000 acres of coastal, mountain and canyon land with 22 miles of total ocean frontage. Romantic yet relevant quotations from Rindge’s book introduce each of Hall’s chapters. “I was surprised we could find a quote to fit even the most contemporary images,” says Hall, who grew up in Pasadena and moved to Malibu, just south of Paradise Cove on the ocean side, in 1973. A mother of four, she says, “we wanted to move to the beach and my husband worked on the west side of town.” Hall became one of the first docents at the Malibu Lagoon Museum, where she learned about the rich history that shaped Malibu. When it came time to research and write the history part of her book, Hall consulted with her historian friends Toni and Tom Doyle to make sure the facts were accurate. She also talked to Rindge ancestor Ronald L. Rindge, who’d written a book on the U.S. Coast Guard beach patrol in Malibu, realty historian Louis Busch, and Ernest Marquez, with whom she worked to get most of the vintage photos. In the process of gathering information and collecting images, Hall learned some things she didn’t know. For example, she says she was particularly moved by the mystique of Boney Ridge, located in the Arroyo Sequit area at the north end of the Santa Monica Mountains. Boney Ridge was created by an ancient lava flow, and Rindge called it “divine.” “You can see it in all different kinds of light and it’s so beautiful,” Hall says. She believes her book, published by Angel City Press in Santa Monica, will stand out on the racks among other Malibu books because it combines legend, lore and history with contemporary culture. A chapter on surfing covers the real Gidget, Kathy Kohner Zuckerman (a Palisadian), as well as contemporary wave rider Laird Hamilton, and the many crossover board sports popular today. But Hall says her editor cut out a lot of the celebrity photos with her blessing, since those images “would have made a difference in the feel of the book.” Instead, both the text and photos capture Rindge’s perspective much more than the glamorized Hollywood angle on Malibu. Hall herself is a former model who has been active for 50 years in the California fashion scene. She started modeling at Bullocks Wilshire and worked as a designer/manufacturer for 18 years before becoming curator of the Costume Museum at The Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising. She is especially interested in vintage couture and volunteers at The Colleagues Gallery in Bergamot Station in Santa Monica. In 2002, Hall collaborated with Sylvia Sheppard and Marjorie Carne on the coffee table book, “California Fashion.” When it came to choosing a title for her “Malibu” book, she suggested that the subtitle define Malibu as a community rather than a city because, she says, “it’s a city, but it’s not. I think community is more of what Malibu really is.” Hall will discuss and sign her book tomorrow, October 7, at 7:30 p.m. at Village Books, 1049 Swarthmore.
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