Lost (Mulholland) Highway: The Trail from the Madonna House to Wolf's Lair
Near the intersection of Mulholland Highway and Canyon Lake Drive, a mile-long trail runs from Castillo del Lago--a.k.a. the Madonna House, nicknamed for you-know-who, though she no longer lives there--to Wolf's Lair, a sprawling white castle on Durand Drive. (More on both those landmarks in future posts.) The trail, which features spectacular views of Lake Hollywood, is a favorite of Beachwood Canyon hikers and their dogs.
It's a magical spot, one of a handful in Los Angeles that makes people forget they're living in a city. In springtime, wild grasses grow so luxuriantly that the trail seems new and untouched. During the summer the dense foliage turns brown, leaving the trail wildly unkempt and hard to navigate. In autumn the trail comes to life again, growing green after the first rains. And late in the year, there's a surprise: red berries on the native holly trees (toyon) that grow alongside it.
The trail has landmarks: a huge California pepper tree, abused last year by vandals, flourishes near the striped retaining wall of the Madonna House. Closer to Wolf's Lair there's a large flat rock decorated with stones, flowers and branches to resemble a face. Constantly rearranged by passersby, the Face Rock is an almost human presence, marking both the seasons and one's progress on the trail.
Looking down at Lake Hollywood, one can spot herons and other waterfowl that make their home there. Built at the same time as Hollywoodland (1923 to 1925), the Lake is the crown jewel of the water system built by William Mulholland, the chief engineer of Los Angeles.
After I moved to Hollywoodland in late 2005, I took to hiking the trail with my dog and wondered about its origins until my neighbor Anita Gordon (now sadly deceased) told me it was intended as an extension of Mulholland Highway. The evidence is clear: although for the most part packed dirt, there are paved sections that poke up at odd angles amid the grasses. The paving--concrete studded with pebbles-- dates from Hollywoodland's beginnings in the mid-1920's. If fully paved, there would have been a drivable road to Toluca Lake.
Why did the paving stop? Perhaps the tract owners, along with developer S.H. Woodruff, decided Hollywoodland's appeal depended on its isolation both from Hollywood and the Valley. By making the neighborhood accessible only via Beachwood Drive, the tract would maintain its tranquility and rural character--the very qualities promised by radio and print ads across the nation.
It wasn't until the late 1950's that Canyon Lake Drive was built, connecting Beachwood Canyon to Toluca Lake. Still, the route to the Valley remained relatively unknown until a 1989 book called LA Shortcuts revealed it; Beachwood Canyon has been plagued by commuter traffic ever since.