Point Dume
Encyclopedia
Point Dume is a promontory
on the coast of Malibu, California that juts out into the Pacific Ocean
.
Point Dume, a long bluff, forms the northern end of the Santa Monica Bay
, and Point Dume Headlands Park affords a vista of the Palos Verdes Peninsula and Santa Catalina Island
. Zuma Beach
lies to its immediate northwest.
in 1793 in honor of Padre Francisco Dumetz
of Mission San Buenaventura
. The name was misspelled as "Dume" on Vancouver's map and has never been corrected.
Up to the 1940s Point Dume was a windblown, treeless bluff covered by native chapparal. Post-WWII the bluff was slowly settled by independent-minded folks, who planted trees and other non-native flora among their single-family homesteads. In 1968, Point Dume Elementary School was opened, but was closed in 1980. It reopened in 1996 and remains open today, known as the Point Dume Marine Science Elementary School. By 2007, many of the simple homesteads were torn down to make way for mansions and mega-mansions behind walls, many with expansive oceanviews while other large homes were surrounded by mature trees.
. Street parking is available on Grasswood, a short walk from the headlands.
The cove, located just south of the point, was once a popular clothing optional meeting spot in the sixties and seventies.
Point Dume is home to a handful of very moderate single pitch rock climbing
routes that are usually climbed on top rope from established fixed anchors. It's a common place to take novice climbers due to the ease of access, ease of routes, as well as the beautiful and unique setting for rock climbing.
The Normandy landings of the film D-Day the Sixth of June
were filmed at Point Dume.
Important scenes in the Planet of the Apes
series were filmed at Point Dume's Westward Beach. For an entire summer during the filming, the scale replica of the Statue of Liberty
from the famous closing scene lay buried at the southern end of Pirate's Cove. In Iron Man (film)
, Tony Stark's huge seaside mansion is located on Point Dume on the edge of a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Though interior shots of the home were filmed on real sets, the house itself is fictional. Because Point Dume is a protected area and thus construction on its cliffs is strictly prohibited, the home was created as a 3D model and digitally placed on the rocks in post-production. With its close proximity to the film and television industry location, Point Dume's Westward Beach continues to be a popular filming location for films, television, advertisements, and videos, appearing frequently whenever a beach scene is needed.
In "The Big Lebowski
", Walter and Dude scattered Donnie's ashes from a Point Dume cliff, and in real life Vincent Price
's ashes were put here.
Promontory
Promontory may refer to:*Promontory, a prominent mass of land which overlooks lower lying land or a body of water*Promontory, Utah, the location where the United States first Transcontinental Railroad was completed...
on the coast of Malibu, California that juts out into the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
.
Point Dume, a long bluff, forms the northern end of the Santa Monica Bay
Santa Monica Bay
Santa Monica Bay is a bight of the Pacific Ocean in southern California, United States. Its boundaries are slightly ambiguous, but it is generally considered to be the part of the Pacific within an imaginary line drawn between Point Dume, in Malibu, and the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Its eastern...
, and Point Dume Headlands Park affords a vista of the Palos Verdes Peninsula and Santa Catalina Island
Santa Catalina Island, California
Santa Catalina Island, often called Catalina Island, or just Catalina, is a rocky island off the coast of the U.S. state of California. The island is long and across at its greatest width. The island is located about south-southwest of Los Angeles, California. The highest point on the island is...
. Zuma Beach
Zuma Beach
Zuma Beach is a County beach located at 30000 Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, California. One of the largest and most popular beaches in the Los Angeles County, Zuma is known for its long, wide sands and excellent surf...
lies to its immediate northwest.
History
Point Dume was named by George VancouverGeorge Vancouver
Captain George Vancouver RN was an English officer of the British Royal Navy, best known for his 1791-95 expedition, which explored and charted North America's northwestern Pacific Coast regions, including the coasts of contemporary Alaska, British Columbia, Washington and Oregon...
in 1793 in honor of Padre Francisco Dumetz
Francisco Dumetz
Francisco Dumetz was a Spanish Franciscan missionary. He gave the San Bernardino Valley in California its name, in 1810.-Life:He was a native of Majorca, Spain, where he entered the Franciscan Order...
of Mission San Buenaventura
Mission San Buenaventura
Mission San Buenaventura was founded on Easter Sunday, March 31, 1782 in Las Californias, part of the Spanish Viceroyalty of New Spain. Named for a Franciscan theologian, Saint Bonaventure, it was the last of the missions founded by Father Serra...
. The name was misspelled as "Dume" on Vancouver's map and has never been corrected.
Up to the 1940s Point Dume was a windblown, treeless bluff covered by native chapparal. Post-WWII the bluff was slowly settled by independent-minded folks, who planted trees and other non-native flora among their single-family homesteads. In 1968, Point Dume Elementary School was opened, but was closed in 1980. It reopened in 1996 and remains open today, known as the Point Dume Marine Science Elementary School. By 2007, many of the simple homesteads were torn down to make way for mansions and mega-mansions behind walls, many with expansive oceanviews while other large homes were surrounded by mature trees.
State Preserve
The northwestern most tip of Point Dume was designated a California State Preserve, the Point Dume State Beach. Located along Cliffside Drive, very limited parking is available. Its beach is protected by the Lifeguard unit of the Los Angeles County Fire DepartmentLos Angeles County Fire Department
The Los Angeles County Fire Department , serves unincorporated parts of Los Angeles County, as well as 58 cities and towns that choose to have the county provide fire and EMS services, including La Habra. It should not be confused with the Los Angeles City Fire Department, which serves the city of...
. Street parking is available on Grasswood, a short walk from the headlands.
The cove, located just south of the point, was once a popular clothing optional meeting spot in the sixties and seventies.
Rock Climbing
Rock climbing
Rock climbing also lightly called 'The Gravity Game', is a sport in which participants climb up, down or across natural rock formations or artificial rock walls. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a pre-defined route without falling...
routes that are usually climbed on top rope from established fixed anchors. It's a common place to take novice climbers due to the ease of access, ease of routes, as well as the beautiful and unique setting for rock climbing.
Filming location
D-Day the Sixth of June
D-Day the Sixth of June is a 1956 romantic war film made by 20th Century Fox. It was directed by Henry Koster and produced by Charles Brackett from a screenplay by Ivan Moffat and Harry Brown, based on the novel, The Sixth of June by Lionel Shapiro....
were filmed at Point Dume.
Important scenes in the Planet of the Apes
Planet of the Apes (1968 film)
Planet of the Apes is a 1968 American science fiction film directed by Franklin J. Schaffner, based on the 1963 French novel La Planète des singes by Pierre Boulle. The film stars Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Maurice Evans, James Whitmore, James Daly and Linda Harrison...
series were filmed at Point Dume's Westward Beach. For an entire summer during the filming, the scale replica of the Statue of Liberty
Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, designed by Frédéric Bartholdi and dedicated on October 28, 1886...
from the famous closing scene lay buried at the southern end of Pirate's Cove. In Iron Man (film)
Iron Man (film)
Iron Man is a 2008 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. Directed by Jon Favreau, the film stars Robert Downey, Jr. as Tony Stark, an industrialist and master engineer who builds a powered exoskeleton and becomes the technologically advanced superhero, Iron...
, Tony Stark's huge seaside mansion is located on Point Dume on the edge of a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Though interior shots of the home were filmed on real sets, the house itself is fictional. Because Point Dume is a protected area and thus construction on its cliffs is strictly prohibited, the home was created as a 3D model and digitally placed on the rocks in post-production. With its close proximity to the film and television industry location, Point Dume's Westward Beach continues to be a popular filming location for films, television, advertisements, and videos, appearing frequently whenever a beach scene is needed.
In "The Big Lebowski
The Big Lebowski
The Big Lebowski is a 1998 comedy film written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. Jeff Bridges stars as Jeff Lebowski, an unemployed Los Angeles slacker and avid bowler, who is referred to as "The Dude". After a case of mistaken identity, The Dude is introduced to a millionaire also named...
", Walter and Dude scattered Donnie's ashes from a Point Dume cliff, and in real life Vincent Price
Vincent Price
Vincent Leonard Price, Jr. was an American actor, well known for his distinctive voice and serio-comic attitude in a series of horror films made in the latter part of his career.-Early life and career:Price was born in St...
's ashes were put here.