For many years, the people of the Pacific Palisades had dreamed of creating a small park at the intersection of Sunset, Swarthmore and Antioch in the center of the town. However, the site was occupied by a Standard Oil station. In 1972, Standard Oil decided not to renew their lease and the property became available. In less then three months the people of Pacific Palisades raised nearly $70,000, a large sum of money at that time, to buy the triangle and create the Village Green. The community was very generous. $46,000 of this was for the purchase of the land and the remainder was for the architect and design. The basic idea of the Green was that it should be a place to be enjoyed from within and admired from a distance. This meant walkways, benches, trees and flowers, as well as grass. There should be a water effect, a flag pole, and a drinking fountain. The community worked hard and it worked together. The only thing that was not accomplished was the water feature because of lack of money (the fountain was finally installed in 1990). The Village Green was formally dedicated August 17, 1973.

A group of prominent business men, civic leaders and our Honorary Mayor, Bob Abernethy, (an NBC News Correspondent) spearheaded this effort. These people formed the first Village Green Committee. Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws were drawn up and we were certified as a California non-profit corporation. An important group, the Fund Planning Committee, was in charge of raising the money. Many other people devoted time and energy to the project, at no cost.

The committee had originally planned to give the Village Green to the City of Los Angeles when it was completed because of the responsibility and cost of maintenance, but eventually the committee decided to retain ownership. To this day, it is still owned by the Village Green corporation and managed by a volunteer Board of Directors.

We are grateful to the community for their donations over the years that give us the financial help to keep our park running. You make our work possible.