Point Dume
| Point Dume State Beach | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | Malibu, California |
| Nearest city | Malibu, California |
| Coordinates | 34°0′3.14″N 118°48′24.62″W / 34.0008722°N 118.8068389°WCoordinates: 34°0′3.14″N 118°48′24.62″W / 34.0008722°N 118.8068389°W |
| Governing body | |
| Reference no. | 965[1] |
Point Dume is a promontory on the coast of Malibu, California that juts out into the Pacific Ocean. The point, a long bluff, forms the northern end of the Santa Monica Bay. Point Dume Headlands Park affords a vista of the Palos Verdes Peninsula and Santa Catalina Island. Zuma Beach lies to its immediate northwest.
History
Point Dume was named by George Vancouver in 1793 in honor of Padre Francisco Dumetz of Mission San Buenaventura.[2] The name was misspelled on Vancouver's map as "Dume" and was never corrected.[3] In the early 1980s, real estate development interests began pronouncing the name "du-MAY" and spelling it "Dumé"; this did not catch on.
In the mid-1930s, the 900-ton steam-schooner California, of the California Whaling Company, would anchor in Paradise Cove about a mile offshore, near Point Dume, and process whales caught by her two "killer boats", the Hawk and Port Saunders. She spent about four months there each winter (December–April), mostly flensing gray whales on their annual migration from Alaska to Baja California and back. Emerson Gaze, a reporter who spent a day with the fleet, said they had caught over fifty whales up to late January 1936, nearly all gray (with the exception of a few humpback and sperm whales).[4] Nial O’Malley Keyes, in his book Blubber Ship, reported large numbers of whales were caught within a mile of Malibu (in or before 1934), a reference to the Point Dume operation.[5]
Up until the 1940s, Point Dume was a windblown, treeless bluff covered by native chaparral. Post-World War II the bluff became slowly settled by independent-minded people, who planted trees and other non-native flora among their single-family homesteads. In 1968, Point Dume Elementary School opened, but closed in 1980. It reopened in 1996 and remains open today, now 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 ocean views, while other large homes were surrounded by mature trees.
State Preserve
The northwesternmost tip of Point Dume was designated a California State Preserve: Point Dume State Beach.[6] Located along Cliffside Drive, very limited parking is available. Its beach is protected by the Lifeguard unit of the Los Angeles County Fire Department. Street parking is available on Grasswood, a short walk from the headlands.
The cove, located just south of the point, was a popular clothing-optional meeting spot in the 1960s and '70s.
Rock climbing
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.[7] It is 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
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.
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.
In the Iron Man films set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the protagonist Tony Stark's huge seaside mansion was set on Point Dume, at the edge of a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean and was given the fictitious address 10880 Malibu Point, 90265.[8] Though interior shots were filmed on real sets, the mansion itself is fictional; because Point Dume is a protected area and construction on its cliffs is strictly prohibited, the home was created as a 3D model and digitally placed on the rocks in post-production.[9]
The ashes of American horror movie actor Vincent Price were scattered here in 1993.[10]
The music video Sandcastles in the Sand for the TV show How I Met Your Mother was filmed on Point Dume State Beach.
The season 3 finale of Angel was filmed on the cliffs above Point Dume State Beach.
An episode of the television series Modern Family was filmed on Point Dume State Beach.
The pilot episode of I Dream of Jeannie was filmed at Point Dume, which served as the deserted South Pacific island where astronaut Tony Nelson's (Larry Hagman) capsule washed ashore and he released (Barbara Eden) Jeannie from 2,000 years of imprisonment.
The wedding in the season 2 finale of Chuck was filmed on Point Dume State Beach.
The season 1 episode "Dominoes" of the television series Scorpion was mostly set at Point Dume.
In both 1984 and 1988, Point Dume stood in for Stefano DiMera's underground cliff base on the daytime drama Days of Our Lives.
References
- ↑ "Point Dume". Office of Historic Preservation, California State Parks. Retrieved 2012-10-08.
- ↑ Point Dume Brochure California State Parks.
- ↑ Bright, William; Erwin G. Gudde (1998). 1500 California Place Names: Their Origin and Meaning. University of California Press. p. 51. ISBN 0-520-21271-1.
- ↑ Gaze, Emerson. 1936. Floating factory converts giants of the deep into marketable products. Santa Monica Evening Outlook. 30 January 1936, p. 8, Santa Monica, California.
- ↑ O'Malley-Keyes, Nial Edward Brendon, Blubber Ship; George G. Harrap & Company, Limited, 1939, pp. 49-50.
- ↑ Point Dume State Beach
- ↑ Rock Climbing Routes in Point Dume
- ↑ Rowley, Alison (April 5, 2013). "'Iron Man 3': Robert Downey Jr's Tony Stark seeks revenge in first clip". Digital Spy Limited. Retrieved April 23, 2013.
- ↑ Movie Talk (April 5, 2013). "First 'Iron Man 3′ Clip Shows Tony Stark Taunting His New Enemy". Yahoo! Movies. Retrieved April 23, 2013.
- ↑ Point Dume at Find a Grave