Elin Vanderlip Celebrates 90th Birthday

Elin Vanderlip, the Grande Dame of the Palos Verdes Peninsula, recently turned 90 this past Saturday, June 8th. Mrs. Vanderlip was married to Kelvin Vanderlip, who was Frank Vanderlip’s second son. Frank Vanderlip was the original owner and developer of the entire Palos Verdes Peninsula dating to the mid 1920’s. Elin Vanderlip still resides at Villa Narcissa, originally built by Frank Vanderlip as one of the first homes on the Palos Verdes Peninsula in the mid 1920’s, and named for Frank Vanderlip’s daughter.

Elin

Behind the Ville Narcissa is a beautiful stairway of 268 steps, lined by cypress trees,soaring to a spectacular lookout point where a white marble temple was built. The Villa Narcissais is located at 100 Vanderlip Drive, at the end of Vanderlip Drive, near the end of Narcissa Drive, the road through a private gated community just south of the Wayfarers’ chapel at the beginning of the Portuguese Bend area, and public access to visit the property is not available. You can see the original gatehouse to the property at the gated entrance of Narcissa Drive just off of Palos Verdes Drive South.

Villa Narcissa (Picture Courtesy of Palos Verdes Peninsula Library District)

Elin Vanderlip has made numberous contributions to the Palos Verdes peninsula. Mrs. Vanderlip was of Norwegian descent and donated the land for Nansen Field, a soccer field on the North side of the Peninsula that used to be used for recreation of Norwegian sailors but is now used by the public and club soccer teams. She also donated the land for the Wayfarers Chapel on Palos Verdes Drive South.

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