Will Rogers State Historic Park
Pacific Palisades
August 31, 2014
When I die, my epitaph or whatever you call those signs on gravestones is going to read: I joked about every prominent man of my time, but I never met a man I didn’t like! I am so proud of that I can hardly wait to die so it can be carved. – Will Rogers
(Bob wisecracks: I never met a museum I didn’t like.)
We took Margaret to visit the historic Will Rogers house which is located in the state park that bears his name, in Pacific Palisades off Sunset Boulevard. Famous humorist, columnist, cowboy, movie star and stage entertainer Will Rogers lived there from 1928 until his untimely death in 1935. In 1944, his widow Betty donated the land, house, and contents of the house to the state in his memory. The house is a simple but large ranch house. It is an interesting site to visit because it is so well, and authentically, furnished. It is a wonderful time capsule of the 1930s. The kitchen features a period Frigidaire refrigerator and a Hotpoint range – brand new electrical appliances that were top-of-the-line at the time. The home also has wonderful artifacts and memorabilia associated with Will Rogers, such as Navajo rugs, sketches and paintings of Western scenes, and portraits of Will and Betty Rogers in the dining areas.
The main living room has a stuffed calf. Throughout his life, Will continued to practice the rope tricks that had first made him famous. He was constantly roping things, both inside and outdoors, including occasionally his guests! One friend of his sent him the calf with a pointed note about using it for roping practice rather than his visitors. Rogers later joked that he was the best dead calf roper around.
The house was built in several stages, so lacks a coherent plan. The first part built was a rustic six room cabin, intended as a getaway location and home for their horses when the Rogers family still lived in their main home in Beverly Hills. The family then moved into it as their main home, adding another wing with somewhat nicer (but still casual) finish and furnishings. Will also “raised the roof” on the original section of the house, adding a second story with several guest bedrooms. Eventually the house came to have 31 rooms, including 11 bathrooms, and 7 fireplaces.
Next to the house is a visitor center, in what was previously the garage. There are displays with a timeline and photographs from Will Rogers’ life, a gift shop, and a short video playing on a loop.
Because this is a historic house, much of it is not accessible by wheelchair. The park staff was very helpful and loaded Margaret and her wheelchair onto a cart which they then drove around to the back of the house. We were able to see the older section of the house including the main room and kitchen. Meredith and Margaret then watched the video the park service has for wheelchair visitors, showing the interior of the other part of the house, while Bob continued on the docent led tour of that section.
Will Rogers is one of Margaret’s favorite people of all time. She owns and has read several times Ben Yagoda’s biography of him. Although Rogers died in a plane crash two years before Margaret was born, he remained such a giant for people of that time that she grew up hearing him frequently quoted and referred to. She has visited the Rogers home before, the first time over 30 years ago, with her mother and sister, and again a few years ago with us, when she first moved back to Los Angeles.
The state park grounds also include the stables the Rogers family built and polo grounds, both of which are still used. There are hiking trails as well.
The house is kept locked. Docent led tours are given every hour at the top of the hour. Admission is free, but parking costs $12. There is no restaurant or snack bar on the state park grounds, so we ate in the Valley before we headed to the park.