I was driving by the Topanga Ranch Motel in Malibu (next to Pacific Palisades) in 2008 with my 4×5 camera in the back seat, and I stopped to record two views on the large format camera and about a dozen color field photos on my Nikon D200. Today, I got an official HABS number from HDP, after looking through some files and finding the negatives. HABS CA-3002. These cabins have been on this site in some form since the mid 1920s, oft moved, altered, expanded and improved.
I was hoping that the cabins would be rehabilitated by State Parks in the intervening years but the motel just languished. This week (January 2025), the National Register eligible motel was lost in the Pacific Palisades Fire. I'm glad I have two negatives to share with HABS, the Library of Congress and the public, but I wish I had more.