The backstory of Playa Desnuda


Three attorneys, Dewey, Cheatem & Howe, acquired a rocky, worthless plot of land on the Pacific Coast just west of Los Angeles in 1897. Trying to figure out how to get tourists to go there, they quickly named it Playa Desnuda. Roads were bad, and it took a day to get there on horse. The Three Amigos won a court case and got a used Central Pacific 4-4-0, a combine, 2 coaches and three boxcars. They then built a steam railroad between Playa Desnuda and Culver City. Oil was discovered and the law firm Hungadunga, Hungadunga, Hungadunga & McCormack took over with the help of J. Cheever Loophole. When they realized they the railroad was a money loser, they sold it to the Southern Pacific after cooking the books with help from H & R Blockhead. The Southern Pacific quickly rolled the Playa Desnuda and Culver City into the Pacific Electric during the Great Merger of 1911.

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