by Calabasas Park 1968 — The original newspaper ad announcing the grand opening of Calabasas Park, now known as Classic Calabasas. Estate homes started at $55,000. Today those same homes sell for millions.
June 7, 1968 — Life Magazine advertisement showing the Calabasas Park entrance gate. The community officially opened in May 1968. Courtesy of the James Bozajian Collection.Long before Calabasas became one of the most sought-after luxury communities in Los Angeles County, a full-page newspaper ad made a bold promise to Southern California homebuyers.
The year was 1968. The headline read: “On May 12, Calabasas Park will be officially opened. It’s going to be the next place to live.”
They weren’t wrong.
The Birth of What We Now Call Classic Calabasas
The community we know today as Classic Calabasas was originally marketed as Calabasas Park — a brand new development built on the site of the old Warner Bros. studio ranch in the hills above Calabasas. The ad described it as “one of the few remaining untouched areas in Southern California,” a place of wooded hills and secluded valleys where residents could look out their windows and see only pleasant, country-like surroundings.
The developers — subsidiaries of Southern California Edison Company and the Bechtel Corporation — set out to build something exceptional. And by the standards of 1968, they delivered.
What $55,000 Bought You in 1968
The original estate homes at Calabasas Park started at around $55,000 and went up to over $100,000 for the most premium offerings. Lakefront homes started at $45,000.
For that price, buyers got access to a community unlike anything else in the region:
- A 21-acre filtered lake for swimming, boating, and fishing
- A golf course designed by renowned architect Robert Trent Jones
- A tennis club, riding club, and gun club
- A lakefront restaurant called The Californian
- All-electric homes built with the highest quality standards of the era
The ad proudly noted that “we’ve made as few changes as possible in the landscape, and when we have made changes we’ve improved on nature.” That philosophy — preserving the natural beauty of the hills while creating an extraordinary place to live — set the tone for everything Calabasas would become.
From Calabasas Park to Classic Calabasas
More than 55 years later, the neighborhood that opened on May 12, 1968 is one of the most established and beloved communities in the Calabasas market. The lake is still there. The hills are still there. And the homes — now worth many multiples of their original prices — continue to attract buyers who want the best of what this community has to offer.
I’ve spent over 25 years selling homes in Calabasas and Hidden Hills. Classic Calabasas remains one of the most consistently in-demand neighborhoods I work in — and it’s easy to see why. The original vision of a private, nature-surrounded community with resort-style amenities hasn’t changed. Only the price tags have.
If you’re thinking about buying or selling in Classic Calabasas, I’d love to talk. This neighborhood has a story unlike any other in the area — and I’ve been part of that story for a long time.
David Watkins Compass | Calabasas & Hidden Hills 818.970.2946 | David@DavidWatkins.com | DavidWatkins.com
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