State landmark

Madonna Inn, San Luis Obispo, San Luis Obispo County

Madonna Inn

Alex Madonna started his construction company in 1935 while he was still in high school. The Madonna Inn, designed and built by Alex and decorated by his wife, Phyllis, opened as a motel inn with twelve rooms on December 24, 1958.

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Wind Turbine Farms, Palm Springs, Riverside County

Wind Turbine Farms

The gap between So Cal’s two highest mountains, San Gorgonio Pass, is a natural wind tunnel. In 1982, wind energy development in the area was studied and approved. Since then, over 4000 wind turbines have become part of the landscape.

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Solvang, Santa Barbara County

Solvang

In 1911, three Danish immigrants from Iowa founded Solvang (Danish for ‘sunny field’) in the Santa Ynez valley to escape Midwestern winters. The 1947 Saturday Evening Post article “Little Denmark” sparked an ongoing tourism boom.

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