[1] In Spanish and Mexican days, the area that later became Palms was a part of the Rancho La Ballona, where in 1819 Agustín and Ygnacio Machado, along with Felipe Talamantes and his son, Tomás, acquired grazing rights to 14,000 acres (57 km2) of land.

[3] According to Culver City History, a 2001 work by Julie Lugo Cerra, published for the Culver City Unified School District: The family lore relates that Agustín was chosen, by virtue of his skill as a horseman to ride his fastest steed, from dawn until dusk, beginning at the foot of the Playa del Rey hills to claim Rancho La Ballona, or Paso de las Carretas.

It stretched to Pico Boulevard (abutting Rancho San Vicente y Santa Monica) and to what we know as Ince Boulevard, where Rancho Rincón de los Bueyes began.Agustin Machado died in 1865, the same year La Ballona School was constructed to serve all elementary-age children within the Ballona School District.

With a huge investment in their new coast-to-coast rail lines and large Los Angeles land holdings, the railroads set forth a long-term plan for growth.

In 1882, several Midwestern families chartered a reconditioned freight car and left their homes in Le Mars, Iowa, to settle in the valley.

Before the massive urban growth engendered by the Los Angeles Aqueduct, Palms was located within a farming and ranching area.

Particularly noted was, first, the construction by L.A. of a new outfall sewer that could serve the area and, second, plans by the city engineer for a flood control project for the La Cienega region.

The first, on April 28, 1914, was voted down, according to the Los Angeles Times, "because the people in the suburban territory are afraid of the municipal bond craze, of which the power scheme is the last straw, and the threatened burden of extra high taxation."

[18] But The Times wrote: This district comprises some of the richest country between the city and the sea and is directly in the path of the residence expansion westward.

Palms has no official boundaries,[25] but the "Mapping L.A." reference guide of the Los Angeles Times measures it at 1.95 square miles and places it northwest of Culver City, south of Cheviot Hills and Beverlywood, southeast of Rancho Park, west of Mid-City and northeast of Mar Vista.

The 1886 subdivision map filed with Los Angeles County showed Palms as bounded on the northeast by what would today be Manning Avenue.

[26] The portion of Palms girded by Overland, Sepulveda, National, and Charnock Road was developed just before World War II as Westside Village.

[1] Until the early 1960s, most of Palms was single-family homes[30] and small duplexes and triplexes, most of which were built in the Craftsman and Spanish Colonial styles that dominated Southern California in the first quarter of the 20th century.

Under pressure to provide affordable housing, the city of Los Angeles rezoned most of the district for large multifamily dwellings.

The goal of the rezoning plan to provide affordable housing proved to be successful, as the neighborhood is now home to one of the largest concentrations of relatively low-cost rental units in Western Los Angeles.

As of 2020, the median sales prices of single family homes in adjacent neighborhoods are all upwards of $1 million, while in Palms apartments can be found for as little as $1500 a month.

Apartment buildings, including two UCLA family- and graduate-student housing complexes, line Westside Village's major thoroughfares.

Many Palms residents work in adjacent Culver City, which is home to many large office and industrial complexes but has a relatively low population density.

This path was controversial,[citation needed] however, because of a large gap (stretching from Palms Boulevard to Overland Avenue) in the promised route following the E Line to connect to Santa Monica and the Pacific Ocean.

Palms is served by a Los Angeles city-certified neighborhood council, whose governing body is called the Representative Assembly.

Its founding president was Len Nguyen, who resigned shortly after his taking office to work for newly elected City Council Member Bill Rosendahl.

She was succeeded by George Garrigues (2008–09), Dee Olomajeye (2009–12), Eli Lipmen (2012–14), Marisa Stewart (2014–16), Nick Greif (2016–2018) and Alison Regan (2018–2019).

Stakeholders include not only those who live, work, or own property in the district but also a broader category of people who can claim affiliation through some other kind of activity on behalf of Palms organizations.

Over the last decade, the Palms Neighborhood Council (PNC) has worked to: The Los Angeles Fire Department operates Station 43, which also serves portions of Rancho Park and Cheviot Hills.

[39] Almost half of Palms residents aged 25 and older had earned a four-year degree by 2000, a high figure for both the city and the county.