Security Guard in Playa Vista, CA

The Tongva inhabited the location now occupied by Playa Vista at the village of Guashna. A Tongva sacred burial site is located here: “about 1,000 Native American remains […] had been exhumed during construction,” grave sites that were deemed sacred by the Tongva people. The remains were discovered after construction began. In 2008, the remains “were laid to rest and covered with white seashells during a sacred burial ceremony near the Westchester bluffs.” Playa Vista planned a museum to educate people about the Ballona wetlands and the Gabrieliño-Tongva tribe. The Westchester/Playa Vista Discovery Center opened in 2020, which features a small monument.

In 1839 the land was part of Rancho La Ballona, later in 1887, it became part of the Port Ballona.

Prior to its development as headquarters for Hughes Aircraft Company, much of the land occupied by Playa Vista was a wetlands connected with a large salt-marsh in what is now Marina Del Rey. These wetlands were formerly part of the larger Ballona Creek watershed that occupied these areas along with what is now Playa Del Rey, and much of Venice, Los Angeles.