That Thomas Ince fellow sure packed a lot of living in his 44 years. It wasn’t enough that he became a pioneer filmmaker who practically invented the Hollywood studio system and the Western. He also developed a 460-acre tract where Sunset Blvd meets Pacific Coast Highway and called it Inceville, which was his first movie studio. Then he formed Triangle Motion Pictures with DW Griffith and Mack Sennett on a Culver City lot that would later become MGM, as well as second lot that would become Selznick International and later Desilu. But now I find that in 1914, he also built an aviation field in Venice on a triangular plot of land at Venice Blvd between Washington Blvd and Washington Way. I don’t know when this aerial photo was taken, but I assume mid 1910s. According to westland.net, where I found these photos, it became the first airfield on the west coast to be officially designated as an airport in 1914. It closed in 1923.
Art R. says: “There were literally dozens of airfield in LA County from the Early days of flying then even more when WW2 hit, Santa Monica, Burbank, Alhambra, Vail Field in Montebello, Downey, East LA, Torrance, El Monte, South El Monte, Compton, Long Beach, Dominguez Field to name a few. Oh, and Mines Field became LAX.”
What is casting those two crossing shadows?
My guess is the rigging on the small aircraft the photographer was sitting in.
Notice he has located right next to an electric railway line? Perhaps he had some ideas about getting easy access to flights in the future.
Martin, I’m stunned by the water development adjacent to the Ince airfield. Can we see more?
Also is the long street Venice Blvd.? or is it Washington Way.
I was so stunned learning that Ince built an air field that I didn’t even notice the water feature! I believe the long street is Venice Blvd.
That is indeed Venice Blvd. It’s headed West in the upper right corner. The water feature is the Venice canal system… specifically that corner is where current day Cabrillo Ave. turns into Grand Blvd.
Thanks for those specifics, Jon. Much appreciated!
Picked up a 1921 article in Flying about the aero club races in February which mentions B.H. Delay (who took over Ince) and others based in Venice so we now know where they were flying out of: https://books.google.com/books?id=4l9FAQAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA106&lpg=RA1-PA106&dq=ince+field+airport+venice+california+1914&source=bl&ots=jeNKkksw2B&sig=ACfU3U1ARTNzeVdN8wMYIUmmuk9en-JJ2g&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjksa-rmv3-AhURJn0KHXw5DAk4HhDoAXoECAYQAw#v=onepage&q=ince%20field%20airport%20venice%20california%201914&f=false