Tag Archives: Venice Beach
A view looking northwest across the lagoon and Coral Canal, Venice, California, circa early 1900s
In this colorized (probably hand-tinted) postcard, we’re afforded a glimpse of how Abbot Kinney originally envisaged his “Venice of America” development. We’re looking northwest across the lagoon and that canal in the background was known as Coral Canal, which was … Continue reading
Muscle Beach, Santa Monica , California, 1949
From the looks of it, this 1949 photo of Muscle Beach along the Venice boardwalk was taken on a busy summer weekend. Those cafés selling 25-cent jumbo malts, 10-cent snow cones and candied apples and cotton candy now sell $5 … Continue reading
Marathon dancers at Venice Beach, California, circa 1923
The caption to this photo was something like “Marathon dancers at Venice, circa 1923.” But I always thought that the marathon dancing craze grew out of the evermore desperate financial straits of the Great Depression. The girls are all in … Continue reading
Windward Ave, Venice, California, circa 1915
This photo of Angelenos out for a stroll along Windward Ave at Venice Beach circa 1915 kind of makes me wish they had Kodachrome back then. Abbot Kinney’s “Venice of America” project was only 10 years old at that point … Continue reading
Angelenos strolling the boardwalk between Venice and Ocean Park, California, circa 1910s
These days, the boardwalk from Venice Beach and Ocean Park (the beach directly south of Santa Monica) is a tumultuous carnival of barking street performers, hipster tarot card readers, henna tattooists, angry bible thumpers, dubious marijuana dispensaries, and barely-clad roller-bladers. … Continue reading
Venice Miniature Railway train crossing over a canal bridge en route to Windward Ave, Venice Beach, California, circa 1905
Evidently, Abbot Kinney thought of everything when he created “Venice of America” (which we know today simply as Venice Beach.) Not only did he build a system of canals, but he also thought to install a miniature railway so that … Continue reading
A crowded Venice Beach, California, 1917
People dressed for the beach a whole lot differently today than they did in 1917, when this photo was taken on Venice Beach. The place is crowded so I’m assuming it’s not the dead of winter. But look at how … Continue reading
Birdseye view of cities near Los Angeles, circa early 1910s
In this illustration of Southern California, we can see how truly separated the various towns were in the early 1910s. Waaaaay off in the distance we can see (what we now refer to as) downtown Los Angeles, with great expanses … Continue reading
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Tagged Color photo, Downtown Los Angeles, Maps, Santa Monica, Venice Beach
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Windward Ave at Pacific Ave, Venice, California, 1910
It always slays me to find pictures of Angelenos at Venice Beach all decked out in jackets, ties, hats, and long-sleeved dresses that reach the ground. These days it’s all cut-off jeans and bikini tops. Not that I blame anyone—heaven … Continue reading
Venice Pier built by Abbot Kinney showing the auditorium, the Ship Cafe, the dance pavilion
Here we have a shot of the Venice pier that Abbot Kinney (original developer of Venice) built in 1905. From left to right are the auditorium (with 300 seats), the Cabrillo Ship Café, and the dance pavilion with room for … Continue reading