Tag Archives: Venice Beach
Hotel Omar at the corner of Windward Ave and Trolleyway (now Pacific Ave), Venice, California, 1914
Yesterday, I spent the day with fellow Hollywood historical fiction author Laini Giles, who is in town to promote her new Clara Bow book, “The It Girl and Me” (http://amzn.to/2riuSi3) and I took her down to Venice for some LA … Continue reading
House sitting between two canals, Venice, California, circa early 1900s
I can’t imagine there were any other houses in Los Angeles that sat at the intersection of two canals. I don’t have a date for this one, but Abbot Kinney’s “Venice of America” opened in 1905, so around then or … Continue reading
Well-dressed beach-goers crowding Venice Beach, California, 1917
In this shot, we can see throngs of people crowding Venice Beach in 1917. There are people in the background wearing swimsuits, but all the people in the foreground are in jackets and collars and ties and hats. I can’t … Continue reading
Electric sidewalk car in Venice, Los Angeles, circa 1920
Well, this looks like fun. Apparently at Venice Beach, somebody offered rides on an “electric sidewalk car” up and down the boardwalk. That beachfront walk is always so crowded these days that something like that would be more of a … Continue reading
Venice Beach, California, 1906
It’s hard to find a photograph of Venice Beach that’s earlier than this one. Venice, California, was founded by tobacco millionaire Abbot Kinney in 1905 as a beach resort town designed to give Angelenos desperate to escape the crowding of … Continue reading
A Venice (California) canal in 1905 – the same year the project was completed.
Considering how congested Venice Beach is these days, it’s hard to imagine it ever looked like this. This shot of a Venice canal was taken the same year that Abbot Kinney’s Venice canals project opened – 1905. How peaceful and … Continue reading
Camel riding in Venice, California, 1906
When Abbott Kinney conceived the “Venice of California” his vision came complete with canals, gondolas, amusement piers, hotels and Venetian-styled structures. I’m not sure how camel rides fit in, but those three people astride that camel seem to be enjoying … Continue reading
Well-dressed Angelenos promenading down Windward Ave, Venice, California, circa 1905
Given how hot it is throughout most of the year at Venice Beach, it’s hard for me to imagine how comfortable these well-dressed, Angelenos were as they promenaded along Windward Ave, fully dressed from hat to shoes, circa 1905. Not … Continue reading
Mule trains digging the canals of Venice, California, 1904
This photo doesn’t seem much until you realize that we’re looking at a photograph of the mule teams that Abbot Kinney employed to dig the canals of Venice in 1904. They didn’t last long as the work was proceeding too … Continue reading
Lion Canal (now Windward Ave), Venice Beach, California, circa 1920s
These days, Venice Beach is congested with so many people and vehicles that I wonder if it’s reached saturation point. It’s probably nice to live so close to the beach, but getting around is a high price to pay. But … Continue reading