Venice is a neighborhood of the city of Los Angeles within the
Westside region of Los Angeles County, California.
Venice was founded by
Abbot Kinney
Abbot Kinney (November 16, 1850 in New Brunswick, New Jersey – November 4, 1920 in Santa Monica, California) was an American developer, conservationist, water supply expert and tree expert. Kinney is best known for his " Venice of America" de ...
in 1905 as a seaside resort town. It was an independent city until 1926, when it was annexed by Los Angeles. Venice is known for its canals, a beach, and Ocean Front Walk, a pedestrian promenade that features
performers,
fortune-tellers
Fortune telling is the practice of predicting information about a person's life. Melton, J. Gordon. (2008). ''The Encyclopedia of Religious Phenomena''. Visible Ink Press. pp. 115-116. The scope of fortune telling is in principle identical w ...
, and
vendors
In a supply chain, a vendor, supplier, provider or a seller, is an enterprise that contributes goods or services. Generally, a supply chain vendor manufactures inventory/stock items and sells them to the next link in the chain. Today, these terms ...
.
History
19th century
In 1839, a region called La Ballona that included the southern parts of Venice, was granted by the Mexican government to Ygnacio and Augustin Machado and Felipe and Tomas Talamantes, giving them title to
Rancho La Ballona. Later this became part of
Port Ballona.
Founding
Venice, originally called "Venice of America", was founded by wealthy developer
Abbot Kinney
Abbot Kinney (November 16, 1850 in New Brunswick, New Jersey – November 4, 1920 in Santa Monica, California) was an American developer, conservationist, water supply expert and tree expert. Kinney is best known for his " Venice of America" de ...
in 1905 as a beach resort town, west of Los Angeles. He and his partner Francis Ryan had bought of ocean-front property south of
Santa Monica in 1891. They built a resort town on the north end of the property, called Ocean Park, which was soon annexed to Santa Monica. After Ryan died, Kinney and his new partners continued building south of Navy Street. After the partnership dissolved in 1904, Kinney, who had won the marshy land on the south end of the property in a coin flip with his former partners, began to build a seaside resort like the
namesake Italian city.
When Venice of America opened on July 4, 1905, Kinney had dug several miles of canals to drain the
marsh
A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found ...
es for his residential area, built a pier with an auditorium, ship restaurant, and dance hall, constructed a hot salt-water plunge, and built a block-long arcaded business street with Venetian architecture. Kinney hired artist Felix Peano to design the columns of the buildings. Included in the
capitals
Capital may refer to:
Common uses
* Capital city, a municipality of primary status
** List of national capital cities
* Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences
* Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used fo ...
are several faces, modeled after Kinney and a woman named Nettie Bouck.
Tourists, mostly arriving on the "Red Cars" of the
Pacific Electric Railway
The Pacific Electric Railway Company, nicknamed the Red Cars, was a privately owned mass transit system in Southern California consisting of electrically powered streetcars, interurban cars, and buses and was the largest electric railway syst ...
from Los Angeles and Santa Monica, then rode the
Venice Miniature Railway
The Venice Miniature Railway was a long miniature railway in the 1:3 scale with a gauge of , which was in operation from July 30, 1905, to February 13, 1925, in Venice near Los Angeles in California.
Location
Trips on the loop track starte ...
and
gondolas to tour the town. The biggest attraction was Venice's gently-sloping beach. Cottages and housekeeping tents were available for rent.
The population (3,119 residents in 1910) soon exceeded 10,000; the town drew 50,000 to 150,000 tourists on weekends.
Amusement pier
Attractions on the Kinney Pier became more amusement-oriented by 1910, when a
Venice Miniature Railway
The Venice Miniature Railway was a long miniature railway in the 1:3 scale with a gauge of , which was in operation from July 30, 1905, to February 13, 1925, in Venice near Los Angeles in California.
Location
Trips on the loop track starte ...
, Aquarium, Virginia Reel, Whip, Racing Derby, and other rides and game booths were added. Since the business district was allotted only three one-block-long streets, and the City Hall was more than a mile away, other competing business districts developed. Unfortunately, this created a fractious political climate. Kinney, however, governed with an iron hand and kept things in check. When he died in November 1920, Venice became harder to govern. With the amusement pier burning six weeks later in December 1920, and
Prohibition
Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholi ...
(which had begun the previous January), the town's tax revenue was severely affected.
The Kinney family rebuilt their amusement pier quickly to compete with Ocean Park's Pickering Pleasure Pier and the new Sunset Pier. When it opened it had two roller coasters, a new Racing Derby, a Noah's Ark, a Mill Chutes, and many other rides. By 1925, with the addition of a third coaster, a tall Dragon Slide,
Fun House, and Flying Circus aerial ride, it was the finest amusement pier on the West Coast. Several hundred thousand tourists visited on weekends. In 1923, Charles Lick built the Lick Pier at Navy Street in Venice, adjacent to the Ocean Park Pier at Pier Avenue in Ocean Park. Another pier was planned for Venice in 1925 at Leona Street (now Washington Street). For the amusement of the public, Kinney hired aviators to do aerial stunts over the beach. One of them, movie aviator and Venice airport owner
B. H. DeLay
Beverly Homer DeLay (August 12, 1891 – July 4, 1923) was an American aviator who pioneered many of the popular stunts used in the early barnstorming air-shows. He soon adapted them for the movies, where he appeared with top Hollywood stars. De ...
, implemented the first lighted airport in the United States on DeLay Field (previously known as
Ince Field). After a marine rescue attempt was thwarted, he organized the first aerial police force in the nation. DeLay performed many of the world's first aerial stunts for motion pictures in Venice.
Politics
By 1925, Venice's politics had become unmanageable because its roads, water and sewage systems badly needed repair and expansion to keep up with its growing population. When it was proposed that Venice consolidate with Los Angeles, the board of trustees voted to hold an election. Consolidation was approved at the election in November 1925, and Venice was merged with Los Angeles in 1926.
[
Many streets were paved in 1929, following a three-year court battle led by canal residents. Afterward, the Department of Recreation and Parks intended to close three amusement piers, but had to wait until the first of the tidelands leases expired in 1946.
]
Oil
In 1929, oil was discovered south of Washington Street on the Venice Peninsula, now known as the Marina Peninsula neighborhood of Los Angeles. Within two years, 450 oil wells covered the area, and drilling waste clogged the remaining waterways. The short-lived boom provided needed income to the community, which otherwise suffered during the Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
. Most of the wells had been capped by the 1970s, and the last wells, near the Venice Pavilion, were capped in 1991.
Neglect
After annexation, the city of Los Angeles showed little interest in maintaining the unusual neighborhood. Most of the canals were filled in and paved over, and the former lagoon became a traffic circle. The neighborhood lacked the automobile-centric, homogeneous character that the city sought to cultivate in the post-World War II era, and was perceived as a dated, obsolete remnant of earlier decades' land speculation.
Los Angeles had neglected Venice so long that, by the 1950s the neglect had led to the area being labeled the "Slum by the Sea". With the exception of new police and fire stations in 1930, the city spent little on improvements after annexation. The city did not pave Trolleyway (Pacific Avenue) until 1954 when county and state funds became available. Low rents for run-down bungalows attracted predominantly European immigrants (including a substantial number of Holocaust
The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...
survivors) and young counterculture
A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores.Eric Donald Hirsch. ''The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy''. H ...
artists, poets, and writers. The Beat Generation
The Beat Generation was a literary subculture movement started by a group of authors whose work explored and influenced American culture and politics in the post-war era. The bulk of their work was published and popularized by Silent Genera ...
hung out at the Gas House on Ocean Front Walk and at Venice West Cafe on Dudley.
Past gang activity
The Venice Shoreline Crips and the Latino Venice 13 (V-13) were the two main gangs active in Venice. V13 dates back to the 1950s, while the Shoreline Crips were founded in the early 1970s, making them one of the first Crip sets in Los Angeles. In the early 1990s, V-13 and the Shoreline Crips were involved in a fierce battle over crack cocaine
Crack cocaine, commonly known simply as crack, and also known as rock, is a free base form of the stimulant cocaine that can be smoked. Crack offers a short, intense high to smokers. The ''Manual of Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment'' calls ...
sales territories.
By 2002, the numbers of gang members in Venice were reduced due to gentrification
Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and planning. Gentrification often increases the ...
and increased police presence. According to a '' Los Angeles City Beat'' article, by 2003, many Los Angeles Westside gang members had resettled in the city of Inglewood Inglewood may refer to:
Places
Australia
*Inglewood, Queensland
* Shire of Inglewood, Queensland, a former local government area
*Inglewood, South Australia
*Inglewood, Victoria
*Inglewood, Western Australia
Canada
* Inglewood, Ontario
*Inglewoo ...
.
Housing and homelessness
Venice Beach is one of the hardest places in the United States to build new housing due to stringent zoning regulations and pervasive NIMBYism. Between 2007 and 2022, not a single new house was built in Venice Beach.
As per a 2020 count, there were nearly 2,000 homeless people in Venice, up from 175 in 2014. Many of them take up residence in tents and tent cities. An LAPD
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-large ...
official said that the increased homeless population has contributed to a spike in crimes in Venice in 2021, despite any statistically significant proof of correlation. In February 2020, the city opened a 154-bed transitional housing shelter at a former Metro bus yard.
Geography
City of Los Angeles
According to the City of Los Angeles, Venice is bounded on the north by the City of Santa Monica (Marine and Dewey Streets). On the west, it is bounded by the Pacific Ocean and on the east by Walgrove Avenue from the Santa Monica border to Venice Boulevard, Beethoven Street from Venice Boulevard to Zanja Street (including Venice High) and Del Rey Avenue from Zanja Street to Maxella Avenue. On the south, the boundary runs along Lincoln Boulevard to Admiralty Way, then south to Ballona Creek – including the Marina Peninsula community but excluding Marina del Rey
Marina del Rey (Spanish for "Marina of the King") is an unincorporated seaside community in Los Angeles County, California, with an eponymous harbor that is a major boating and water recreation destination of the greater Los Angeles area. The ...
.
Venice borders the Palms, Mar Vista
Mar Vista is a neighborhood on the Westside of Los Angeles, California. In 1927, Mar Vista became the 70th community to be annexed to Los Angeles. It was designated as an official city neighborhood in 2006.
History
Mar Vista was called Ocean Par ...
, and Del Rey neighborhoods, parts of Culver City and Marina del Rey.
According to the Venice Neighborhood Council, Venice consists of the eight existing neighborhoods listed in the Venice Specific Plan – Silver Strand, Oxford Triangle, Marina Peninsula, Silver Triangle, North Venice, South Venice, Presidents Row, Venice Canals
The Venice Canal Historic District is embedded in the residential Venice suburb of Los Angeles, California. The historic district is noteworthy for possessing man-made wetland canals, built in 1905 by developer Abbot Kinney as part of his Venic ...
, Oakwood, North OFW (Ocean Front Walk), NoRo (North of Rose Avenue) and Penmar – plus the additional neighborhood of East of Venice.
Mapping L.A.
According to the Mapping L.A. Mapping L.A. is a project of the ''Los Angeles Times'', beginning in 2009, to draw boundary lines for 158 cities and unincorporated places within Los Angeles County, California. It identified 114 neighborhoods within the City of Los Angeles and 42 ...
project of the ''Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...
'', Venice is adjoined on the northwest by Santa Monica, on the northeast by Mar Vista, on the southeast by Culver City
Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. Founded in 1917 as a "whites only" sundown town, it is now an ethnically diverse city with what was called the "third-most ...
, Del Rey and Marina Del Rey, on the south by Ballona Creek and on the west by the Pacific Ocean.["Westside"]
, Mapping L.A., ''Los Angeles Times''
Venice is bounded on the northwest by the Santa Monica city line. The northern apex of the Venice neighborhood is at Walgrove Avenue and Rose Avenue, abutting the Santa Monica Airport. On the east, the boundary runs north–south on Walgrove Avenue to the neighborhood's eastern apex at Zanja Street, thus including the Penmar Golf Course but excluding Venice High School. The boundary runs on Lincoln Boulevard to Admiralty Way, excluding all of Marina del Rey
Marina del Rey (Spanish for "Marina of the King") is an unincorporated seaside community in Los Angeles County, California, with an eponymous harbor that is a major boating and water recreation destination of the greater Los Angeles area. The ...
, south to Ballona Creek.["Venice"]
Mapping L.A., ''Los Angeles Times''[''The Thomas Guide: Los Angeles County,'' 2004, pages 671, 672 and 702]
Cityscape
Venice Canal Historic District
File:Highsmithvenicecanals.jpg, Carroll Canal, c. 2010
File:20050412venice06pano.jpg, Grand Canal at junction with Linnie Canal, 2005
File:Venice-CA-Canal-1909.jpg, Gondolier, Aldebaran Canal, 1909
File:Canals Venice of America promotional flyer circa 1920 side 2.png, Promotional flyer c. 1920
Abbot Kinney Boulevard
Abbott Kinney Boulevard is a principal attraction, with stores, restaurants, bars and art galleries lining the street. The street was described as "a derelict strip of rundown beach cottages and empty brick industrial buildings called West Washington Boulevard," and in the late 1980s community groups and property owners pushed for renaming a portion of the street to honor Abbot Kinney. The renaming was widely considered as a marketing strategy to commercialize the area and bring new high-end businesses to the area.
Venice Farmers Market
Founded in 1987, the farmers market
A farmers' market (or farmers market according to the AP stylebook, also farmer's market in the Cambridge Dictionary) is a physical retail marketplace intended to sell foods directly by farmers to consumers. Farmers' markets may be indoors or ...
operates every Friday from 7 am to 11 am on Venice Boulevard at Venice Way.
72 Market Street Oyster Bar and Grill
72 Market Street Oyster Bar and Grill was one of several historical footnotes associated with Market Street in Venice, one of the first streets designated for commerce when the city was founded in 1905. During the depression era, Upton Sinclair
Upton Beall Sinclair Jr. (September 20, 1878 – November 25, 1968) was an American writer, muckraker, political activist and the 1934 Democratic Party nominee for governor of California who wrote nearly 100 books and other works in sever ...
had an office there when he was running for governor, and the same historic building where the restaurant was located was also the site of the first Ace/Venice Gallery in the early 1970s.
Historic post office
The Venice Post Office, a red-tile-roofed 1939 New Deal
The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939. Major federal programs agencies included the Civilian Con ...
building designed by Louis A. Simon on Windward Circle, featured one of two remaining murals painted in 1941 by Modernist artist Edward Biberman
Edward Biberman (October 23, 1904 – January 27, 1986) was an American artist active in the mid-twentieth century. His work ranged from stylised portraits to history-inspired murals, and drew on the emerging urban landscapes of southern Californ ...
. Developer Abbot Kinney is in the center surrounded by beachgoers in old-fashioned bathing suits, men in overalls, and a wooden roller coaster representing the Venice Pier on one side with contrasting industrial oil derricks that were once ubiquitous in the area on the other side. Senior curator of American Art at Los Angeles County Museum of Art
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is an art museum located on Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles. LACMA is on Museum Row, adjacent to the La Brea Tar Pits (George C. Page Museum).
LACMA was founded in 19 ...
(LACMA), Ilene Susan Fort, said this is one of the better New Deal post office murals
United States post office murals are notable examples of New Deal art produced during the years 1934–1943.
They were commissioned through a competitive process by the United States Department of the Treasury. Some 1,400 murals were created fo ...
both artistically and historically. Although it contains brightly colored elements with amusing details, the intrusion of the ominous oil rigs and wells was very relevant at the time.[Vankin, Deborah, (June 17, 2014]
"Restored 'Abbot Kinney' mural anchors exhibit on Venice history"
''Los Angeles Times''; accessed February 7, 2022.
After the post office closed in 2012, movie producer Joel Silver unveiled plans to purchase it for 7.5 million and revamp the building as the new headquarters of his company, Silver Pictures. The sale included the stipulation that he, or any future owner, preserve the New Deal-era murals and allow public access. Restoration of the nearly pristine mural took over a year and cost about $100,000. LACMA highlighted the mural with an exhibit that displayed additional Biberman artworks, rare historical documents and Venice ephemera with the restored mural. Silver has a long-term lease on the mural that is still owned by the US Postal Service.[ In May 2019, according to the '']Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly larg ...
'', Silver sold the building for 22.5 million to U.K. investor Alex Dellal and his real estate group founded by Jack Dellal. Status of the planned renovation remains subject to further approvals. The mural's whereabouts are unknown, putting the lessee in violation of the lease agreement's public access requirement.
Residences and streets
Many of Venice's houses have their principal entries from pedestrian-only streets and have house numbers on these footpaths. (Automobile access is by alleys in the rear.) The inland walk streets are made up primarily of around 620 single-family homes. Like much of the rest of Los Angeles, however, Venice is known for traffic congestion. It lies away from the nearest freeway, and its unusually dense network of narrow streets was not planned for modern traffic.
Venice Beach
Venice Beach, which receives millions of visitors a year, has been labeled as "a cultural hub known for its eccentricities" as well as a "global tourist destination".[Ari Bloomekatz and Abby Sewell, "Car Plows Through Crowd on Venice Boardwalk, Killing One", ''Los Angeles Times'', August 3, 2013]
/ref> It includes the promenade that runs parallel to the beach, the Venice Beach Boardwalk
The Venice Beach Boardwalk is a two-mile promenade stretching parallel to Venice beach, Venice Beach. In the North, the Boardwalk connects to the Santa Monica Boardwalk, and terminates in Marina del Rey, California, Marina del Rey in the South. No ...
, Muscle Beach, and the Venice Beach Recreation Center with handball courts, paddle tennis courts, a skate dancing plaza, and numerous beach volleyball courts. It also includes a bike trail and many businesses on Ocean Front Walk.
The basketball courts in Venice are renowned across the country for their high level of streetball
Streetball (or street basketball) is a variation of basketball, typically played on outdoor courts and featuring significantly less formal structure and enforcement of the game's rules. As such, its format is more conducive to allowing players ...
; numerous professional basketball
In professional sports, as opposed to amateur sports, participants receive payment for their performance. Professionalism in sport has come to the fore through a combination of developments. Mass media and increased leisure have brought lar ...
players developed their games or have been recruited on these courts.
Venice Beach will host skateboarding
Skateboarding is an action sport originating in the United States that involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard, as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry job, and a method of transportation ...
and 3x3 basketball during the 2028 Summer Olympics.
Along the southern portion of the beach, at the end of Washington Boulevard, is the Venice Fishing Pier
Venice Fishing Pier is a pier
Seaside pleasure pier in Brighton, England. The first seaside piers were built in England in the early 19th century.">England.html" ;"title="Brighton, England">Brighton, England. The first seaside piers were bu ...
. A concrete structure, it first opened in 1964, was closed in 1983 due to El Niño storm damage, and re-opened in the mid-1990s. On December 21, 2005, the pier again suffered damage when waves from a large northern swell caused part of it to fall into the ocean. The pier remained closed until May 25, 2006, when it was re-opened after an engineering study concluded that it was structurally sound.The Venice Breakwater is an acclaimed local surf spot in Venice. It is located north of the Venice Pier and lifeguard headquarters and south of the Santa Monica Pier. This spot is sheltered on the north by an artificial barrier, the breakwater
Breakwater may refer to:
* Breakwater (structure), a structure for protecting a beach or harbour
Places
* Breakwater, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia
* Breakwater Island, Antarctica
* Breakwater Islands, Nunavut, Canada
* Br ...
, consisting of an extending sand bar, piping, and large rocks at its end.
In late 2010, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors conducted a $1.6 million replacement of 30,000 cubic yards of sand at Venice Beach eroded by rainstorms in recent years. Although Venice Beach is located in the city of Los Angeles, the county is responsible for maintaining the beach under an agreement reached between the two governments in 1975.
Oakwood
Oakwood lies inland from the tourist areas and is one of the few historically African-American areas in West Los Angeles.
East of Lincoln
East of Lincoln is separated from Oakwood by Lincoln Boulevard. It extends east to the border with Mar Vista
Mar Vista is a neighborhood on the Westside of Los Angeles, California. In 1927, Mar Vista became the 70th community to be annexed to Los Angeles. It was designated as an official city neighborhood in 2006.
History
Mar Vista was called Ocean Par ...
. Aside from the commercial strip on Lincoln (including the Venice Boys and Girls Club Boys & Girls Club may refer to:
* Boys & Girls Clubs of America
* Boys & Girls Clubs of Canada
* Gloria Wise Boys and Girls Clubs, Bronx, United States
* Essex Boys and Girls Clubs, in Essex and East London, England
* The Boys' and Girls' Clubs ...
and the Venice United Methodist Church), the area almost entirely consists of small homes and apartments as well as Penmar Park
The P.R.R. YMCA Athletic Field, also known as Penmar Park and commonly referred to in the 1930s and 1940s as the 44th and Parkside ballpark, was an athletic field and ballpark in West Philadelphia from as early as the 1890s to the early 1950s. I ...
and (bordering Santa Monica) Penmar Golf Course.
A housing project
Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, d ...
, Lincoln Place Apartment Homes, built by the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles, is currently undergoing a $140 million renovation to add 99 new market-rate apartment homes and to update the remaining 696 existing homes. A new pool, two-story fitness center, resident park and sustainable landscaping are being added. Aimco
Aimco or Apartment Investment and Management Company is a publicly traded real estate investment trust. As of December 31, 2020, the company owned 27 apartment communities comprising 6,342 apartment units in 12 states and the District of Columb ...
, which acquired the property in 2003, had previously been in a legal battle to determine whether or not Lincoln Place could be demolished and rebuilt. In 2010, Aimco settled with tenants and agreed to reopen the project and return scores of evicted residents to their homes and add hundreds of units to the Venice area.
Venice Walk Streets
The Venice Walk Streets are three pedestrian-only residential streets.
The streets are Marco Place, Amoroso Place and Nowita Place, located west of Lincoln Boulevard and east of Shell Avenue.
Los Angeles recognizes a larger North Venice Walk Streets Historic District.
“The walk streets, narrower than regular streets, are too small for regulation street sweepers," so the streets had a designated smaller-size street sweeper.
Subsections
According to the Venice Neighborhood Council, the area can be subdivided further into the following districts:
* Ballona Lagoon West Bank
* Ballona Lagoon (Grand Canal) East Bank
* Silver Strand
* Marina Peninsula
* Venice Canals
* North Venice
* Oakwood-Milwood-South Venice
* Oxford Triangle
Climate
Like much of the rest of coastal southern California
Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban ...
, Venice has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate,[Venice Beach climate info](_blank)
/ref> with cool, wet winters and warm, dry summers. Temperatures are moderate all year, and the neighborhood boasts over 300 sunshine days per year. As a result of seasonal lag
Seasonal lag is the phenomenon whereby the date of maximum average air temperature at a geographical location on a planet is delayed until some time after the date of maximum insolation (i.e. the summer solstice). This also applies to the mini ...
, fall is usually warmer than spring in Venice. Because of its coastal location, morning fog is a common phenomenon in May and June, but occasionally July and August, as well. Los Angeles residents have a particular terminology for this phenomenon: the "May Gray", the " June Gloom", "No-Sky July" and "Fogust"; during these events, the fog will usually burn off by noon, but the fog may also linger all day. The all-time record high of 110 °F (43 °C) was observed on September 27, 2010, while the all-time record low is 32 °F (0 °C), recorded on January 14, 2007. Venice is in USDA
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of comme ...
plant hardiness zone 10b.
Demographics
The 2000 U.S. census counted 37,705 residents in the 3.17-square-mile Venice neighborhood—an average of 11,891 people per square mile, about the norm for Los Angeles; in 2008, the city estimated that the population had increased to 40,885. The median age for residents was 35, considered the average for Los Angeles; the percentages of residents aged 19 through 49 were among the county's highest.[
The ethnic breakdown was 64.2% ]Non-Hispanic White
Non-Hispanic whites or Non-Latino whites are Americans who are classified as "white", and are not of Hispanic (also known as "Latino") heritage. The United States Census Bureau defines ''white'' to include European Americans, Middle Eastern Am ...
, 21.7% Latino (of any racial origin); 5.4% African American; 4.1% Asian, and 4.6% of other origins. About 22.3% of residents had been born abroad, a relatively low figure for Los Angeles; Mexico (38.4%) and the United Kingdom (8.5%) were their most common places of birth.[
Forty-nine percent of Venice residents aged 25 and older had earned a four-year degree by 2000, a high figure for both the city and the county. The percentages of residents of that age with a ]bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to si ...
or a master's degree was considered high for the county.[
The median yearly household income in 2008 dollars was $67,647, a high figure for Los Angeles. The percentage of households earning $125,000 was considered high for the city. The average household size of 1.9 people was low for both the city and the county. Renters occupied 68.8% of the housing stock and house- or apartment owners held 31.2%.][ Property values have been increasing lately due to the presence of technology companies such as ]Google Inc.
Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. It ...
(which in 2011 began leasing 100,000 square feet of space in Venice) and Snap Inc. (which formerly leased property on Market Street and Abbot Kinney).
The percentages of never-married men (51.3%), never-married women (40.6%), divorced men (11.3%) and divorced women (15.9%) were among the county's highest. The percentage of veterans who had served during the Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
was among the county's highest.[
]
Arts and culture
Venice has been known as a preferred location for creative artists. In the 1950s and 1960s, Venice became a center for the Beat generation and there was an explosion of poetry and art, which continues today. Major writers and artists throughout the decades have included Stuart Perkoff, John Thomas, Frank T. Rios, Tony Scibella, Lawrence Lipton, John Haag, Saul White, Robert Farrington, Philomene Long, and Tom Sewell.
Architecture
Originally established as a planned city imitating Venice, Italy, Venice is home to a large number of early 1900s buildings built in to emulate Italian renaissance architecture. Particularly along Windward Avenue, where an arched arcade covers the sidewalks on portions of both sides of the street. Similar buildings originally formed a continuous arcade from the boardwalk to the former lagoon (now the Windward traffic circle) but these were condemned by the City of Los Angeles after annexation. Only through the efforts of local preservationists were the few buildings that remain able to be preserved, although many were substantially modified.
Designers Charles and Ray Eames had their offices at the Bay Cities Garage on Abbot Kinney Boulevard from 1943 on, when it was still part of Washington Boulevard; Eames products were also manufactured there until the 1950s. The brick building's interior was redesigned by Frank Israel in 1990 as a creative workspace, opening up the interior and creating sightlines all the way through the building.[Eve Bachrach (May 3, 2013)]
Touring 3 of Venice's Modern Arch Gems of the '70s and '80s
''Curbed LA''.
Originally located at the Venice home of Pritzker Prize
The Pritzker Architecture Prize is an international architecture award presented annually "to honor a living architect or architects whose built work demonstrates a combination of those qualities of talent, vision and commitment, which has produ ...
–winning architect and SCI-Arc
Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) is a private architecture school in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1972, SCI-Arc was initially regarded as both institutionally and artistically avant-garde and more adventurous than ...
founder Thom Mayne, the Architecture Gallery was in existence for just ten weeks in 1979 and featured new work by then-emerging architects Frank Gehry
Frank Owen Gehry, , FAIA (; ; born ) is a Canadian-born American architect and designer. A number of his buildings, including his private residence in Santa Monica, California, have become world-renowned attractions.
His works are considered ...
, Eric Owen Moss
Eric Owen Moss (born 1943 in Los Angeles) practices architecture with his eponymously named LA-based firm founded in 1973.
Education
Moss was born in Los Angeles, California, in 1943. He received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Califo ...
, and Morphosis. Constructed on a long, narrow lot in 1981, the Indiana Avenue Houses/Arnoldi Triplex was designed Frank Gehry in partnership with artists Laddie John Dill
Laddie John Dill (born Long Beach, CA, 1943) is an American artist. Dill calls his work "light sentences". Dill received a BFA degree from Chouinard Art Institute, Los Angeles, in 1968.
Education
Dill was educated at the Chouinard Art Institute ...
and Charles Arnoldi. Frank Gehry
Frank Owen Gehry, , FAIA (; ; born ) is a Canadian-born American architect and designer. A number of his buildings, including his private residence in Santa Monica, California, have become world-renowned attractions.
His works are considered ...
has designed several well-known houses in Venice, including the Jane Spiller House (completed 1979) and the Norton House (completed 1984) on Venice Beach. In 1994, sculptor Robert Graham designed a fortress-like art studio and residence for himself and his wife, actress Anjelica Huston
Anjelica Huston ( ; born July 8, 1951) is an American actress and director. Known for often portraying eccentric and distinctive characters, she has received multiple accolades, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award, as well as nom ...
, on Windward Avenue.
Art
In the 1970s, performance artist Chris Burden
Christopher Lee Burden (April 11, 1946 – May 10, 2015) was an American artist working in performance, sculpture and installation art. Burden became known in the 1970s for his performance art works, including ''Shoot'' (1971), where he arranged ...
created some of his early, groundbreaking work in Venice. Other notable artists who maintained studios in the area include Charles Arnoldi, Jean-Michel Basquiat
Jean-Michel Basquiat (; December 22, 1960 – August 12, 1988) was an American artist who rose to success during the 1980s as part of the Neo-expressionism movement.
Basquiat first achieved fame as part of the graffiti duo SAMO, alongside ...
, John Baldessari, Larry Bell, Billy Al Bengston
Billy Al Bengston (June 7, 1934 – October 8, 2022) was an American visual artist and sculptor who lived and worked in Venice, California, and Honolulu, Hawaii. Bengston was probably best known for work he created that reflected California's " ...
, James Georgopoulos
James Georgopoulos (born 1966 in Manchester, New Hampshire) is a Greek-American visual artist. Georgopoulos works with painting, sculpture, and video installation to address a relationship between highly skilled production techniques, pop culture ...
, Dennis Hopper
Dennis Lee Hopper (May 17, 1936 – May 29, 2010) was an American actor, filmmaker and photographer. He attended the Actors Studio, made his first television appearance in 1954, and soon after appeared in '' Giant'' (1956). In the next ten year ...
, and Ed Ruscha
Edward Joseph Ruscha IV (, ''roo-SHAY''; born December 16, 1937) is an American artist associated with the pop art movement. He has worked in the media of painting, printmaking, drawing, photography and film. He is also noted for creating severa ...
. Organized by the Hammer Museum
The Hammer Museum, which is affiliated with the University of California, Los Angeles, is an art museum and cultural center known for its artist-centric and progressive array of exhibitions and public programs. Founded in 1990 by the entrepreneur ...
over the course of one weekend in 2012, the open-air Venice Beach Biennial (in reference to the Venice Biennale
The Venice Biennale (; it, La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of ...
in Italy) brought together 87 artists, including site-specific projects by established artists like Evan Holloway, Barbara Kruger as well as boardwalk veteran Arthure Moore. In the 1980s and 1990s, the Venice Beach boardwalk became a mecca for street performances, turning it into a popular tourist attraction. Chainsaw jugglers, break dancers, acrobats and comics like Michael Colyar could be seen on a daily basis. Many performers like the Jim Rose Circus
The Jim Rose Circus is a modern-day version of a circus sideshow. It was founded in Seattle in 1991 by Jim Rose and his wife BeBe Aschard Rose. The sideshow came to prominence to an American audience as a second stage show at the 1992 Lollapaloo ...
got their start on the boardwalk.
Venice Boardwalk murals
The Venice Beach boardwalk area is known for its many famous murals by local artists, including Rip Cronk, Jonas Never, and Levi Ponce. The following is a list of the most notable and iconic boardwalk murals:
* ''Venice Kinesis'' (2010) by Rip Cronk revision of earlier Venice Reconstituted (1989)* ''Homage to a Starry Knight'' (1990) by Rip Cronk
* ''Endangered Species'' (1990) by Emily Winters
* ''Venice Beach'' (1990) by Rip Cronk
* ''Morning Shot'' (1991) by Rip Cronk (portrait mural of musician Jim Morrison
James Douglas Morrison (December 8, 1943 – July 3, 1971) was an American singer, poet and songwriter who was the lead vocalist of the rock band the Doors. Due to his wild personality, poetic lyrics, distinctive voice, unpredictable and err ...
)
* ''Touch of Venice'' (2012) by Jonas aka "Never"
* ''Arnold Schwarzenegger'' (2013) by Jonas aka "Never" (portrait mural of Schwarzenegger in bodybuilding pose.
* ''Luminaries of Pantheism'' (2015) by Levi Ponce (depicts pantheism supporters, including Einstein
Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born Theoretical physics, theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for d ...
, Tesla, Du Bois, and others)
Venice Public Art Walls
The Venice Art Walls were built in 1961 as part of the Venice Pavilion, a recreation and performing arts facility. It was a popular hangout spot for locals owing to its proximity to the beach and large number of concrete tables. The central area of the pavilion, known as "the pit" was surrounded by flat concrete walls that made for ideal painting surfaces. The pit became a hotbed of the growing graffiti movement in Los Angeles in the 1970s and 1980s, with many prominent artists and graffiti crews painting elaborate pieces on the pavilions walls. The area's thriving counterculture and arts scene, along with law enforcement's general neglect of the area made it an ideal location for artists to paint. Thirty-eight years later the Venice Pavilion was torn down but some of the walls, along with two large, conical concrete structures, were maintained. They were restored in 2000 as part of a renovation of the beachfront park area at the end of Windward Avenue, and ever since artists have been allowed to paint there freely and legally.
Music
Venice was where rock band The Doors
The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most controversial and influential rock acts ...
were formed in 1965 by UCLA alumni Ray Manzarek
Raymond Daniel Manzarek Jr. (né Manczarek; February 12, 1939 – May 20, 2013) was an American keyboardist. He is best known as a member of the Doors, co-founding the band with singer and lyricist Jim Morrison in 1965.
Manzarek was induc ...
and Jim Morrison
James Douglas Morrison (December 8, 1943 – July 3, 1971) was an American singer, poet and songwriter who was the lead vocalist of the rock band the Doors. Due to his wild personality, poetic lyrics, distinctive voice, unpredictable and err ...
. The Doors would go on to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and ...
with Morrison being considered one of the greatest rock frontmen. Venice is the birthplace of Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction is an American rock band from Los Angeles, formed in 1985. The band consists of vocalist Perry Farrell, guitarist Dave Navarro, drummer Stephen Perkins and bassist Eric Avery. Jane's Addiction was one of the first bands fr ...
in the 1980s. Perry Farrell
Perry Farrell (born Peretz Bernstein; March 29, 1959) is an American singer, songwriter and musician, best known as the frontman of the alternative rock band Jane's Addiction. Farrell created the touring festival Lollapalooza as part (one of th ...
, frontman and founder of Lollapalooza
Lollapalooza (Lolla) is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991 but several years later made Chicago the permanent location for the annual music festival. Musi ...
, was a longtime Venice resident until 2010.
Venice in the 1980s also had bands playing music known as crossover thrash
Crossover thrash (often abbreviated to crossover) is a fusion genre of thrash metal and hardcore punk. The genre lies on a continuum between heavy metal and hardcore punk. Other genres on the same continuum, such as metalcore and grindcore, ...
, a hardcore punk/thrash metal musical hybrid. The most notable of these bands is Suicidal Tendencies
Suicidal Tendencies is an American crossover thrash band formed in 1980 in Venice in Los Angeles, California by vocalist Mike Muir. Muir is the only remaining original member of the band. Along with D.R.I., Corrosion of Conformity, and Stor ...
. Other Venice bands such as Beowülf
Beowülf is an American crossover thrash metal band formed in Venice Beach, California, in 1981 by Michael Alvarado, Dale Henderson, Mike Jensen and Paul Yamada. The group never gained a large mainstream success, but is considered one of the f ...
, No Mercy, and Excel were also featured on the compilation album ''Welcome to Venice''.
Recreation and parks
The Venice Beach Recreation Center comprises a number of facilities. The installation has basketball courts (unlighted/outdoor), several children play areas with a gymnastics apparatus, chess tables, handball courts (unlighted), paddle tennis courts (unlighted), and volleyball courts (unlighted). At the south end of the area is the muscle beach outdoor gymnasium. In March 2009, the city opened a sophisticated $2 million skate park, the Venice Beach Skate Park, on the sand towards the north. The Graffiti Walls are on the beach side of the bike path in the same vicinity.
The Oakwood Recreation Center, which also acts as a Los Angeles Police Department
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-lar ...
stop-in center, includes an auditorium, an unlighted baseball diamond, lighted indoor basketball courts, unlighted outdoor basketball courts, a children's play area, a community room, a lighted American football field, an indoor gymnasium without weights, picnic tables, and an unlighted soccer field.
The Westminster Off-Leash Dog Park is located in Venice.
Government
Venice is a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles represented by District 11 District 11 can refer to:
* District 11 (Ho Chi Minh city), Vietnam
* District 11 (Zürich), Switzerland
* District 11, an electoral district of Malta
*Colorado Springs School District 11, in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States
* District 11 ...
on the Los Angeles City Council. City services are provided by the city of Los Angeles. There is a Venice Neighborhood Council that advises the LA City Council on local issues.
County, state, and federal representation
The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services
Los Angeles County Department of Health Services (abbreviated DHS and LADHS) operates the public hospitals and clinics in Los Angeles County, and is the United States' second largest municipal health system, after NYC Health + Hospitals.
DHS ope ...
SPA 5 West Area Health Office serves Venice.
The United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the ...
operates the Venice Post Office at 1601 Main Street and the Venice Carrier Annex at 313 Grand Boulevard.
Education
The schools within Venice are as follows:
"Venice Schools," Mapping L.A., ''Los Angeles Times''
*Broadway Elementary School, LAUSD
Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is a public school district in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is the largest public school system in California in terms of number of students and the 2nd largest public school district in ...
, 1015 Lincoln Boulevard
* Animo Venice Charter High School, 820 Broadway Street, which opened in August 2002 with 145 students, adding a freshman class of 140 every year until 2006, when it reached its full capacity of approximately 525 students. The school moved in 2006 to the former Ninety-Eighth Street Elementary School campus, which had been occupied by the Renaissance Academy.
*Venice Skills Center, LAUSD, 611 Fifth Avenue
*Westminster Avenue Elementary School, LAUSD, 1010 Abbot Kinney Boulevard
*Coeur d'Alene Avenue Elementary School, LAUSD, 810 Coeur d'Alene Avenue
*Westside Leadership Magnet School, LAUSD alternative, 104 Anchorage Street
* Venice High School, LAUSD – The City of Los Angeles includes Venice High School in Venice, as does Google Maps, although Mapping L.A. Mapping L.A. is a project of the ''Los Angeles Times'', beginning in 2009, to draw boundary lines for 158 cities and unincorporated places within Los Angeles County, California. It identified 114 neighborhoods within the City of Los Angeles and 42 ...
places it in Mar Vista.
Infrastructure
Public libraries
The Los Angeles Public Library
The Los Angeles Public Library system (LAPL) is a public library system in Los Angeles, California. The system holds more than six million volumes, and with around 19 million residents in the Los Angeles Metropolitan area, it serves the lar ...
operates the Venice–Abbot Kinney Memorial Branch.
Fire department
The Los Angeles Fire Department operates Station 63, which serves Venice with two engines, a truck, and an ALS rescue ambulance.
Police
The Los Angeles Police Department
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-lar ...
serves the area through the Pacific Community Police Station as well as a beach sub-station.
Los Angeles County Lifeguards
Venice Beach is the headquarters of the Los Angeles County Lifeguards
Los Angeles County Lifeguards is a division of the Los Angeles County Fire Department. The lifeguard operations safeguard of beach and of coastline, from San Pedro in the south, to Malibu in the north. The Los Angeles County Lifeguard Servi ...
of the Los Angeles County Fire Department. It is located at 2300 Ocean Front Walk. It is the nation's largest ocean lifeguard organization with over 200 full-time and 700 part-time or seasonal lifeguards. The headquarters building used to be the City of Los Angeles Lifeguard Headquarters until Los Angeles City and Santa Monica Lifeguards were merged into the County in 1975.
The Los Angeles County Lifeguards safeguard of beach and of coastline, from San Pedro in the south, to Malibu in the north. Lifeguards also provide paramedic and rescue boat services to Catalina Island, with operations out of Avalon and the Isthmus.
Lifeguard Division employs 120 full-time and 600 seasonal lifeguards, operating out of three sectional headquarters, Hermosa, Santa Monica, and Zuma beach. Each of these headquarters staffs a 24-hour EMT-D response unit and are part of the 911 system. In addition to providing for beach safety, Los Angeles County Lifeguards have specialized training for Baywatch rescue boat operations, underwater rescue and recovery, swiftwater rescue, cliff rescue, marine mammal rescue and marine firefighting.
Notable people
*Fiona Apple
Fiona Apple McAfee-Maggart (born September 13, 1977) is an American singer-songwriter. She has released five albums from 1996 to 2020, which have all reached the top 20 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200 chart. Apple has received numerous awards an ...
, singer-songwriter, pianist.
* Jay Adams, professional skateboarder
*J.C. Barthel
Julius Carl Barthel (29 September 1873 – 2 April 1952) was an American civil engineer and politician who was a Los Angeles City Council member from 1929 to 1931.
Biography
Barthel was born in Missouri to German immigrants. He "prepared plans ...
, Venice postmaster and commissioner of supplies, 1920s, president of Chamber of Commerce
*Charles Benefiel
Charles Benefiel (born 1967) is a contemporary American outsider artist from California. As he has severe obsessive-compulsive disorder, almost all of his work is done via stippling. He currently lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Overview
Bor ...
, artist
*Charles Winchester Breedlove
Charles Winchester Breedlove (1898–1934) was an invalided U.S. Marine, an actor and a motion picture director who died in office while a member of the Los Angeles City Council in the 1930s.
Biography
Breedlove was born on November 14, 1898, i ...
, Los Angeles City Council member, 1933–45, supported legalized tango games
* Bryan Callen, stand-up comedian, actor, writer and podcaster
* Brun Campbell, folk ragtime musician
*Emilia Clarke
Emilia Isobel Euphemia Rose Clarke (born 23 October 1986) is an English actress. She is best known for her portrayal as Daenerys Targaryen in ''Game of Thrones''. She has received various accolades, including an Empire Awards, Empire Award, a ...
, actress
* John J. Coit, builder and operator of Venice Miniature Railway
The Venice Miniature Railway was a long miniature railway in the 1:3 scale with a gauge of , which was in operation from July 30, 1905, to February 13, 1925, in Venice near Los Angeles in California.
Location
Trips on the loop track starte ...
* Zack de la Rocha, musician
* John Doan, classical guitarist
* Tom Felton, actor, musician
* Sky Ferreira, singer-songwriter, model, actress
* C.H. Garrigues, journalist, '' Venice Vanguard''
* Lennon Sisters, singers
* John Lovell, businessman, member of Los Angeles Common Council["Lovell Funeral Today", ''Los Angeles Times'', September 20, 1913, page II-9]
/ref>
*John Lydon
John Joseph Lydon (; born 31 January 1956), also known by his former stage name Johnny Rotten, is an English singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer of the late-1970s punk rock, punk band the Sex Pistols, which lasted from 1975 until 197 ...
, "Johnny Rotten", lead singer of the Sex Pistols
The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they were one of the most groundbreaking acts in the history of popular music. They were responsible for ...
and Public Image Ltd
* Helene Machado, All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player, born and raised in Venice
* Milo Manheim, actor who stars as Zed in the Disney Channel Original Movies, Zombies
A zombie (Haitian French: , ht, zonbi) is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. Zombies are most commonly found in horror and fantasy genre works. The term comes from Haitian folklore, in wh ...
and Zombies 2
''Zombies 2'' is an American musical and dance Disney Channel Original Movie that premiered on Disney Channel on February 14, 2020. A sequel to the 2018 Disney Channel Original Movie ''Zombies'', the film stars Milo Manheim and Meg Donnelly, and ...
*Ian McShane
Ian David McShane (born 29 September 1942) is an English actor, producer and director. He is known for his television performances, particularly as the title role in the BBC series ''Lovejoy'' (1986–1994), Al Swearengen in '' Deadwood'' (20 ...
, actor
* Betty Miller, first female pilot to fly solo across the Pacific Ocean, born and raised in Venice
*Berniece Baker Miracle
Berniece Inez Gladys Miracle (née Baker; July 30, 1919 – May 25, 2014) was an American writer, known for her memoir ''My Sister Marilyn'' (1994) about her half-sister, actress Marilyn Monroe.
Biography
Berniece Baker was born in Venice, Cali ...
, author and half-sister of Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...
* Casey Neistat, filmmaker, vlogger, YouTuber
* Anna Paquin, actress
* James Edwin Richards, crime activist and citizen journalist, editor and publisher
* Ronda Rousey, mixed martial artist, judoka, actress, and professional wrestler
* Karl L. Rundberg, Los Angeles City Council member (1957–65), opposed Venice beatniks
* Lila Shanley, stage name Lila Finn, stuntwoman, stunt double, and women's volleyball player
* Joanie Sommers, singer
* Teena Marie, singer-songwriter, producer
In popular culture
Venice has been the location of numerous movies, TV shows, and video games. Common locations for filming include the piers, skate park, restaurant, canals, boardwalk, and the schools.
Some productions include the following:
*1914: ''Kid Auto Races at Venice
''Kid Auto Races at Venice'' (also known as ''The Pest'') is a 1914 American film starring Charles Chaplin. It is the first film in which his "Little Tramp" character makes an appearance before the public. The first film to be produced that featur ...
'' (Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is conside ...
—first appearance of the "Little Tramp" character)
*1920: '' Number, Please?'' (Harold Lloyd
Harold Clayton Lloyd, Sr. (April 20, 1893 – March 8, 1971) was an American actor, comedian, and stunt performer who appeared in many silent comedy films.Obituary '' Variety'', March 10, 1971, page 55.
One of the most influential film c ...
)
*1921: '' The High Sign'' (Buster Keaton
Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton (October 4, 1895 – February 1, 1966) was an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is best known for his silent film work, in which his trademark was physical comedy accompanied by a stoic, deadpan expression ...
)
*1923: '' The Balloonatic'' (Buster Keaton)
*1927: '' Sugar Daddies'' (Laurel and Hardy
Laurel and Hardy were a British-American comedy duo act during the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–1957). Starting their career as a duo in t ...
)
*1928: '' The Circus'' (Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is conside ...
)
*1928: '' The Cameraman'' (Buster Keaton)
*1958: '' Touch of Evil'' (Orson Welles
George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...
) – shot entirely in Venice except for one indoor scene, selected by Welles as a stand-in for a fictional run-down Mexican border town.
*1961: '' Night Tide'' (Dennis Hopper
Dennis Lee Hopper (May 17, 1936 – May 29, 2010) was an American actor, filmmaker and photographer. He attended the Actors Studio, made his first television appearance in 1954, and soon after appeared in '' Giant'' (1956). In the next ten year ...
, Linda Lawson, written and directed by Curtis Harrington)—Shot entirely in Venice and shows the deteriorated nature of the area in the 1950s.
*1972: ''One Pair of Eyes – Reyner Banham loved Los Angeles'' – architectural critic Reyner Banham
Peter Reyner Banham Hon. FRIBA (2 March 1922 – 19 March 1988) was an English architectural critic and writer best known for his theoretical treatise ''Theory and Design in the First Machine Age'' (1960) and for his 1971 book ''Los Angeles: Th ...
explores Los Angeles in 1972.
*1976: '' The Witch Who Came from the Sea'' ( Millie Perkins, directed by Matt Cimber)
*1979: '' CHiPs'' Roller Disco (Episodes 1 and 2 of season 3. Directed by Ron Weiss. Aired September 22, 1979)
*1979: ''Roller Boogie
''Roller Boogie'' is a 1979 American romantic musical drama film starring Linda Blair and Jim Bray, a former competitive artistic skater from California. The film also stars Beverly Garland, Mark Goddard and Kimberly Beck, and is directed by ...
'' (Linda Blair
Linda Denise Blair (born January 22, 1959) is an American actress and activist. She played Regan MacNeil in the horror film ''The Exorcist'' (1973), for which she won a Golden Globe Award and received a nomination for an Academy Award. The film ...
, directed by Mark L. Lester)
*1988: '' Colors''
*1991: ''The Doors
The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most controversial and influential rock acts ...
'' ( Val Kilmer, directed by Oliver Stone
William Oliver Stone (born September 15, 1946) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. Stone won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay as writer of '' Midnight Express'' (1978), and wrote the gangster film remake '' Sc ...
)
*1992: '' White Men Can't Jump''
*1993: '' Falling Down''
*1994: ''Speed
In everyday use and in kinematics, the speed (commonly referred to as ''v'') of an object is the magnitude of the change of its position over time or the magnitude of the change of its position per unit of time; it is thus a scalar quant ...
'' (Keanu Reeves
Keanu Charles Reeves ( ; born September 2, 1964) is a Canadian actor. Born in Beirut and raised in Toronto, Reeves began acting in theatre productions and in television films before making his feature film debut in '' Youngblood'' (1986). ...
)
*1997: ''Romy and Michele's High School Reunion
''Romy and Michele's High School Reunion'' is a 1997 American comedy film directed by David Mirkin and starring Mira Sorvino, Lisa Kudrow, and Janeane Garofalo. The plot revolves around two 28-year-old girls who appear to have not achieved much ...
''
*1998: '' The Big Lebowski''
*1998: '' American History X''
*2001: ''Dogtown and Z-Boys
''Dogtown and Z-Boys'' is a 2001 documentary film produced by Agi Orsi and directed by Stacy Peralta. The documentary explores the pioneering of the Zephyr skateboard team in the 1970s (of which Peralta was a member) and the evolving sport of ...
''
*2003: ''Thirteen
Thirteen or 13 may refer to:
* 13 (number), the natural number following 12 and preceding 14
* One of the years 13 BC, AD 13, 1913, 2013
Music
* 13AD (band), an Indian classic and hard rock band
Albums
* ''13'' (Black Sabbath album), 2013
* ...
'' (Holly Hunter
Holly Patricia Hunter (born March 20, 1958) is an American actress. For her performance as Ada McGrath in the 1993 drama film '' The Piano'', Hunter won the Academy Award for Best Actress. She earned three additional Academy Award nominations for ...
)
*2004: '' Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas'' as Verona Beach
*2005: ''Lords of Dogtown
''Lords of Dogtown'' is a 2005 American biographical drama film directed by Catherine Hardwicke and written by Stacy Peralta. The film follows a group of young skateboarders in Santa Monica, California during the 70s. This is the first (and so ...
''
*2006: '' Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny''
*2007: '' Californication TV series''
*2010: ''Billionaire
A billionaire is a person with a net worth of at least one billion (1,000,000,000, i.e., a thousand million) units of a given currency, usually of a major currency such as the United States dollar, euro, or pound sterling. The American busi ...
'' (Travie McCoy)
*2011: '' Wilfred''
*2012: ''Amazing Race
''The Amazing Race'' is an adventure reality game show franchise in which teams of two people race around the world in competition with other teams. The ''Race'' is split into legs, with teams tasked to deduce clues, navigate themselves in fore ...
''
*2013: ''Grand Theft Auto V
''Grand Theft Auto V'' is a 2013 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the seventh main entry in the ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, following 2008's ''Grand Theft Auto IV'', and the fifteenth in ...
'' as Vespucci Beach
*2013: ''Sugar
Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or do ...
''
*2013–2014: '' Sam & Cat''
*2009–2015: '' American Ninja Warrior''
*2014: '' Alex of Venice''
*2015: '' The Amazing Race 27''
*2016: ''Flaked
''Flaked'' is an American comedy drama streaming television series created by Will Arnett and Mark Chappell. It stars Arnett as Chip, a self-appointed "guru" who falls in love. The first season consisted of eight episodes and was released on Netf ...
''
*2017: ''Once Upon a Time in Venice
''Once Upon a Time in Venice'' is a 2017 American crime comedy film directed by Mark Cullen in his directorial debut, who co-wrote with his brother Robb. The film stars Bruce Willis, Jason Momoa, John Goodman, Thomas Middleditch, Famke Jans ...
''
*2017: ''Ingrid Goes West
''Ingrid Goes West'' is a 2017 American black comedy drama film directed by Matt Spicer and written by Spicer and David Branson Smith. The film stars Aubrey Plaza, Elizabeth Olsen, Billy Magnussen, Wyatt Russell, Pom Klementieff, and O'Shea Jacks ...
''
*2018: ''Humility
Humility is the quality of being humble. Dictionary definitions accentuate humility as a low self-regard and sense of unworthiness. In a religious context humility can mean a recognition of self in relation to a deity (i.e. God), and subsequent ...
''
*2020: '' Scoob!''
See also
References
Further reading
*
*
* Street art
Street art is visual art created in public locations for public visibility. It has been associated with the terms "independent art", "post-graffiti", "neo-graffiti" and guerrilla art.
Street art has evolved from the early forms of defiant graf ...
pictorial works.
* History of Venice with 367 historic photographs.
External links
*
{{Authority control
1905 establishments in California
Beaches of Los Angeles County, California
Beaches of Southern California
Busking venues
Former municipalities in California
Venice Beach
Neighborhoods in Los Angeles
Olympic surfing venues
Olympic basketball venues
Venues of the 2028 Summer Olympics
Parks in Los Angeles
Populated coastal places in California
Seaside resorts in California
Westside (Los Angeles County)
Historical Marker Database website