Intro to Venice: The Venice of America

On Sunday, Venice Beach celebrated its 116th birthday! It opened to the public on July 4th, 1905. In the advertisements luring people to the new resort town on the beach, it was called the Venice of America. On its opening day, it drew thousands of visitors. Today, this city still draws tourists from all over the world. This post kicks off my deep dive into Venice and all of the things I recommend from the tourist-focused areas, where to shop, the best places to eat, and where to soak up its culture. But first, a little history…

The Venice of America

Venice, Italy is both the namesake and inspiration for this beach town south of Santa Monica once called the Venice of America. It was designed to be a mash-up of both Italy and the east coast. From Venice, it took its Neoclassical architecture and canals and from America, it tossed in a little Coney Island.

Venice, CA was the realization of land developer and jack of all trades, Abbot Kinney. He wanted to create a resort town on the beach for people to relax, learn, and enjoy themselves. The ocean breezes were a respite for those who lived in other parts of Los Angeles who wanted to escape the heat. Travel to the coast was air conditioning before there was air conditioning. There was a lot to do to keep people occupied. Venice had a funfair pier–like Santa Monica pier–with overwater cafes, a dancehall, and a saltwater plunge. The Venice of America opened to big fanfare.

Many of the original buildings echoed the style of Venetian architecture with brick buildings connected by arcades. (See this photo of Basilica Pallsiana for comparison.) No homage to Venice would be complete without the Venice canals. The wetlands in the area were filled in to create Venice’s extensive and connected canal system. On Opening day tourists were treated with gondola rides with costumed gondoliers. (See photo below)

Venice was an independent city until it was annexed by Los Angeles in the 1920s. During the long prohibition years, it was a hub for illegal booze.

Today

If you want to see some of the remnants of old Venice, head to the corner of Windward and Pacific. There you can shop, dance, and get a tattoo. If you want to grab a great cocktail in one of these historic buildings, I recommend Gran Blanco in the former Bank of Venice building. 

The Venice Boardwalk is a popular tourist draw with its wide sandy beach and restaurants that line the boardwalk. Locals gravitate to the street named after Venice’s founder, Abbot Kinney. I will talk about these areas in-depth in upcoming posts. 

Venice weird

Venice is the home of Los Angeles weird. I never understood this term. Is it art that makes a city weird or its people? Venice is covered in art, from the murals that span across its buildings and down its alleyways. Venice residents are characters–a little gritty and a whole lot eccentric. Thinking about the comparison to other weird cities, like Portland or Austin, the businesses who call Venice home are mom-and-pops—not a lot of chain restaurants, with the exception of those who line Lincoln Avenue. So if that is weird, I will take it.

Venice is also where skateboarding was born. I strongly recommend watching the Dogtown and Z-Boys documentary directed by the legend, Stacey Peralta. 

Happy belated birthday Venice of America! I will be talking you up very soon.

Next up…The beach and boardwalk. 

Looking for arts & culture things to do in Venice or other parts of the city? Join Los Angeles Curated.