Venice Beach Boardwalk- Isaira Campusano

Venice Beach Boardwalk

Venice began in 1905 as a seaside resort town and was a separate city until 1926, when it consolidated with Los Angeles. In 1925 oil was discovered, and the wells kept pumping until the 1970s. Today, Venice is known for its canals, beaches and circus-like Ocean Front Walk, a two-and - a half mile pedestrian-only promenade that features performers, fortune-tellers, artist and vendors. According

to the 2000 census the population is ethnically diverse but dominated by the whites. Most residents are affluent, highly educated and have a low number of people in each household.

My first impression of Venice beach I was amazed not only by the view but by the different architecture of the beach houses that are a lined when you stroll across the boardwalk.All along the boardwalk are restaurants, cafes, fun tourist attractions, shops, art galleries, and of course many interesting people who "fit" the bohemian lifestyle and culture associated with this gem of the Pacific. In addition, there are a number of Venice hotels and bed and breakfast spots located right on the beach.

Venice, originally called "Venice of American," was founded by tobacco millionaire Abbot Kinney in 1905 as a beach resort town, 14 miles west of Los Angeles. He and his partner Francis Ryan had bought two miles of oceanfront property south of Santa Monica in 1891.

 They built a resort town on the north end of the property, called Ocean Park, which soon annexed to Santa Monica in 1891. They built a resort town on the north end of the partners continued building south of Navy Street. After the partnership dissolved in 1904, Kinney, who 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 its namesake in Italy.

 The population (3,119 residents in 1910) soon exceeded 10,000; the town drew 50,000 to 150,000 tourist on weekends. Los Angeles has neglected Venice so long that, by the 1950s, it had become the "Slum by the Sea."