Jeffrey Stanton Venice of America: 'Coney Island of the Pacific,' Donahue Publishing: Los Angeles, CA, 1987. 176 pp., 1906, 1905, 1904, 1903, 1897,
Chapter I: Building Venice of America (1904-1906)
[p. 7 photo of Ocean Front Walk 1906 looking north to the Fraser Pier]
"The southern half of their Ocean Park property consisted mostly of sand dunes fronting unusable swampy marsh, while the northern half had become a very popular and fashionable resort. A large number of beach cottages had been built and some permanent residents were beginning to settle in the area. A casino, containing a restaurant and vaudeville theater, was built beside the pier in summer 1903 as a replacement for the Auditorium that burned in 1897. There were plans for an immense bathing pavilion complete with plunge, ballroom and amphitheater to be built on the boardwalk south of the pier." [pp. 6 & 7]
[pp. 8 & 9 photos of the Ocean Park Plunge, 1905; Ingersoll's Toboggan Railroad, 1903; The Ocean Park Bathhouse, and the beach north (sic) of the Ocean Park Pier.]
"The Los Angeles Pacific had first extended tracks south from Santa Monica in 1901. A short line was completed in 1902 directly from Los Angeles. Its route was across bean field, following what is now Venice Boulevard, then north along Electric Way to Ocean Park. By 1903 Kinney had persuaded E.H. Harriman to extend its tracks directly to the beachfront." p. 8.
[p. 10 photos of Pier Street entrance to Ocean Park Pier, 1905 and Bandstand and Casino at the Ocean Park Pier, 1905.]
"Disaster struck in February and March [1905]. The heaviest storms in more than a generation . . . the beach was littered with one vast pile of driftwood from both Kinney's and Ocean Park's piers . . ." p. 12
[Yet by July 4, 1905, 40,000 people poured into Venice of America. Arend's forty piece Italian band played on the bandstand at the foot of the [Venice] pier. p. 13]
"Ocean Park had a small celebration of its own that Fourth of July. Kinney's ex-partners [Fraser, Jones and Gage] dedicated their new bathing pavilion. The $150,000 building, with its graceful dome and turrets, was the pride of Ocean Park. Its interior contained a 70 by 70 foot salt water plunge and hundreds of dressing rooms. Patrons could rent the latest in bathing attire. At night the electric lights were ablaze, its thickly beaded towers made it look like a fairy palace silhouetted against the sky.
"It was apparent that these men weren't going to let Ocean Park become a second class resort. Plans were advanced to build a semi-circular Horseshoe Pier that would incorporate the two smaller recently built piers at Pier and Marine Avenues. A large 250 x 210 foot auditorium with music hall and balconied outdoor bandstand would be built on the land end.
"The pier already had a few amusements. These included a small tented carousel and a ferris wheel, which was set up along the boardwalk near the pier to entertain the children during the busy summer seasons. The first permanent ride wasn't built until the 1903 summer season when L.G. Ingersoll built his two-passenger toboggan coaster on pilings part way over the ocean adjacent to the casino. Each two-passenger car was pulled to the top in this gentle forerunner to the roller coaster, and then released to coast down along a wide but gentle oval track containing only a few three foot dips along its length . . ." p. 14
[By the end of 1905 Ellery's Band replaced Armand's Band at the Venetian Gardens.] p. 21
"Ocean Park business interests were willing to enter the competition for the tourist's amusement dollar in a more substantial manner. As soon as Kinney announced the opening of the Midway Plaisance the previous fall they talked of building a Coney Island style amusement area, but only if they could convince promoters to build a scenic railroad, haunted castle, chutes and grottos on the pier or nearby on the sand.
"The area south of the pier was ruled out since all of the beach from Navy to Horizon streets was deeded to the public during the first official meeting of the newly incorporated city in February 1904 for non-commercial use only. They could either build on their nearly completed Horseshoe Pier or on the south side of the pier in Santa Monica . . . The only entertainment feature to open that spring was a roller skating rink that occupied a portion of the newly completed Auditorium building." p. 23
"Ballroom dancing was an important social activity at any seaside resort at the turn of the century . . . The finest orchestras played a variety of slow dances that were popular at the time.
"Roller skating was another popular pastime that year and during the fall became the rage in Southern California. Both the Venice and Ocean Park rinks were jammed nightly. Admission was ten cents and skate rental two bits. They featured exhibitions of championship skaters, Friday night races, and the new sport of roller polo.
"Venice quickly fielded a team in the fledgling Southern California Roller Polo League. They were handicapped in their first game against Long Beach because the team used ordinary ball-bearing skates, whereas their opponents used pin-bearing skates that enabled them to run, jump and stop quickly. Seven hundred spectators watched Venice defeat Long Beach 2-0 in their first home game in October. Games were every Wednesday and Saturday nights and the local team made headlines by winning most of the time . . ." p. 28