Tom Moran and Tom Sewell Fantasy by the Sea Peace Press: Culver City, CA, 1980 (1979), 110 pp. (Originally published by Beyond Baroque Foundation with a grant from the Visual Arts Program of the National Endowment for the Arts)
Introduction
"From its very beginning an aura of fantasy surrounded the tiny Southern California community of Venice. Shortly after the turn of the century, Abbot Kinney, a wealthy and eccentric developer, announced he was going to recreate Italy's ancient city of canals on a tract of swamp and sand . . .
" . . .
"The cultural ambitions were to flounder and the illusion of an Italian Venice soon became transparent. The town took on a different flavor. Its principal industries became amusement and diversion. Circus clowns, jazz trumpets and thrill rides established Venice as the setting for escape from worldly care. The atmosphere of temporal delight was to make Venice a resort of national reputation.
"Even after the amusements and most of the canals had disappeared, Venice continued to attract a special kind of maverick who sought to avoid conventional reality. Beatniks, hippies, counterculture faddists, artists, radicals and even roller skaters formed subcultures that thrived in the environs of the old Venice-of-America.
"Much of the story was recorded by the camera. . . .
[photo: Arend's Venice Band Season 1905: Thirty-two members including Arend himself]
Abbot Kinney
"Abbot Kinney was the founder of Venice . . .
"He was born in 1850 to an influential New Jersey family that claimed kinship with Ralph Waldo Emerson, Oliver Wendell Holmes and William Henry Harrison. The young Kinney worked for an uncle, Senator James Dixon of Connecticut, and then traveled abroad to complete his education in France, Switzerland, and at Heidelberg University in Germany.
"President Ulysses S. Grant employed the youth on his personal staff. Kinney left that post to speculate in the stock market. Poor investments in a rigged market left him penniless and he had to take a clerking job at a Baltimore dry goods store.
"Kinney's brothers formed a tobacco manufacturing company and Abbot joined the family firm. He traveled throughout the Middle East as a buyer of tobacco in quantity. The cigarette was a relatively new product for smokers but it was cutting into the traditional cigar-dominated smoking market. The Kinney firm blended Virginia "bright" tobacco with imported Turkish varieties. The products they marketed, Egyptian, Cleopatra, Flowers and Sweet Caporal cigarettes were commercially successful and the Kinneys became wealthy men.
[p. 8 photo of Kinneloa, courtesy Helen Kinney Boyle]
"Abbot Kinney suffered ill health and an almost constant state of insomnia. . . .
" . . . He arrived by steamer in San Francisco's harbor in 1880 . . .
" . . . he decided to visit a Southern California resort noted for its therapeutic qualities, the Sierra Madre Inn in the foothills east of Los Angeles.
"Intent on playing billiards to wile the night away, Kinney tired and fell asleep on the game table. . .
"He . . . purchased sufficient land to build a wood-frame house, and plant a citrus orchard . . . which he named "Kinneloa". . . .
"Kinney took an active interest in Southern California affairs. He invested in business property in downtown Los Angeles and subdivided real estate on the east side of the city. He was instrumental in forming a free library in Pasadena . . .
"He helped form the American Pomological Society, headed the California Academy of Sciences and was an active fighter against the California "fruit trust" involvement in the citrus marketplace.
"Politically he was a Democrat and an avid follower of William Jennings Bryan's precepts. He ran, unsuccessfully, for a seat in the California state assembly, and he was appointed to the California Forestry Board, the Yosemite Valley Commission and the Los Angeles County Road Commission.
"He authored numerous books and pamphlets on political, social and scientific topics and published a weekly newspaper, The Los Angeles Post.
"Kinney joined the California National Guard and was awarded the rank of major.
"With author Helen Hunt Jackson, Kinney undertook a government-sponsored study of California Mission Indians and the two co-authored a report recommending a number of reforms needed in the treatment of the native American.
"Abbot Kinney and Margaret Dabney Thornton, the daughter of a California Supreme Court justice, were married on November 18th, 1884. The couple move to a new home on the bluffs of Santa Monica overlooking the Pacific. . . . Kinney became active in its development.
"He formed a construction firm, the Santa Monica Improvement Association, which received contracts for a number of private and public buildings in Santa Monica and paved and landscaped the road connecting Santa Monica with the Soldiers Home several miles away. . . .
"Kinney formed a land syndicate to purchase 247 acres on the northern boundary of Santa Monica. It was steep hilly terrain and Kinney visualized it as a future Southern California K(sic)nob Hill. His plans were never realized and the land was eventually sold to Colis B. Huntington.
"With Francis G. Ryan as a partner, Kinney purchased another tract of acreage south of Santa Monica. Although it was mostly sand dunes and swamp, the two men proposed to develop a resort there.
"They persuaded the Santa Fe railroad to extend a spur line onto the property and they built a pier, golf course, horse-racing track, boardwalk and other resort amenities on the northernmost edge of their holdings. The site was named Ocean Park in 1885 and the Kinney-Ryan team merchandized lots there for $100 apiece. The small resort slowly began to prosper.
"Ryan died in 1889 and his widow's new husband, Thomas Dudley, became Kinney's partner. Dudley and Kinney did not get along well and eventually the partnership was dissolved. Dudley's interest was transferred to three Santa Monica investors, Alexander Fraser, Henry Gage and George Merritt Jones. But these three men did not get along with Abbot Kinney either.
"Finally, ownership of the property was completely divided. Kinney became sole owner of the undeveloped southern half of the acreage . . ."
The Land
"Marsh land and unstable sand dunes made up most of the property that Abbot Kinney owned. A century earlier, Indians from the offshore islands had regularly visited the area to collect decorative marine shells. The Los Angeles River had once flowed through on its way to the sea, but had long since meandered south to a new outlet.
"It was part of the former La Ballona Rancho, a land grant deeded to the Machado and Talamantes families by the Mexican government in 1839. Some of it had been used for cattle grazing but the land was too often flooded to provide good forage.
"Colonel R.S. Baker had moored his houseboat Pollywog on the lagoon in the center of the marsh. He entertained visiting dignitaries such as "Bull Run" Russell, the Duke of Sutherland, Charles A. Dans and Governor Dorsheimer of New York aboard his well-provisioned boat.
"Will Tell, a Santa Monica house-painter, had tried to start a hunting resort among the reeds and swamp grass but . . . was destroyed by high waves. The hunting was excellent and those hardy enough to brave the ooze and mosquitos could expect full game bags at the completion of a day's shooting.
" . . ."
Building Venice
" . . .
"Southern California was not ready for such a far-reaching design. The financiers and investors knew of at least a dozen planned townsites premised on much more easily obtainable goals that had failed to materialize. . . . They called it "Kinney's folly."
"Kinney's detractors had overlooked his pragmatism. His engineers had surveyed the land and suggested canals as an efficient method of reclaiming the muddy wasteland. Their canal proposal . . . suggested the Venetian theme to Kinney . . .
"The success of any real estate project in early Southern California depended on transportation. Much of the region was covered by a grid of interurban electric railroad lines, and Kinney convinced Henry Huntington of the Los Angeles Pacific Railroad to build a direct rail line to the property he called Venice. . . .
"He submitted the necessary plat maps to subdivide the land and on June 21st, 1904, he signed a contract for work to begin on canal construction.
"Contracts for the construction of a pier over the ocean, a restaurant shaped like a sailing vessel, an electric lighting and power plant, a pavilion, hotels and other improvements soon followed.
"Teams of mules and draft horses, steam engines, pneumatic machinery and an electric dredge . . .
"In March of 1905, an equinoctial storm pummeled the Southern California coast. All of the coastal towns reported damage, but the worst-hit was . . . Venice . . .
" . . . Kinney . . . asked the War Department in Washington for permission to build a breakwater . . .
"Two days after the storm, [word] arrived that the breakwater had been granted.
" . . .
"The breakwater was formed from 70,000 tons of granite brought by railroad from Hollywood quarries. The auditorium was rebuilt in an amazing 28 days. . . .
"A landscape architect, Robert Armstrong, was hired . . . Clarence Eddy of New York was brought in to dedicate the new organ in the auditorium and Nina Adams was scheduled to christen the Ship Hotel.
"On June 30th, 1905, Kinney's wife Margaret turned the handwheel of a valve, sluicing salt water into the canals. . . .
July 4, 1905
" . . .
"The auditorium was filled to capacity. Benjamin Fay Mills, an evangelist that Edward Everett Hale [called] "the most wonderful preacher in America,"addressed the crowd. . . . the Venice Children's Chorus sang "Hail Columbia" and the "Battle Hymn of the Republic." {And where had this group come from?} . . . Sydney Wrightson and Genevra Bishop sang . . .
" . . . 40,000 visitors strolled around this new resort. . .
"Realtors reported that 355 Venice lots had been sold in two hours.
" . . ."
Windward Avenue
" . . .
Canals
" . . .
"Concrete bridges with reliefs of animal figures and sea serpents sculptured by Felix Peano . . .
Ship Hotel
" . . .
"The Ship . . . first proprietor, Carlo Marchetti, had operated a restaurant at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis . . . Charges that he ran gambling devices, served poor food and allowed the private dining areas to be used for illicit activities were made against Marchetti. He also allegedly siphoned off profits before they reached Abbot Kinney, who owned the building.
"Marchetti was forced out and a number of proprietors, including Frank Lawton, Joseph Prada, Ward McFadden and Baron Long operated the Ship as a profitable night spot.
Venice Pier
" . . .
Villa City
" . . .
Venice Bathhouse
" . . .
The Venice Assembly
" . . .
" . . . The Assembly was a series of educational and cultural presentations modeled after the popular Chautauqua programs in New York State. Lectures, music and other entertainment were combined to give the program mass appeal.
"Benjamin Fay Mills was in charge of the Assembly, and he scheduled lectures by Susan B. Anthony, poet Joaquin Miller and educator Dr. Josiah Strong as well as lantern slide shows, a woman's orchestra, readings from Macbeth and operatic singers. . . .
" . . . the Venice Auditorium . . . seating capacity of 3,400 and featured an opulent curtain designed by artist Felix Peano and an expensive organ advertised as capable of playing the "bird chorus."
" . . . Susan B. Anthony never showed . . .
Miniature Railroad
" . . .
" In 1926. . . ceased operations . . ."
Midway-Plaisance
" . . . opened January 13th, 1906. It featured a long row of exhibits, amusement and freak shows that had lined the entranceway to the world's fair in St. Louis and Portland's Lewis and Clark Exposition. Under the management of Gaston Akoun, the tawdry "trail shows" found a permanent home in Venice.
" . . ."
Sarah Bernhardt
Sarah Bernhardt returned to the Venice Beach seven years (1913) after her Venice Pier appearance in 1906, and rented an entire floor of the King George Hotel
" . . ."
The Beach
The King George Hotel, later the Ocean View Hotel,
" . . ."
Amusements
" . . ."
The City
"When it was incorporated as a "sixth class city" on February 15th, 1904, Venice was named Ocean Park. It was overseen by a five-member Board of Trustees. The trustees, the city clerk, recorder, treasurer and school board members were all elected officials.
"But there was also a separate "Ocean Park" section in the neighboring city of Santa Monica to the north, and of course Kinney's popular resort within the municipal limits of the incorporated city of Ocean Park was called Venice. Because of the confusion, the name was officially changed to Venice by popular vote in 1911.
"Venice politics became a stormy battleground for several diverse interests. The Abbot Kinney Company, Kinney's wholly-owned amusement and real estate firm, was a powerful local influence. Kinney, with the backing of the local Chamber of Commerce, sponsored his own slate of candidates for public office. They took the name of the Good Government League, a nationwide reform group, and usually advocated tolerance toward the amusement interests of Venice. They were strong supporters of women's suffrage and backed women candidates for the Board of Trustees as early as 1912 . . .
"Kinney's old partners from the earlier Ocean Park development, Fraser, Jones and Gage, were wealthy men, and they harbored a long-standing animosity toward Kinney. They held sway over the Board of Trustees during the developmental years of the city and took every available opportunity to thwart their former partner's plans.
"Kinney's Good Government candidates forced the Ocean Park-supported trustees out of office in 1908 and controlled the Board of Trustees into the early 1920s. An opposition party, the Citizen's Protective League, formed by Thomas Aisbett, campaigned for prohibition of alcoholic beverages, a ban on bathing beauty and "yama yama" girl parades, an end to cafe dancing, a ban on boxing matches, and censorship of bathing attire on the local beaches. The League drew support from the local clergy and some of the year-round residential population but never won an elective seat.
"The Venice elections were hard and bitterly fought political exercises that divided the city into two warring camps. The amusement supporters were not above using bands and calliope music to drown out opposition speakers' words. The Venice Vanguard, a local newspaper, offered to start a collection to pay Aisbett's way out of town and the reform leader was hanged in effigy on Windward Avenue with a placard on his chest reading, "poor dumb toadstool-went out and lost his cool."
"Charges of fraud, forged signatures and miscounting were commonly leveled at election time. . .
"The most common practice was called "colonization." Prior to an election, each side would import and register to vote as many potential supporters as possible. Construction crews, waiters and itinerants were offered free lodging and work until the polls closed. . .
"The political intrigue of Venice went deeper than ordinary election-eve fever. Alleged corruption was regular newspaper fare, with stories of local officials accepting bribes, misappropriating public property and failing to enforce the law. . . .
"The needs of an amusement town devoted to providing a good time for all who visited it often ran counter to both the law and the desires of a more staid growing residential population. Gambling dens and brothels existed as did such "lesser evils" as roll-down games, chuck-a-luck and "razzle-dazzle." Public officials and law enforcement officers often found it best for Venice's and their own personal interests to turn their heads from these activities."
Boxing
"The Venice Athletic Club was located on the second story of a Windward Avenue building. The gymnasium provided training quarters for many of boxing's early stars. Joe Rivers, Jimmy Clabby, "English" Freddie Welsh. But Anderson and Jack O'Brien were some of the professionals . . .
"Luther McCarty, a "white hope" . . . trained in Venice and was popular among the ocean front crowds. He died from a ring injury in 1913.
"McCarty's sparring partner, John "Bull" Young, who was engaged to a Venice girl, died that same year following a boxing match with Jess Willard at the Vernon Arena.
"Ad Wolgast . . .
" . . .
"Boxing was banned in the city in 1913. Dick Donald and Tommy Jacobs both unsuccessfully tried to revive the sport.
"In later years several Venice boxers became popular local attractions at the Ocean Park Arena and Olympic Auditorium, among them Kenny LaSalle, Phil "Babe" Brandelli, Ge Ge Gravante and Frank Duarte."
Aquatics
" . . . Wallace O'Connor . . . who won gold and bronze medals in both the 1924 and 1932 Olympic games."
Baseball
" . . . " 1913-1915
Circus
"Abbot Kinney invited the Sell-Floto Circus to spend the winter season of 1906-1907 at Venice. The circus arrived by train and set up headquarters near the Midway-Plaisance.
"During the week the circus performers practiced their acts for the spring touring season. On weekends they gave big-top performances for the Venice tourist crowds.
"Sells-Floto returned for the 1907-1908 winter. Its featured acts included Del Fugo the clown, the Eddy family of acrobats, Sharpe's equestrian team, Buffalo Bill and Zora, "the world's bravest woman."
"The Ranch 101 Wild West Show wintered at Venice with a complement of 400 horses and 100 Indians.
"Paul Shoup, president of the Pacific Electric Railroad, and Abbot Kinney negotiated with the Al G. Barnes circus to establish permanent winter quarters at Venice.
"The Barnes Circus arrived in 1910 with a payroll of 506 employees and a menagerie of 600 animals. Highlighting animal trainers Louis Roth and Mabel Stark, the circus featured boxing kangaroos, wrestling bears and a singing mule.
"Problems of coexistence with the residential population plagued the circus people. A 1919 petition asked that the circus not be permitted to return to Venice because of "diseases, the low element they attract and the destruction of property they cause."
"The Al Barnes circus was merged with the Ringling Brothers Circus in 1929. Sells-Floto was absorbed by Ringling the following year.
Venice Grand Prix
"Venice scheduled a road race on the city's streets for Saint Patrick's Day, 1915. Sanction was obtained from the Western Automobile Association for the First Annual Venice Grand Prix. A winner's purse of $3,500 was guaranteed.
"The entry list included Earl Cooper, Dave Lewis, Dario Resta, Ralph DePalma, Orville Jones, Barney Oldfield, Johnny Marquis, Bill Carlson, G. Ruckstell, Eddie Hearne, Louis Disbrow, Harold Hall and Eddie Pullin.
"The motor car industry was represented by Peugeot, Mercer, Case, Stutz, DeLage, Napier, Bugatti, Chalmers, Simplex, Hercules, Maxwell and Chevrolet . . .
"A Saturday afternoon crowd estimated at 75,000 surrounded the race course. . . . Oldfield . . . a Maxwell. 400 hours and 24 minutes, 300 miles.
"There were two fatalities and a number of injuries. A riding mechanic was killed during a practice lap. A spectator died when he wandered on the course and was struck by Marquis's Bugatti. The race scoreboard toppled over and injured nearby spectators.
"The City of Venice was the official promoter of the event, which was a disappointment. Gate crashers, counterfeit tickets and lawsuits turned the race into a financial failure. The annual event was never repeated."
Venice High School
" . . . "
Moving Pictures
" . . ."
The Great War
"On September 5th, 1917, five months after America's entry into the European war, the first Venice volunteers left for an Oregon encampment led by Abbot Kinney's son Sherwood. [Of the over 80 locals who served in the First World War, only Charles Dewey, lost his life due to enemy action.]
" . . .
"It was illegal to sell liquor to members of the military forces, but Venice's cafes and nightclubs gained a reputation as regular violators of this wartime prohibition. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors passed a resolution asking the federal government to step in and close Venice's saloons and liquor stores.
"The worldwide epidemic of the Spanish influenza reached Venice and at least three fatalities were attributed to the highly contagious disease. The city's movie theaters, bars, carnivals and saloons were closed by order of the State Board of Health. Dancing was prohibited.
"The anti-flu bans were in effect for 42 days. The health orders were rescinded November 27, 1918, 16 days after the armistice had been signed ending the First World War."
Wings
" . . ."
Death of Kinney
Thornton Kinney was in Venice; Innes came from the ranch at Kinneloa; Carleton came from his Paso Robles almond farm, November 14, 1920, Abbott Kinney died of cancer. . . . "Abbot Kinney was buried beside his wife Margaret, who had died in 1911, and four Kinney children who had died prematurely."
"He was a man of splendid brain, wonderful ability and great accomplishment," said California Governor Stephens . . ."The state lost a great man," echoed Venice's Mayor A.E. Coles.
"Controlling interest in the Abbot Kinney Company was willed to Kinney's second wife, Winifred Harwell Kinney. . . .
Fire
The Venice Pier burnt December 21, 1920.
" . . ."
Promotions
" . . . "
Beauty Contests
" . . ."
Embezzlement
"Venice was shocked to discover that James Peasgood had disappeared. Peasgood had held the elective post of city treasurer for seven years. An independent auditor had been inspecting the city's financial records when the treasurer's untimely disappearance raised a number of questions.
"When the auditor completed his inspection of the city's books, a number of illegal transfers had been discovered in the financial accounts and a shortage of $19,000 was apparent. A warrant was issued . . .
"The treasurer gave himself up May 17th, 1922 . . . Gambling debts and high living were cited . . .
"Peasgood was sentenced to state prison . . . "
Ku Klux Klan
"The California branch of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan listed Venice as its headquarters when it applied for incorporation in 1924.
"The Klan's doctrines of racism, supra-patriotism, xenophobia and evangelical fundamentalism had been revived following the 1915 motion picture, "The Clansman." While the greatest appeal remained in the southern states, supporters existed in small towns throughout America.
"An initiation ceremony at Ocean Park Heights [now Mar Vista], near the Venice High School, claimed 2,000 new Klan members, instances of Klan visits to local churches were reported.
"An investigation by Los Angeles District Attorney Thomas Lee Woolwine implicated several Venice officials and prominent merchants as possible Klan members or associates. The county Grand Jury reported Klan involvement in the Venice Police Department and alleged that 19 Klan members had been sworn in as special deputies."
Goodman, Miller and the Ballroom
" . . .
"The fox trot, hesitation waltz and schottische were popular during the early years . . . Later, couples preferred the Argentine Tango, Venetian furlana, "rag" and the latest jazz dances. . . .
"Lee Lewis, the son of a former Venetian trustee, had a dance band that presided over the ballroom crowds for many years. Other orchestra leaders at Venice included Sam Feinberg and the Mann brothers.
"Ben Pollack and his Californians" occupied the ballroom bandstand in 1924 and 1925. Pollack, a drummer, was building a reputation as having the first large white jazz band. Fud Livingston, Al Harris, Harry Greenberg, Wayne Allen, Dick Morgan and Gil Rodin were among the players . . .
"In 1925, a 16-year-old Chicago musician joined Pollack's group. . . . formerly played with Art Kassel's band, . . . Benny Goodman.
"Two weeks later . . . a 21-year-old trombone player . . . Glenn Miller . . .
"Miller and Goodman . . . roomed together [in Venice] at the Haley House . . .
"The group left for Chicago in the winter of 1925 where "Ben Pollack and his Californians" had a recording date with the Victor studios."
[Photo on p. 70 of RCA's Victrola Ben Pollack and his Californians, a 10 person band, is inscribed "To June, The pick of the Rendezvous, From Ben.]
Annexation
"Venice's municipal government was burdened with a host of problems. The city tax rate had reached the maximum allowed by state law. The municipal debt was staggering and seemed impossible to liquidate. Charges of corruption and incompetence were leveled against a number of the trustees. The treasurer's embezzlement had further undermined any confidence the electorate might have had in Venice's ability to confront the world of the 1920s.
"Instead o internal change the municipal reformers turned their hopes eastward towards Los Angeles. With a seemingly endless supply of Owens Valley water and a relatively low tax rate, Los Angeles had been growing at a spectacular rate. The growth came primarily through annexations of previously unincorporated areas and smaller cities. Four square miles of beach front would be a handsome addition to Los Angeles' list of attractions.
"But the first attempt at an annexation election was not with Los Angeles but with neighboring Santa Monica. The border between Venice and Santa Monica actually bisected several Ocean Park businesses. The consolidation of the two cities would, proponents claimed, provide adequate sewage, unite the Venice and Ocean Park amusement zones, remove the menace of Los Angeles annexation and permit construction of a harbor in the Playa Del Rey section of Venice.
"The annexation proposal went to the voters February 20, 1923. It was defeated 1466 to 922. Within a month petitions containing over 2000 signatures were presented to the Venice City Clerk asking for annexation to Los Angeles
"The measure stirred intense controversy. The Venice Chamber of Commerce asked for the en masse resignation of the trustees to restore local confidence. Signs reading "To Annexation and Ruin" pointed toward Los Angeles. A member of the audience leaped up and attempted to shoot Judge Fred Taft when he was giving an anti-annexation speech at the Neptune Theater.
"The results of the July 11, 1923, election were announced at 10 p.m. accompanied by siren blasts and whistles. Venice voters had chosen to remain independent by a margin of 1,849 to 1,503.
"Government matters continued to deteriorate in Venice. The Venice Band's contract was cancelled. All city employees earning over $4.50 per day were asked to resign. A county health inspector reported an epidemic of rats running loose within the city. The District Attorney started a series of raids on local speakeasies, gambling dens and "blind pigs."
"A "Committee of 100" was formed to push again for annexation to Los Angeles. They claimed it was a step that would "generally drag their blessed Venice out of the gutter." A billboard advertisement announced that "Annexation is worth any price."
"The amusement industry was afraid Los Angeles "blue laws" would ban late-night and Sunday dancing and close many of Venice's concessions. Business reflected on the new $8.5 million city hall planned for Los Angeles and wondered how long it would be before Los Angeles taxes began to rise.
"As a last-minute tactic, a number of anti-Los Angeles Venetians proposed a consolidation with Santa Monica as the lesser of two evils. Thornton Kinney pledged $10,000 to work for that goal if the Los Angeles annexation bid could be defeated. His sole interest was, he said, "to save the dear Venetians from getting into the grasping villainy of that juggernaut monster neighbor of cannibalistic tendencies, Los Angeles."
"The Venetians didn't want to be saved. On October 2, 1925, they voted for annexation to Los Angeles, 3,130 to 2, 216.
"There was talk of obtaining an injunction against the annexation based on the lack of contiguity between the two cities but no legal steps were taken. The official transfer took place November 25, 1925. The City of Venice became a suburb of Los Angeles."
Aimee Semple McPherson
"Aimee Semple McPherson disappeared from the Venice beach May 18, 1926. She had checked into her suite at the Ocean View Hotel and then walked to the sand with her secretary. The secretary was reading from a Bible while McPherson waded into the surf.
"McPherson had become one of the wealthiest and most exciting evangelists in American history. She thrived on publicity and used elaborate sets and pageantry to dramatize her sermons at the Angelus Temple in the Echo Park section of Los Angeles. When she failed to return from her swim an intensive headline-capturing search was launched.
"Airplanes scanned the water's surface for signs of the missing woman. Deep-sea divers plodded along the ocean floor. Five thousand of "Sister Aimee's" followers came to the beach to help with the search and pray for their leader. One mourner committed suicide. A lifeguard drowned during his search for the evangelist's body.
"It was rumored that local amusement interests had a hand in her disappearance. McPherson had been advocating a referendum election to ban the Sunday dancing that was allowed at Venice by a special Los Angeles ordinance. Foul play was suspected.
"One month after her disappearance a memorial service was held at the Venice beach and flowers were strewn over the sea. Two days later McPherson reappeared outside Douglas, Arizona, telling a story of kidnapping, torture and escape across the Mexican desert.
[photo on p. 69 shows McPherson searchers with the Ocean Park Pier in the background and signs indicating the Dome Theatre, the Rosemary Theater and Chop Suey.]
"Contradictions in the evangelist's story began to appear and charges that she had obstructed justice were filed against her. America enthusiastically followed the daily press coverage of the case's bizarre turns until prosecution was suddenly halted and all charges against the evangelist were dropped in 1927."
Albert Marco
"Albert Marco was viewed by the Los Angeles press as a "vice lord" and the "black baron of vice." The racketeer was often seen in the company of Philadelphia gangster, Max Hoff and other underworld figures.
"It was well after midnight, June 27, 1928, when Marco and three companions visited the Ship's Cafe in Venice. Marco was well known at the nightspot and manager Tommy Jacobs personally welcomed him. The foursome was seated, and the George Redman band was playing on stage.
"As the evening progressed Marco become embroiled in an argument with other customers that escalated into fist fighting. . . . the gangster reached for his gun and fired twice. Two men were wounded and the fight stopped." . . . Police Officer John Brunty arrested him on the top floor of the nightclub. Marco was sentenced to state prison and eventually deported to Italy.
Filling the Canals
" . . .
The canals had been maintained by the Abbot Kinney Company until 1912 when they were deeded to the City of Venice. . . .
Thornton Kinney tried to have the canals filled in 1924 but was enjoined by canal-area residents. Venice Mayor C. Gordon Parkhurst* . . ."
Oil
" . . .
"By the end of 1931 there were 163 oil-producing wells clustered around the edges of the Grand Canal . . . "
Bingo
"The Depression hit Venice hard. Despite the economic cushion provided by the petroleum drilling, the merchants fell on difficult times. The amusement business dropped off sharply.
"People with no spendable income had little need for the Dragon Slide or roller coasters of Venice The carpeting of the Ship's Cafe was worn and no music was played on its bandstand. The Ocean Front Walk seemed empty.
"One amusement continued to prosper. A few small bingo-type games existed along the beachfront. Bingo was illegal in Los Angeles but the games used variations where customers theoretically used "skill" to determine what numbers were selected. Balls rolled down inclines, marbles tossed into grids or darts thrown against a board decided the numbers called. The cards cost anywhere from a nickel to a quarter and offered a chance at prizes from 41.50 to $50.00. It was an affordable risk in Depression times and the games proved popular.
"John Harrah, a successful lawyer and former Venice mayor, had substantial property holdings in Venice. The Depression had collapsed Harrah's pyramid of trust-deed and mortgage investments and he was forced to search for some profitable use for the beachfront space that was draining his financial reserves.
"He and his son William opened a 30-seat bingo parlor called the Circle Game on July 4, 1932. The family-operated venture was immediately successful. They had discovered that by operating without "shills" and during the dinner hour when such games usually closed profits steadily increased. The Harrahs added two more parlors that attracted players from throughout Southern California.
"There were a number of other bingo operations in Venice under various ownerships and proprietors which had survived until 1934, when police and county sheriffs began to close them down. The elder Harrah's legal and political ties helped to keep the Circle Game doors open as a "game of skill" for nearly half a year after his competitors were forced to close up.
"The legality of the bingo games were constantly challenged in court and the game operators nimbly developed new versions of the rules and skills to counter the authorities' attempts to close them. There were frequent rains and closures in 1935 and 1936.
"Bill Harrah, who had bought out his father's interest in one of the games, tired of the constant headaches and uncertainties of operating in Venice. He opened a bingo game in Reno, Nevada, in 1937 which was to grow into the Harrah gaming empire of Lake Tahoe and Reno.
"The other Venice bingos staggered on, with names such as Tango and Bridgo, until the 1940s when the final courtroom test closed the "games of skill" for good."
Gambling Boats
"Gambling boats began to appear off the coast of Southern California in the late 1920s. Converted barges, ferries and grain ships were outfitted with neon lights and gaming tables and towed to mooring anchors just outside the three-mile jurisdiction of local authorities. Speedboats would ferry customers out to the floating casinos that sometimes offered entertainment and dancing as well as crap tables and roulette.
"One of the first boats was the Tango. It moored off-shore of Venice in 1929. Owned by Jim Lloyd, Cal Custer, Tony Cornero and Bill Blazer, the Tango was serviced by a fleet of water taxis operating from the Venice Pier.
"California Attorney General Earl Warren launched a crusade against the gambling fleet in 1939. Armed with nuisance abatement warrants, his deputies shut down two boats off Long Beach as well as the Texas, which operated offshore from Venice.
"But Cornero, now operating the Rex in Santa Monica Bay, did not give in easily. His crews used high-pressure fire hoses to repel the lawmen's efforts to board the Rex. For nine tense days the authorities laid siege to the boat. Cornero finally surrendered and took the issue to the Supreme Court. The jurors redefined the territorial limits and put him out of business.
"Cornero tried again with the Lux in 1946. He died of a heart attack while playing craps at the Las Vegas Desert Inn in 1955."
Prelude to War
"America was slowly seeing its way out of the Depression by 1942 . . .
[p. 81 black and white photo ; the WPA Edward Biberman's Venice Postoffice Abbot Kinney Mural]
" . . .
"Sewage from the Los Angeles outfall at Playa del Rey to the south had polluted the ocean water and signs along the Venice beach declared it off-limits to swimmers. . . ."
Wartime Prejudice
" . . .
" . . . Windows and lamp globes were painted black and "dimouts" darkened the amusement area. But soldiers and sailors came to the piers and boardwalk on weekend leave.
" . . . Zoot suits had become the style with a large number of Mexican-American youths who frequented the beaches. The boys had duck-tail haircuts, pancake hats and peg-top trousers with "reet" pleats. They carried long glittering watch chains that hung out of openings in their drape coats. . . .
" . . . May 8, 1943. Rumors had circulated along the beach that a "Pachuco" had knifed a sailor. A mob of 100 servicemen and local youths attacked the Aragon Ballroom on Lick Pier intent on running the Mexican-Americans out of town. The brawl erupted at 1:40 a.m. with nearly 2,500 spectators and participants crowding the intersection of Navy Street and Ocean Front Walk.
"Thirteen zoot suiters were arrested and twenty-eight more were taken into custody following the melee. . . . police roadblocks turned back over a hundred zoot suiters bound for Venice the next day . . .
"The Mexican-Americans were released by Judge Art Guerin . . .
"Later, similar riots in downtown Los Angeles would escalate into the ugliest of racial confrontations.
"A large Japanese-American population lived in Venice. They had started settling in the area as early as 1913, buying and leasing truck farms where they had planted snap beans and celery crops. A number of Japanese-Americans were also attracted to the pier and bingo parlors along the beach front.
" . . . the federal government issued an Executive Order . . . West Coast residents of Japanese heritage were ordered to report to . . . internment camps . . . Manzanar.
End of an Era
ˆ " . . ."
Champagne Music
"The once-stellar Aragon Ballroom on the Lick Pier had fallen on sad times by early 1951. The dance hall suffered peeling paint and broken windows. The most recent orchestra to occupy the bandstand had drawn only eight couples onto the dance floor. KTLA, a local television station, had canceled its weekly telecast of Aragon concerts because of low viewer interest.
ˆ "In a effort to salvage the sagging ballroom trade, Gordon "Pops" Sadrup, the Aragon manager, turned to a bandleader who had been a success on the pier five years earlier. In 1946, Lawrence Welk's brand of light popular danceable music had drawn crowds at the Aragon despite the competition of Tommy Dorsey at the nearby Casino Gardens.
"Welk agreed to play at the Aragon and KTLA was persuaded to reconsider the telecast of the program. The first televised show was May 2, 1951, and viewer interest was high, despite the late 11:50 p.m. time slot. . . . It was not long before the "champagne music" of Lawrence Welk, live from the Aragon Ballroom, became a popular national television attraction.
"Welk left the Aragon Ballroom for the larger Hollywood Palladium. Joining him later were the four daughters of a talented Venice family. The girls, known as the Lennon Sisters, became one of the most popular attractions on the Welk show.
"The Aragon again fell into disrepair. It was reopened in the late 1960s as a rock music hall known as the Cheetah. Jim Morrison, Iron Butterfly, Vanilla Fudge and The Seeds were booked into the large hall, now psychedelically refurbished. The house band, called The Gnads was later to gain fame under the name Alice Cooper.
Venice West
"In the late 1950s . . . a lifestyle . . . in favor of a Bohemian life with a background of poetry, art and jazz. . . . the Beat Generation.
"The Beats . . . wrote poetry about disenchantment and nuclear overkill. Visual artists experimented with the limits of abstraction and new forms of assemblage works . . . low rents and toleration settled into Venice. Lawrence Lipton chronicled the coffee houses, personal searches, artists and ennui of "Venice West" in his book The Holy Barbarians.
" . . . included painters John Altoon, Ben Talbert, Mike Angeleno, Fowad Magdalani, and Tony Landreau. Poets included Lipton, John Thomas, Frankie Rios, James Ryan Morris and Stuart Perkoff. . . . folksinger Julie Meredith, light-show impressario Jimmy Alonzi, sculptor Tai, ex-fighter Joe Greb and [others] . . .Ole, Nico and Tamoo."
[photo page 96 artist Wallace Berman, 1955]
" . . . Stan Roberts, leader of the (Venice) Civic Union, vowed to end Bohemianism in Venice and urged his supporters to "get on your feet and scream and get these people out of here."
" . . .
"Stuart Perkoff founded the Venice West Cafe on Dudley Avenue. Proprietorship was eventually taken over by John and Anna Haag. Haag, a Harvard honors graduate and one-time technical writer had dropped out of a promising career to write poetry and struggle making ends meet at the small coffee house.
" . . .
""Big Daddy" Nord left town, bound for Hawaii. Frank Rios and Stuart Perkoff eventually found themselves incarcerated. Mike Angeleno . . .committed suicide. . . .the Beats were being replaced by a new generation of "flower children," "hippies" and counterculturists."
Slum By The Sea
"Lawrence Lipton had called Venice a "jerry-built slum by the sea." . . . .
" . . . Pawnshops and liquor stores had replaced the bingo parlors and souvenir shops . . . Drug addicts and motorcycle gangs had replaced the tourists.
"A theme amusement pier called Pacific Ocean Park was opened that same year. It attracted large crowds at first but after several years of operation the pier began to quickly deteriorate. The rest of Venice joined it on a downhill slide.
"Los Angeles City Councilman Karl Rundberg formed a Venice Planning Committee in 1961 in hopes of checking the blight. . .
" . . ."
Marina Del Rey
" . . ."
Venice Waterways Project
" . . .
" . . . Los Angeles Councilman Paul Lamport, Mayor Sam Yorty, Councilwoman Pat Russell, 1971, Hughes Tool Company, Western Center for Law and Poverty . . . 1973 People's Park and Superior Court Judge Jerry Pacht ruled that the City of Los Angeles had to prepare an environmental impact report on the canal project . . .
"The sharp schism between landowners and tenants was to continue, . . . and the newly created California Coastal Commission was used to slow and control new building . . .
Art
"The Venice area was attracting another element . . . Artists. lured by the availability of low-rent studio space and good light, began to move into the older commercial buildings. In many cases they had national or international reputations. Their ranks included Billy Al Bengston, Claire Falkenstein, Charles and Ray Eames, Ron Cooper, Larry Bell, Chuck Arnoldi, Guy and Laddie Dill, Alexis Smith, Chris Burden, Ann McCoy, Peter Alexander, Linda Benglis, DeWain Valentine, Robert Irwin, Eric Orr, Loren Madsen, Chris Georgesco, Tom Wudl, Martha Alf, Gloria Kisch, and John McCracken.
"The artists of the 60s and 70s were not united by any pronounced exterior philosophy or life-style as the earlier "beats" were. Although there was social and professional contact between them, the Venice artists worked individually and resisted he easy application of geographic or regional labels. Except for the wall murals created by artists such as Terry Schoonhoven and the L.A. Fine Arts Squad, these artists left very little outward manifestation in Venice of their work.
"And yet their presence was soon recognized and commercialized when property owners began offering new specially-designed and expensive artist's studios on the real estate market. The low costs that had originally enticed the creative personalities to the beach area were fast disappearing and many of the artists found themselves displaced to areas away from Venice.
Roller Revival
" . . . in 1977 the first outdoor rollerskating shop opened. The development of polyurethane wheels allowed the skaters to glide easily over rough concrete and asphalt surfaces. . . . Within two years thousands of skaters were clogging Ocean Front Walk . . ."
(Back to Sources)
y and an electric dredge . . .
"In March of 1905, an equinoctial storm pummeled the Southern California coast. All of the coastal towns reported damage, but the worst-hit was . . . Venice . . .
" . . . Kinney . . . asked the War Department in Washington for permission to build a breakwater . . .
"Two days after the storm, [word] arrived that the breakwater had been granted.
" . . .
"The breakwater was formed from 70,000 tons of granite brought by railroad from Hollywood quarries. The auditorium was rebuilt in an amazing 28 days. . . .
"A landscape architect, Robert Armstrong, was hired . . . Clarence Eddy of New York was brought in to dedicate the new organ in the auditorium and Nina Adams was scheduled to christen the Ship Hotel.
"On June 30th, 1905, Kinney's wife Margaret turned the handwheel of a valve, sluicing salt water into the canals. . . .
July 4, 1905
" . . .
"The auditorium was filled to capacity. Benjamin Fay Mills, an evangelist that Edward Everett Hale [called] "the most wonderful preacher in America,"addressed the crowd. . . . the Venice Children's Chorus sang "Hail Columbia" and the "Battle Hymn of the Republic." {And where had this group come from?} . . . Sydney Wrightson and Genevra Bishop sang . . .
" . . . 40,000 visitors stolled around this new resort. . .
"Realtors reported that 355 Venice lots had been sold in two hours.
" . . ."
Windward Avenue
" . . .
Canals
" . . .
"Concrete bridges with reliefs of animal figures and sea serpents sculptured by Felix Peano . . .
Ship Hotel
" . . .
"The Ship . . . first proprietor, Carlo Marchetti, had operated a restaurant at the Louisiana Purchase Expostion in St. Louis . . . Charges that he ran gambling devices, served poor food and allowed the private dining areas to be used for illicit activities were made against Marchetti. He also alledgedly siphoned off profits before they reached Abbot Kinney, who owned the building.
"Marchetti was forced out and a number of proprietors, including Frank Lawton, Joseph Prada, Ward McFadden and Baron Long operated the Ship as a profitable night spot.
Venice Pier
" . . .
Villa City
" . . .
Venice Bathhouse
" . . .
The Venice Assembly
" . . .
" . . . The Assembly was a series of educational and cultural presentations modeled after the popular Chautauqua programs in New York State. Lectures, music and other entertainment were combined to give the program mass appeal.
"Benjamin Fay Mills was in charge of the Assembly, and he scheduled lectures by Susan B. Anthony, poet Joaquin Miller and educator Dr. Josiah Strong as well as lantern slide shows, a woman's orchestra, readings from Macbeth and operatic singers. . . .
" . . . the Venice Auditorium . . . seating capacity of 3,400 and featured an opulent curtain designed by artist Felix Peano and an expensive organ advertised as capable of playing the "bird chorus."
" . . . Susan B. Anthony never showed . . .
Minature Railroad
" . . .
" In 1926. . . ceased operations . . ."
Midway-Plaisance
" . . . opened January 13th, 1906. It featured a long row of exhibits, amusement and freak shows that had lined the entranceway to the world's fair in St. Louis and Portland's Lewis and Clark Exposition. Under the management of Gaston Akoun, the tawdry "trail shows" found a permanent home in Venice.
" . . ."
Sarah Bernhardt
Sarah Bernhardt returned to the Venice Beach seven years (1913) after her Venice Pier appearance in 1906, and rented an entire floor of the King George Hotel
" . . ."
The Beach
The King George Hotel, later the Ocean View Hotel,
" . . ."
Amusements
" . . ."
The City
"When it was incorporated as a "sixth class city" on February 15th, 1904, Venice was named Ocean Park. It was overseen by a five-member Board of Trustees. The trustees, the city clerk, recorder, treasurer and school board members were all elected officials.
"But there was also a separate "Ocean Park" section in the neighboring city of Santa Monica to the north, and of course Kinney's popular resort within the municipal limits of the incorporated city of Ocean Park was called Venice. Because of the confusion, the name was officially changed to Venice by popular vote in 1911.
"Venice politics became a stormy battleground for several diverse interests. The Abbot Kinney Company, Kinney's wholly-owned amusement and real estate firm, was a powerful local influence. Kinney, with the backing of the local Chamber of Commerce, sponsored his own slate of candidates for public office. They took the name of the Good Government League, a nationwide reform group, and usually advocated tolerance toward the amusement interests of Venice. They were strong supporters of women's suffrage and backed women candidates for the Board of Trustees as early as 1912 . . .
"Kinney's old partners from the earlier Ocean Park development, Fraser, Jones and Gage, were wealthy men, and they harbored a long-standing animosity toward Kinney. They held sway over the Board of Trustees during the developmental years of the city and took every available opportunity to thwart their former partner's plans.
"Kinney's Good Government candidates forced the Ocean Park-supported trustees out of office in 1908 and controlled the Board of Trustees into the early 1920s. An opposition party, the Citizen's Protective League, formed by Thomas Aisbett, campaigned for prohibition of alcoholic beverages, a ban on bathing beauty and "yama yama" girl parades, an end to cafe dancing, a ban on boxing matches, and censorship of bathing attire on the local beaches. The League drew support from the local clergy and some of the year-round residential population but never won an elective seat.
"The Venice elections were hard and bitterly fought political exercises that divided the city into two warring camps. The amusement supporters were not above using bands and calliope music to drown out opposition speakers' words. The Venice Vanguard, a local newspaper, offered to start a collection to pay Aisbett's way out of town and the reform leader was hanged in effigy on Windward Avenue with a placard on his chest reading, "poor dumb toadstool-went out and lost his cool."
"Charges of fraud, forged signatures and miscounting were commonly leveled at election time. . .
"The most common practice was called "colonization." Prior to an election, each side would import and register to vote as many potential supporters as possible. Construction crews, waiters and itinerants were offered free lodging and work until the polls closed. . .
"The political intrigue of Venice went deeper than ordiary election-eve fever. Alleged corruption was regular newpaper fare, with stories of local officials accepting bribes, misappropriating public property and failing to enforce the law. . . .
"The needs of an amusement town devoted to providing a good time for all who visited it often ran counter to both the law and the desires of a more staid growing residential population. Gambling dens and brothels existed as did such "lesser evils" as roll-down games, chuck-a-luck and "razzle-dazzle." Public officials and law enforcement officers often found it best for Venice's and their own personal interests to turn their heads from these activities."
Boxing
"The Venice Athletic Club was located on the second story of a Windward Avenue building. The gymnasium provided training quarters for many of boxing's early stars. Joe Rivers, Jimmy Clabby, "English" Freddie Welsh. But Anderson and Jack O'Brien were some of the professionals . . .
"Luther McCarty, a "white hope" . . . trained in Venice and was popular among the ocean front crowds. He died from a ring injury in 1913.
"McCarty's sparring partner, John "Bull" Young, who was engaged to a Venice girl, died that same year following a boxing match with Jess Willard at the Vernon Arena.
"Ad Wolgast . . .
" . . .
"Boxing was banned in the city in 1913. Dick Donald and Tommy Jacobs both unsuccessfully tried to revive the sport.
"In later years several Venice boxers became popular local attractions at the Ocean Park Arena and Olympic Auditorium, among them Kenny LaSalle, Phil "Babe" Brandelli, Ge Ge Gravante and Frank Duarte."
Aquatics
" . . . Wallace O'Connor . . . who won gold and bronze medals in both the 1924 and 1932 Olympic games."
Baseball
" . . . " 1913-1915
Circus
"Abbot Kinney invited the Sell-Floto Circus to spend the winter season of 1906-1907 at Venice. The circus arrived by train and set up headquarters near the Midway-Plaisance.
"During the week the circus performers practiced their acts for the spring touring season. On weekends they gave big-top performances for the Venice tourist crowds.
"Sells-Floto returned for the 1907-1908 winter. Its featured acts included Del Fugo the clown, the Eddy family of acrobats, Sharpe's equestrian team, Buffalo Bill and Zora, "the world's bravest woman."
"The Ranch 101 Wild West Show wintered at Venice with a complement of 400 horses and 100 Indians.
"Paul Shoup, president of the Pacific Electric Railroad, and Abbot Kinney negotiated with the Al G. Barnes circus to establish permanent winter quarters at Venice.
"The Barnes Circus arrived in 1910 with a payroll of 506 employees and a menagerie of 600 animals. Highlighting animal trainers Louis Roth and Mabel Stark, the circus featured boxing kangaroos, wrestling bears and a singing mule.
"Problems of coexistence with the residential population plagued the circus people. A 1919 petition asked that the circus not be permitted to return to Venice because of "diseases, the low element they attract and the destruction of property they cause."
"The Al Barnes circus was merged with the Ringling Brothers Circus in 1929. Sells-Floto was absorbed by Ringling the following year.
Venice Grand Prix
"Venice scheduled a road race on the city's streets for Saint Patrick's Day, 1915. Sanction was obtained from the Western Automobile Association for the First Annual Venice Grand Prix. A winner's purse of $3,500 was guarenteed.
"The entry list included Earl Cooper, Dave Lewis, Dario Resta, Ralph DePalma, Orville Jones, Barney Oldfield, Johnny Marquis, Bill Carlson, G. Ruckstell, Eddie Hearne, Louis Disbrow, Harold Hall and Eddie Pullin.
"The motor car industry was represented by Peugeot, Mercer, Case, Stutz, DeLage, Napier, Bugatti, Chalmers, Simplex, Hercules, Maxwell and Chevrolet . . .
"A Saturday afternoon crowd estimated at 75,000 surrounded the race course. . . . Oldfield . . . a Maxwell. 400 hours and 24 minutes, 300 miles.
"There were two fatalities and a number of injuries. A riding mechanic was killed during a practice lap. A spectator died when he wandered fon the course and was struck by Marquis's Bugatti. The race scoreboard toppled over and injured nearby spectators.
"The City of Venice ws the official promoter of the event, which was a disappointment. Gate crashers, counterfeit tickets and lawsuits turned the race into a financial failure. The annual event was never repeated."
Venice High School
" . . . "
Moving Pictures
" . . ."
The Great War
"On September 5th, 1917, five months after America's entry into the European war, the first Venice volunteers left for an Oregon encampment led by Abbot Kinney's son Sherwood. [Of the over 80 locals who served in the First World War, only Charles Dewey, lost his life due to enemy action.]
" . . .
"It was illegal to sell liquor to members of the military forces, but Venice's cafes and nightclubs gained a reputation as regular violators of this wartime prohibition. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors passed a resolution asking the federal government to step in and close Venice's saloons and liquor stores.
"The worldwide epidemic of the Spanish influenza reached Venice and at least three fatalities were attributed to the highly contatgious disease. The city's movie theaters, bars, carnivals and saloons were closed by order of the State Board of Health. Dancing was prohibited.
"The anti-flu bans were in effect for 42 days. The health orders were rescinded November 27, 1918, 16 days after the armistice had been signed ending the First World War."
Wings
" . . ."
Death of Kinney
Thornton Kinney was in Venice; Innes came from the ranch at Kinneloa; Carleton came from his Paso Robles almond farm, November 14, 1920, Abbott Kinney died of cancer. . . . "Abbot Kinney was buried beside his wife Margaret, who had died in 1911, and four Kinnney children who had died prematurely."
"He was a man of splendid brain, wonderful ability and great accomplishment," said California Governor Stephens . . ."The state lost a great man," echoed Venice's Mayor A.E. Coles.
"Controlling interest in the Abbot Kinney Company was willed to Kinney's second wife, Winnifred Harwell Kinney. . . .
Fire
The Venice Pier burnt December 21, 1920.
" . . ."
Promotions
" . . . "
Beauty Contests
" . . ."
Embezzlement
"Venice was shocked to discover that James Peasgood had disappeared. Peasgood had held the elective post of city treasurer for seven years. An independent auditor had been inspecting the city's financial records when the treasurer's untimely diappearance raised a number of questions.
"When the auditor completed his inspection of the city's books, a number of illegal transfers had been discovered in the financial accounts and a shortage of $19,000 was apparent. A warrent was issued . . .
"The treasurer gave himself up May 17th, 1922 . . . Gambling debts and high living were cited . . .
"Peasgood was sentenced to state prison . . . "
Ku Klux Klan
"The California branch of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan listed Venice as its headquarters when it applied for incorporation in 1924.
"The Klan's doctrines of racism, supra-patriotism, xenophobia and evangelical fundamentalism had been revived following the 1915 motion picture, "The Clansman." While the greatest appeal remained in the southern states, supporters existed in small towns throughout America.
"An initiation ceremony at Ocean Park Heights [now Mar Vista], near the Venice High School, claimed 2,000 new Klan members, instances of Klan visits to local churches were reported.
"An investigation by Los Angeles District Attorney Thomas Lee Woolwine implicated several Venice officials and prominent merchants as possible Klan members or associates. The county Grand Jury reported Klan involvement in the Venice Police Department and alleged that 19 Klan members had been sworn in as special deputies."
Goodman, Miller and the Ballroom
" . . .
"The fox trot, hesitation waltz and schottische were popular during the early years . . . Later, couples preferred the Argentine Tango, Venetian furlana, "rag" and the latest jazz dances. . . .
"Lee Lewis, the son of a former Venetian trustee, had a dance band that presided over the ballroom crowds for many years. Other orchestra leaders at Venice included Sam Feinberg and the Mann brothers.
"Ben Pollack and his Californians" occupied the ballroom bandstand in 1924 and 1925. Pollack, a drummer, was building a reputation as having the first large white jazz band. Fud Livingston, Al Harris, Harry Greenberg, Wayne Allen, Dick Morgan and Gil Rodin were among the players . . .
"In 1925, a 16-year-old Chicago musician joined Pollack's group. . . . formerly played with Art Kassel's band, . . . Benny Goodman.
"Two weeks later . . . a 21-year-old trombone player . . . Glenn Miller . . .
"Miller and Goodman . . . roomed together [in Venice] at the Haley House . . .
"The group left for Chicago in the winter of 1925 where "Ben Pollack and his Californians" had a recording date with the Victor studios."
[Photo on p. 70 of RCA's Victrola Ben Pollack and his Californians, a 10 person band, is inscribed "To June, The pick of the Rendezvous, From Ben.]
Annexaton
"Venice's municipal government was burdened with a host of problems. The city tax rate had reached the maximum allowed by state law. The municipal debt was staggering and seemed impossible to liquidate. Charges of corruption and incompetence were leveled against a number of the trustees. The treasurer's embezzlement had further undermined any confidence the electorate might have had in Venice's ability to confront the world of the 1920s.
"Instead o internal change the municipal reformers turned their hopes eastward towards Los Angeles. With a seemingly endless supply of Owens Valley water and a relatively low tax rate, Los Angeles had been growing at a spectacular rate. The growth came primarily through annexations of previously unincorporated areas and smaller cities. Four square miles of beach front would be a handsome addition to Los Angeles' list of attractions.
"But the first attempt at an annnexation election was not with Los Angeles but with neighboring Santa Monica. The border between Venice and Santa Monica actually bisected several Ocean Park businesses. The consolidation of the two cities would, proponents claimed, provide adequate sewage, unite the Venice and Ocean Park amusement zones, remove the menace of Los Angeles annexation and permit construction of a harbor in the Playa Del Rey section of Venice.
"The annexation proposal went to the voters February 20, 1923. It was defeated 1466 to 922. Within a month petitions containing over 2000 signatures were presented to the Venice City Clerk asking for annexation to Los Angeles
"The measure stirred intense controversy. The Venice Chamber of Commerce asked for the en masse resignatio of the trustees to restore local confidence. Signs reading "To Annexation and Ruin" pointed toward Los Angeles. A member of the audience leaped up and attempted to shoot Judge Fred Taft when he was giving an anti-annexation speech at the Neptune Theater.
"The results of the July 11, 1923, election were announced at 10 p.m. accompanied by siren blasts and whistles. Venice voters had chosen to remain independent by a margin of 1,849 to 1,503.
"Government matters continued to deteriorate in Venice. The Venice Band's contract was cancelled. All city employees earning over $4.50 per day were asked to resign. A county health inspector reported an epidemic of rats running loose within the city. The District Attorney started a series of raids on local speakeasies, gambling dens and "blind pigs."
"A "Committee of 100" was formed to push again for annexation to Los Angeles. They claimed it was a step that would "generally drag their blessed Venice out of the gutter." A billboard advertisement announced that "Annexation is worth any price."
"The amusement industry was afraid Los Angeles "blue laws" would ban late-night and Sunday dancing and close many of Venice's concessions. Business reflected on the new $8.5 million city hall planned for Los Angeles and wondered how long it would be before Los Angeles taxes began to rise.
"As a last-minute tactic, a number of anti-Los Angeles Venetians proposed a consolidation with Santa Moica as the lesser of two evils. Thornton Kinney pledged $10,000 to work for that goal if the Los Angeles annexation bid could be defeated. His sole interest was, he said, "to save the dear Venetians from getting into the grasping villainy of that juggernaut monster neighbor of cannibalistic tendencies, Los Angeles."
"The Venetians didn't want to be saved. On October 2, 1925, they voted for annexation to Los Angeles, 3,130 to 2, 216.
"There was talk of obtaining an injunction against the annexation based on the lack of contiguiity between the two cities but no legal steps were taken. The official transfer took place November 25, 1925. The City of Venice became a suburb of Los Angeles."
Aimee Semple McPherson
"Aimee Semple McPherson disappeared from the Venice beach May 18, 1926. She had checked into her suite at the Ocean View Hotel and then walked to the sand with her secretary. The secretary ws reading from a Bible while McPherson waded into the surf.
"McPherson had become one of the wealthiest and most exciting evangelists in American history. She thrived on publicity and used elaborate sets and pageantry to dramatize her sermons at the Angelus Temple in the Echo Park section of Los Angeles. When she failed to return from her swim an intensive headline-capturing search was launched.
"Airplanes scanned the water's surface for signs of the missing woman. Deep-sea divers plodded along the ocean floor. Five thousand of "Sister Aimee's" followers came to the beach to help with the search and pray for their leader. One mourner committed suicide. A lifeguard drowned during his search for the evangelist's body.
"It was rumored that local amusement interests had a hand in her disappearance. McPherson had been advocating a referendum election to ban the Sunday dancing that was allowed at Venice by a special Los Angeles ordinance. Foul play was suspected.
"One month after her disappearance a memorial sevice was held at the Venice beach and flowers were strewn over the sea. Two days later McPherson reappeared outside Douglas, Arizona, telling a story of kidnapping, torture and escape across the Mexican desert.
[photo on p. 69 shows McPherson searchers with the Ocean Park Pier in the backgrond and signs indicating the Dome Theatre, the Rosemary Theater and Chop Suey.]
"Contradictions in the evangelist's story began to appear and charges that she had obstructed justice were filed against her. America enthusiastically followed the daily press coverage of the case's bizarre turns until prosecution was suddenly halted and all charges against the evangelist were dropped in 1927."
Albert Marco
"Albert Marco was viewed by the Los Angeles presss as a "vice lord" and the "black baron of vice." The racketeer was often seen in the company of Philadelphia gangster, Max Hoff and other underworld figures.
"It was well after midnight, June 27, 1928, when Marco and three companions visited the Ship's Cafe in Venice. Marco was well known at the nightspot and manager Tommy Jacobs personally welcomed him. The foursome was seated, and the George Redman band was playing on stage.
"As the evening progressed Marco become embroiled in an argument with other customers that escalated into fist fighting. . . . the gangster reached for his gun and fired twice. Two men were wounded and the fight stopped." . . . Police Officer John Brunty arrested him on the top floor of the nightclub. Marco was sentenced to state prison and eventually deported to Italy.
Filling the Canals
" . . .
The canals had been maintained by the Abbot Kinney Company until 1912 when they were deeded to the City of Venice. . . .
Thornton Kinney tried to have the canals filled in 1924 but was enjoined by canal-area residents. Venice Mayor C. Gordon Parkhurst* . . ."
Oil
" . . .
"By the end of 1931 there were 163 oil-producing wells clustered around the edges of the Grand Canal . . . "
Bingo
"The Depression hit Venice hard. Despite the economic cushion provided by the petroleum drilling, the merchants fell on difficult times. The amusement business dropped off sharply.
"People with no spendable income had little need for the Dragon Slide or roller coasters of Venice The carpeting of the Ship's Cafe was worn and no music was played on its bandstand. The Ocean Front Walk seemed empty.
"One amusement continued to prosper. A few small bingo-type games existed along the beachfront. Bingo was illegal in Los Angeles but the games used variations where customers theoretically used "skilll" to determine what numbers were selected. Balls rolled down inclines, marbles tossed into grids or darts thrown against a board decided the numbers called. The cards cost anywhere from a nickel to a quarter and offered a chance at prizes from 41.50 to $50.00. It was an affordable risk in Depression times and the games proved popular.
"John Harrah, a successful lawyer and former Venice mayor, had substantial property holdings in Venice. The Depression had collapsed Harrah's pyramid of trust-deed and mortgage investments and he was forced to search for some profitable use for the beachfront space that was draining his financial reserves.
"He and his son William opened a 30-seat bingo parlor called the Circle Game on July 4, 1932. The family-operated venture was immediately successful. They had discovered that by operating wihout "shills" and during the dinner hour when such games usually closed profits steadily increased. The Harrahs added two more parlors that attracted players from throughout Southern California.
"There were a number of other bingo operations in Venice under various ownerships and proprietors which had survived until 1934, when police and county sheriffs began to close them down. The elder Harrah's legal and political ties helped to keep the Circle Game doors open as a "game of skill" for nearly half a year after his competitors were forced to close up.
"The legality of the bingo games were constantly challenged in court and the game operators nimbly developed new versions of the rules and skills to counter the authorities' attempts to close them. There were frequent rains and closures in 1935 and 1936.
"Bill Harrah, who had bought out his father's interest in one of the games, tired of the constant headaches and uncertainties of operating in Venice. He opened a bingo game in Reno, Nevada, in 1937 which was to grow into the Harrah gaming empire of Lake Tahoe and Reno.
"The other Venice bingos stagggered on, with names such as Tango and Bridgo, until the 1940s when the final courtroom test closed the "games of skill" for good."
Gambling Boats
"Gambling boats began to appear off the coast of Southern California in the late 1920s. Converted barges, ferries and grain ships were outfitted with neon lights and gaming tables and towed to mooring anchors just outside the three-mile jurisdiction of local authorities. Speedboats would ferry customers out to the floating casinos that sometimes offered entertainment and dancing as well as crap tables and roulette.
"One of the first boats was the Tango. It moored off-shore of Venice in 1929. Owned by Jim Lloyd, Cal Custer, Tony Cornero and Bill Blazer, the Tango was serviced by a fleet of water taxis operating from the Venice Pier.
"California Attorney General Earl Warren launched a crusade against the gambling fleet in 1939. Armed with nuisance abatement warrents, his deputies shut down two boats off Long Beach as well as the Texas, which operated offshore from Venice.
"But Cornero, now operating the Rex in Santa Monica Bay, did not give in easily. His crews used high-pressure fire hoses to repel the lawmen's efforts to board the Rex. For nine tense days the authorities laid siege to the boat. Cornero finally surrendered and took the issue to the Supreme Court. The jurors redefined the territorial limits and put him out of business.
"Cornero tried again with the Lux in 1946. He died of a heart attack while playing craps at the Las Vegas Desert Inn in 1955."
Prelude to War
"America was slowly seeing its way out of the Depression by 1942 . . .
[p. 81 black and white photo ; the WPA Edward Biberman's Venice Postoffice Abbot Kinney Mural]
" . . .
"Sewage from the Los Angeles outfall at Playa del Rey to the south had polluted the ocean water and signs along the Venice beach declared it off-limits to swimmers. . . ."
Wartime Prejudice
" . . .
" . . . Windows and lamp globes were painted black and "dimouts" darkened the amusement area. But soldiers and sailors came to the piers and boardwalk on weekend leave.
" . . . Zoot suits had become the style with a large number of Mexican-American youths who frequented the beaches. The boys had duck-tail haircuts, pancake hats and peg-top trousers with "reet" pleats. Theycarried long glittering watch chains that hung out of openings in their drape coats. . . .
" . . . May 8, 1943. Rumors had circulated along the beach that a "Pachuco" had knifed a sailor. A mob of 100 servicemen and local youths attacked the Aragon Ballroom on Lick Pier intent on running the Mexican-Americans out of town. The brawl erupted at 1:40 a.m. with nearly 2,500 spectators and participants crowding the intersection of Navy Street and Ocean Front Walk.
"Thirteen zoot suiters were arrested and twenty-eight more were taken into custody following the melee. . . . police roadblocks turned back over a hundred zoot suiters bound for Venice the next day . . .
"The Mexican-Americans were released by Judge Art Guerin . . .
"Later, similar riots in downtown Los Angeles would escalate into the ugliest of racial confrontations.
"A large Japanese-American population lived in Venice. They had started settling in the area as early as 1913, buying and leasing truck farms where they had planted snap beans and celery crops. A number of Japanese-Americans were also attracted to the pier and bingo parlors along the beach front.
" . . . the federal government issued an Executive Order . . . West Coast residents of Japanese heritage were ordered to report to . . . internment camps . . . Manzanar.
End of an Era
ˆ " . . ."
Champagne Music
"The once-steller Aragon Ballroom on the Lick Pier had fallen on sad times by early 1951. The dance hall suffered peeling paint and broken windows. The most recent orchestra to occupy the bandstand had drawn only eight couples onto the dance floor. KTLA, a local television stattion, had canceled its weekly telecast of Argaon concerts because of low viewer interest.
ˆ "In a effort to salvage the sagging ballroom trade, Gordon "Pops" Sadrup, the Aragon manager, turned to a bandleader who had been a success on the pier five years earlier. In 1946, Lawrence Welk's brand of light popular dancable music had drawn crowds at the Aragon despite the competition of Tommy Dorsey at the nearby Casino Gardens.
"Welk agreed to play at the Aragon and KTLA was persuaded to reconsider the telecast of the program. The first televised show ws May 2, 1951, and viewer interest was high, despite the late 11:50 p.m. time slot. . . . It was not long before the "champagne music" of Lawrence Welk, live from the Aragon Ballroom, became a popular national television attraction.
"Welk left the Aragon Ballroom for the larger Hollywood Paladium. Joining him later were the four daughters of a talented Venice family. The girls, known as the Lennon Sisters, became one of the most popular attractions on the Welk show.
"The Aragon again fell into disrepair. It was reopened in the late 1960s as a rock music hall known as the Cheetah. Jim Morrison, Iron Butterfly, Vanilla Fudge and The Seeds were booked into the large hall, now psychedelically refurbished. The house band, called The Gnads was later to gain fame under the name Alice Cooper.
Venice West
"In the late 1950s . . . a lifestyle . . . in favor of a Bohemian life with a background of poetry, art and jazz. . . . the Beat Generation.
"The Beats . . . wote poetry about disenchantment and nuclear overkill. Visual artists experimented with the limits of abstraction and new forms of assemblage works . . . low rents and toleration settled into Venice. Lawrence Lipton chronicled the coffee houses, personal searches, artists and ennui of "Venice West" in his book The Holy Barbarians.
" . . . included painters John Altoon, Ben Talbert, Mike Angeleno, Fowad Magdalani, and Tony Landreau. Poets included Lipton, John Thomas, Frankie Rios, James Ryan Morris and Stuart Perkoff. . . . folksinger Julie Meredith, light-show impressario Jimmy Alonzi, sculptor Tai, ex-fighter Joe Greb and [others] . . .Ole, Nico and Tamoo."
[photo page 96 artist Wallace Berman, 1955]
" . . . Stan Roberts, leader of the (Venice) Civic Union, vowed to end Bohemianism in Venice and urged his supporters to "get on your feet and scream and get these people out of here."
" . . .
"Stuart Perkoff founded the Venice West Cafe on Dudley Avenue. Proprietorship was eventually taken over by John and Anna Haag. Haag, a Harvard honors graduate and one-time technical writer had dropped out of a promising career to write poetry and struggle making ends meet at the small coffee house.
" . . .
""Big Daddy" Nord left town, bound for Hawaii. Frank Rios and Stuart Perkoff eventually found themselves incarcerated. Mike Angeleno . . .comitted suicide. . . .the Beats were being replaced by a new generation of "flower children," "hippies" and counter-culturists."
Slum By The Sea
"Lawrence Lipton had called Venice a "jerry-built slum by the sea." . . . .
" . . . Pawnshops and liquor stores had replaced the bingo parlors and souvenir shops . . . Drug addicts and motorcycle gangs had replaced the tourists.
"A theme amusement pier called Pacific Ocean Park was opened that same year. It attracted large crowds at first but after several years of operation the pier began to quickly deteriorate. The rest of Venice joined it on a downhiill slide.
"Los Angeles City Councilman Karl Rundberg formed a Venice Planning Committee in 1961 in hopes of checking the blight. . .
" . . ."
Marina Del Rey
" . . ."
Venice Waterways Project
" . . .
" . . . Los Angeles Councilman Paul Lamport, Mayor Sam Yorty, Councilwoman Pat Russell, 1971, Hughes Tool Company, Western Center for Law and Poverty . . . 1973 People's Park and Superior Court Judge Jerry Pacht ruled that the City of Los Angeles had to prepare an environmental impact report on the canal project . . .
"The sharp schism between landowners and tenants was to continue, . . . and the newly created California Coastal Commission was used to slow and control new building . . .
Art
"The Venice area was attracting another element . . . Artists. lured by the availability of low-rent studio space and good light, began to move into the older commercial buildings. In many cases they had national or international reputations. Their ranks included Billy Al Bengston, Claire Falkenstein, Charles and Ray Eames, Ron Cooper, Larry Bell, Chuck Arnoldi, Guy and Laddie Dill, Alexis Smith, Chris Burden, Ann McCoy, Peter Alexander, Linda Benglis, DeWain Valentine, Robert Irwin, Eric Orr, Loren Madsen, Chris Georgesco, Tom Wudl, Martha Alf, Gloria Kisch, and John McCracken.
"The artists of the 60s and 70s were not united by any pronounced exterior philosophy or life-style as the earlier "beats" were. Although there was social and professional contact between them, the Venice artists worked individually and resistedt he easy application of geographic or regional labels. Except for the wall murals created by artists such as Terry Schoonhoven and the L.A. Fine Arts Squad, these artists left very little outward manifestation in Venice of their work.
"And yet their presence was soon recognized and commercialized when property owners began offering new specially-designed and expensive artist's studios on the real estate market. The low costs that had originally enticed the creative personalities to the beach area wer fast disappearing and many of the artists found themselves displaced to areas away from Venice.
Roller Revival
" . . . in 1977 the first outdoor rollerskating shop opened. The development of polyurethane wheels allowed the skaters to glide easily over rough concrete and asphalt surfaces. . . . Within two years thousands of skaters were clogging Ocean Front Walk . . ."