The Lost Canals of Los Angeles: How Venice Beach went Wrong

My grandmother was there when Venice Beach and canals were being built. We lived in West LA and she had many stories from the era.

Videos like this are why I love YouTube. And specifically this channel.

Wow, I lived in Venice for 4 yrs and didn't even know who Abbot Kinney was! And I had no idea of the past splendor. Thanks you did an excellent job!

I once rowed a gondola through the canals of venice with Tyra Banks as my passenger. The best episode of america's next top model. Great memories.

Another "canal city" that might interest you is Holyoke, Massachusetts. It was a planned city that was built on the banks of the Connecticut River in the 1830's at a point where it went downhill and around a bend. The tremendous velocity of the river water there was channeled into three canals that provided enough water power to eventually run 37 paper mills on its banks. There is even a tunnel system under Holyoke that routed the river water that current residents don't even know about. Dependence on water power was ended in th 1890's when the mills became electrified. Between 1870-1940, Holyoke was legitimately called the Paper City of the World, although its population never exceeded 70K. The canals were just industrial garbage dumps by the 1950's, and are still unused. They were never filled in. I often thought that this now Post-Industrial city should have somehow converted them into Venice-like canals. The "invented city" of Holyoke MA has the type of weird history that you seem to love and present so well.

One of the saddest things was the filling in of the end of Long Beach marine stadium after 1932 so they couldn't use it for the '84 and 2028 olympics. Also, there used to be a Pacific Electric railroad to the stadium.

The city of Utrecht in The Netherlands has had part of its historic canals paved over in the ‘60s to make room for roads and subsequent cars. In the last five years they made it an effort to restore the canals to their former glory only with a modern take on them. Lots of green along the banks, more space for pedestrians, shopping facilities and even room for a much smaller road. They made it a very beautiful riverfront. Looking at those pictures of the former canals of Venice Beach, now streets, I can imagine they do the same with a same type of project. I’m mean, judging by the pictures the room is there. Just the willpower and funds to do so.

And now, Venice Beach is just a freak show.

I grew up in marina del Rey in the late 80’s and early 90’s and really wished I would be able to live there as an adult one day. Boy, things have changed.

Good video. My grandmother bought a beach house on the strand just a few blocks from the main channel for the marina, and I spent many an hour exploring all over the area and playing in the grand canal channel right across Pacific. She was on Voyage St, and this was in the mid 60's. I remember going to the canal neighborhood, and the smell. It was a pretty seedy place as well. Her house was built in the early 20's and I have a picture of it surrounded by all the oil derricks that used to dominate the landscape at that time.

You can see Mitch Buchannon's house from Baywatch. On Sherman canal

Thank you for such a well presented history of Venice Beach! Growing up in LA in the 90's, it wasn't much special. The boardwalk has always been seedy and we mainly went there to buy bongs and beedis. I still don't love Venice today, but I appreciate the vision of Abbot Kinney and its place in the history of LA.

Amazing history of Venice beach !

Interesting to learn that Marina del Rey was once an oil field!

My beach house is in marina del Rey… right on the beach. There used to be oil wells all up and down the beach. Every so often we feel our house shake. I swear it’s related

For more content on this place German in Venice is the best!

Copiague NY has a smaller version and even had gondolas running threw it. It's called the little Venice

Beautifully done video. I live in Venice section across from Marina del Rey. I am so impressed with your research and presentation. Count me in as newest subscriber with full notifications!

I've been to the actual Venice. It, too, was built on a lagoon. If you are trying to recreate Bella Venezia, then the stinky water at low tide is gonna be part of the experience. Perhaps that was what they were originally trying to solve for. I could easily see a discussion about the smell at low tide, where their "solution" is to not let the water level drop too far.

Wow. Amazing information. I grew up in So-Cal and hung out at Venice Beach many times from the 80's through just a few years ago when I moved to the upper Midwest. I knew Venice had the canals and was once trying to mimic Venice, Italy, but I had no idea about the rest of this interesting history.