YesteryardExplore what used to be here

Venice Beach · Episode 1

The Man Who Started It All

Venice Beach’s founder story, and what’s left of his town.

In 1905 a tobacco heir named Abbot Kinney dug a town out of a salt marsh, with canals and a pier, and called it Venice of America. Los Angeles later paved over most of the canals.

This episode follows his town from the marsh to today. The walk goes from the Abbot Kinney mural to the beach, and back through the six canals nobody managed to fill in.

Yesteryard · Venice Beach · Episode 1

The Man Who Started It All

Venice Beach’s founder story, and what’s left of his town.

Press play

23 min

Cover pictures: California Historical Society Digital Collection · Men of California · Title Insurance and Trust · Western Publishing & Novelty Co. postcard. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Chapters

What used to be here

Slide each picture to see the same spot then and now.

  • Windward Avenue about 1905, under a VENICE banner, and the sign todayWindward Avenue about 1905, under a VENICE banner, and the sign today
    c. 1905Today

    Windward Avenue about 1905, under a VENICE banner, and the sign today.

  • The pier from the breakwater, about 1914, and where it stood todayThe pier from the breakwater, about 1914, and where it stood today
    c. 1914Today

    The pier from the breakwater, about 1914, and where it stood today.

  • The six canals in 1971, labelled, and from the air todayThe six canals in 1971, labelled, and from the air today
    1971Today

    The six canals in 1971, labelled, and from the air today.

  • Grand Canal in 1992, before the rebuild, and todayGrand Canal in 1992, before the rebuild, and today
    1992Today

    Grand Canal in 1992, before the rebuild, and today.

Walk it

14 stops, about 5 km on foot. Listen tonight; walk it tomorrow in daylight.

Starts at the Abbot Kinney mural.

Map of the walk: 14 stops, numbered in walking orderPacific OceanVenice BlvdWashington BlvdPacific AveMain StOcean Front WalkWindward Ave1234567891011121314
Tap a number for the stop. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Walk with the Yesteryard app

The app does this hands-free: the story plays as you arrive.

iPhone app in beta: join the list

Android: coming soon.

Walk with Google Maps

Walking directions to the start

Then stop to stop: every stop below has its own Directions link.

Walk with this page

One stop at a time: directions, then “I’m here: play”. The stories for the walk between stops play as you go.

Start the walk

The stops

  1. Stop 1: Abbot Kinney mural

    Directions

  2. Stop 2: Windward Circle: the lost lagoon

    Directions

  3. Stop 3: The VENICE sign

    Directions

  4. Stop 4: Windward Avenue arcades

    Directions

  5. Stop 5: Murals at the foot of Windward

    Directions

The walk on one page: share it, or get the printable map →

Sources

Every fact in this episode has a source. It draws on 53 of them, cited 110 times. These are the main ones:

  1. Venice Canals, HAER CA-124 · Historic American Engineering Record, Library of Congress

    Cited in 13 chapters

  2. Venice Canal Historic District · Wikipedia

    Cited in 7 chapters

  3. The Lost Canals of Venice of America · PBS SoCal

    Cited in 5 chapters

  4. Abbot Kinney · Jeffrey Stanton, Venice History

    Cited in 4 chapters

  5. Building Venice of America · Jeffrey Stanton, Venice History

    Cited in 4 chapters

  6. The Venice pier · Jeffrey Stanton, Venice History

    Cited in 4 chapters

The sources disagree on 19 points, such as the coin toss and the size of the opening-day crowd. The episode gives both versions, or calls it a legend.

All 53 sources by chapter, and every photo credit →

Who tells it

Mark Koester

Mark Koester

Sidewalk historian

He researched and wrote this episode. Every fact is sourced. Sources

Mark lives on the Venice Canals, Los Angeles. He grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, lived in China for nearly a decade, and is a writer, product designer and software engineer. He researches, writes and tells the episodes, and builds the app.

About YesteryardMark’s blogHis music: Stellar Mammals

Get the Yesteryard app

The app walks with you: the story plays as you arrive at each stop, so your phone can stay in your pocket.

What the app does

More from Los Angeles · Season 1

Five walks, from downtown to the sea.

  1. Downtown LA

    Episode 2 · Downtown LA

    Downtown LA · Bunker Hill to Broadway

    The city bulldozed the hill where it used to live. The street where it went to dream is still here.

    In the app’s betaWalk about 1 hr 15 · at home 29 min

  2. Culver City

    Episode 3 · Culver City

    Culver City · Screenland

    Harry Culver sold a town to the movies. The movies moved on.

    Coming soonWalk about 1 hr · at home 21 min

  3. Santa Monica

    Episode 4 · Santa Monica

    Santa Monica · The Port That Wasn’t

    Santa Monica was founded to be the port of Los Angeles. It lost.

    Coming soonWalk about 1 hr · at home 18 min

  4. Venice Beach

    Episode 5 · Venice Beach

    Venice Beach · Today

    A town where the art is outside, built by whoever turned up.

    Coming soonWalk about 1 hr · at home about 20 min

Photos: Downtown LA: Difference engine, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Culver City: Jengod, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Santa Monica: web4camguy, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Venice Beach today: John Margolies, Library of Congress.

Everything in Venice Beach: 29 places and 4 walks in the app

Stay in touch

Get the next episode when it’s out.

Email me about

Only about what you pick. Unsubscribe from any email. Privacy

Get the Yesteryard app

The app walks with you: the story plays as you arrive at each stop, so your phone can stay in your pocket.

iPhone: in beta now. Join the list and we’ll send you the invite.

Android: coming. Join the list and you’ll hear first.