VENICE CANALS CALIFORNIA

Neighborhood | Attraction

Venice Canals California date back to 1905, yet they are still perfectly fine. Abbot Kinney, who was a businessman and millionaire from California, wished to recreate the feeling of being in the canals of Venice, Italy—he came up with a ‘Venice of America’ plan . Thus, he commissioned the construction of these canals right in California and created a resort type area.

The canals, which are a mile long, are located in a residential neighborhood in Venice, Los Angeles and there are small bridges and boats sitting on the small docks outside houses. The houses are colorful and even though the architectural design is different from the Venice houses in Italy, Venice Canals in California still, overall, do have an Italian vibe. People go to the canals to stroll and take nice pictures.

Abbot’s ambitions to create Venice Canals in California started with a thrust, at first, he constructed canals about four miles long but in 1929 the city officials wanted to build more roads in Los Angeles and they agreed to trade the canals for roads and about three miles of the canals were filled with sand. The mile-long canals seen today remained and it appears since the need for more roads ceased—the Venice Canals have a good chance of being in existence indefinitely.  The water is refreshed every three days by opening the sea gates.

For those who are visiting the canals by car, parking is available in the streets, further out near the main road. It is best to park where there are parking meters. Parking in the neighborhood is strictly prohibited and they do threaten to tow the parked cars away. Be advised that people do live in the houses along the canals—respecting their privacy is the noble thing to do. The real estate here is premium and cost a fortune.

There are a few events every year in the Venice Canals, boat parade is one of the popular ones. But, every day quite Venice Canals with birds singing in the trees is the Venice that people from all over the world are excited about when they visit. After a long stroll through the corners and bridges, people head over to the restaurants (The Butcher's Daughter is a must) and bars along the Venice Boardwalk or Abbot Kinney Boulevard.