Homes in Venice Beach Punctuate So Cal Free Spirit

Beyond the famous boardwalk are some of the most artsy homes in Venice Beach. They speak to the free-spirited personality of Southern California. Founded in 1905, the historic West Los Angeles neighborhood landed a choice position on the Pacific Ocean. It’s beachfront extends 2.5 miles between Santa Monica and Marina del Rey.

110 Years Ago

Homes in Venice Beach are within walking or bicycling distance to the Ocean Front Walk. This pedestrian-only Promenade is a tourist destination. Vendors, artisans and artists, musicians and street performers churn up a like-minded stream of customers. All the while, volleyball players, surfers, swimmers, and beachgoers bask in the casual Southern California atmosphere.

The artsy appeal began with the vision of the founder, Abbot Kinney in 1905. Venice of America mirrored the gondolier-filled waterways of Venice Italy. The Beach resort developed shops bearing Venetian architecture, a long amusement pier, with attractions such as a dance hall, a miniature railroad, roller coaster, and a ship restaurant.

25 to 50 Years Ago

The second stage of development in Venice Beach took place during the 1960s, 70s, and 80s. The former resort had gone through some hard knocks during the Depression and after oil was found here. The community became run down and inexpensive. Enter artists from the 1960s and cheap land. A new culture was born. Architects and designers went out of the box. They cut prices by using innovative materials and simple designs.

A self-guided tour of properties built in the 1970s and 1980s reveals the carefree attitudes of those days. Works by Frank Gehry, Fred Fisher, Steven Ehrlich Frank Israel, and Morphosis stand out. Quirky solutions, unexpected presentation, color and drama – eclectic modern design for Venice Beach homes and commercial buildings emerged.

Examples featured in Eclectic Revisited: Preserving Venice’s Architectural Context by Mimi Zeiger include:

Caplin House with its lopsided Quonset ceiling and contrasting window box
AmoldiTriplex with its rich green roof-tile siding and offset stepped tower
Hopper Residence with its angled roof and tin siding
Windward Circle Arts building with its blue and red metal pole art and silo-effect sections

Areas of Venice Beach Real Estate

Kinney started up the Venice Beach real estate market offering canal side properties to vacationers. Cottages and bungalows from that era are still present in some parts of Venice Canals. But where do others of the 40,000 residents live? The subareas referred to today are defined by older neighborhood boundaries. They include Ballona Lagoon West Bank, Ballona Lagoon Grand Canal East Bank, Silver Strand, Marina Peninsula, North Venice, Oakwood-Millwood-Southeast Venice, and Oxford Triangle.