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Venice
has long been immortalized on television and in the movies with its cast of
characters, its funky boardwalk scene, a history of famous residents and its
unique canal system. In spite of its fame, residents here enjoy a relaxed
community atmosphere where you can walk down the street and bump into a friend.
It’s not uncommon to know the name of the barista at your local café or your
bartender, your farmers market vendors and the folks at your local store.
Over the last 30 years, Venice has transformed itself by adding ‘hip’ and
‘sophisticated’ to its list of assets. Artists of all kinds have gravitated to
Venice for its free-spirited, come-as-you-are atmosphere and socially liberal
history. In recent years even more artists have moved here and brought their
unique and inspiring perspectives to the local architecture and landscape making
Venice one of L.A.’s most desirable and highly sought-after areas to live in.
Venetians and Angelenos alike love Venice’s Abbot Kinney Blvd. The mile-long
street sports a colorful and eclectic mix of shops, clothing boutiques,
accessories stores, furniture and art galleries, restaurants and cafes, and
other businesses making for great sight-seeing and hanging out. It’s not unusual
to find bowls of water in front of businesses in dog-friendly Venice where
locals stroll up, park their dogs and go inside. This is, after all, still ‘Dog
town.’
 Venice has maintained much of its original architecture thanks to a strong
appreciation here for Venice’s rich history. The Venice Historical Society has
helped to foster this reverence for our town’s vibrant past and continues to
celebrate with all kinds of community activities. This year Venice celebrated
its Centennial with a parade down Abbot Kinney Blvd. that scores of people
turned out for. Venice also loves its annual Abbot Kinney Festival where the
whole street shuts down for al fresco dining, dancing, shopping and partying.
The Venice Garden Tour and the Venice Art Walk are annual events held in the
spring both benefiting local Venice organizations. Inspiring people to
walk around and see fellow residents’ art studios and secret gardens, it’s a
great way to support the community and get to know your neighbors. They have
both become highly anticipated events.
Venice has a variety of appealing neighborhoods each offering its own individual
charms.
The famed Venice Canals, designed by Abbot Kinney in the early part of the 20th
century offer tranquil, waterfront living with an abundance of charm and
history. Refurbished in the 1990’s the canals have been brought back to life.
Families of ducks waddle through the neighborhood and swim around the canals and
row boats are tied up at residents’ personal docks for an evening paddle. Palm
trees dot the canals and bridges connect walking paths. Every conceivable
architectural style can be found on the canals from cottages to Mediterranean
mansions to contemporary, cape cod, traditional and more.
The Venice “walk streets” are another charming and well-preserved part of
Venice’s past. Walk-street homes face each other with a sidewalk in between
instead of a street, creating a car-free, pedestrian-friendly environment safe
for kids, pets and all to enjoy. There are two Venice neighborhoods that offer
walk-street, residential living. The artsy ‘West of Lincoln’ neighborhood offers
several blocks of beautiful homes and landscaped gardens within walking distance
of Abbot Kinney Blvd. while the beach walk streets adjacent to the boardwalk
offer a more ‘happening’ neighborhood full of activity. In both neighborhoods
many turn-of-the-century homes have been preserved and new homes built up around
them for an eclectic mix of architectural styles.
Venice also has more traditional, suburban-style neighborhoods. East Venice
(east of Lincoln Blvd.) has many 1920’s Spanish-style haciendas and California
Craftsman bungalows among its post-WWII tract homes and also boasts the largest
lots in Venice. The area has maintained some of its mid-century small town
feeling while incorporating newer architectural homes and preserving the older
ones. In addition, East Venice is home to Penmar Park and Recreation Center
which has 5 baseball diamonds, 6 tennis courts and a children’s playground,
picnic tables, and more.
Nearby Penmar Golf Course is a public course
with high ratings and a little coffee shop with a view of the green.
Abbot Kinney Real Estate agent Betsy Goldman has compiled an extensive and
detailed list of comparable sales by neighborhood throughout Venice for your
use.
Please refer to her website at
www.betsysellsvenice.com for
helpful information.
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