Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Venice: Where Art Meets Crime

If you know me, you know that I have a deep love affair with Venice. Venice Beach. Venice, California. I think its the best place in Los Angeles.

Since first driving up and down the neighborhood streets hoping to find “for rent” signs with my best friend, all of our belongings in our car and crashing on a friends air mattress, it was love at first sight.

You may think Venice is the bustling Venice Beach boardwalk scene that you see in movies or tv. The freaks, the $1 slice of pizza, the entertainers, the henna tattooes. It is all that, plus throw in some hippies, some yuppies and a flamboyant homeless population and you have the neighborhood that I have called home for the last 6 years. But it is so much more.

For the first few years I lived in Oaktown, the numbered grid of streets just north of Abbot Kinney that were originally created as a black working class neighborhood and had fallen to gang violence in the 80s and 90s. I made friends with the locals, made friends with our neighbors, some famous, some infamous. First memories include the day that I was the ONLY person wearing a suit at Abbot’s Habit at 8am on a weekday, waiting for my soy cafe con leche. The other guy was wearing his bathrobe. I’m guessing he wasn’t on his way to a job interview.

I’ve seen the neighborhood grow and change. Abbot Kinney is a treasure trove of wonderful shops, restaurants, galleries and personalities. I’ve seen so many businesses come and go, seen some restaurants open and thrive and I remember when First Fridays was just a few galleries offering splashes of Charles Shaw in plastic cups. This was before food trucks, mind you.

Its seems I can’t quite put into words what my love for this neighborhood is. Its sunset bike rides to On the Waterfront beer garden, morning jogs on the bike path along the Pacific Ocean, splitting the bagel special at Abbot’s (because its just enough for two), waiting and waiting and waiting for a Cuban Roll at The Brick House. Venice is gritty and funky and anything goes. It never ceases to stimulate your senses, everywhere you look. Alternately, it’s also home to multi-million dollar modern mcmansions busting at the seams of their lots, closing out the neighbors with their high fences. People are, for the most part, kind to each other and happy to be here.

Recently, I went on a walk to soak up all my favorite sights and memories of this place that I was so lucky to call home. Bear with me as I walk down memory lane:

p.s. Little known fact: Venice, California was planned as a city on the water, and a few original canals still exist. Its a must-see when visiting LA that is sometimes overlooked. I highly recommend.

Posted by s  at   4:40 PM    3 comment