New Group Organizes to Preserve Venice and Its Place in L.A. History

Eighty-one years ago, Abbot Kinney set out to re-create a slice of Italy on the Westside.

He built the seaside resort of Venice, featuring a network of canals and fancy hotels that initially attracted celebrities and in recent years became a haven for mavericks, artists and bohemians.

Now the new Venice Historical Society wants to preserve the area’s historical and cultural heritage.

The 20-member steering committee of the nonprofit, non-political, financially independent organization hopes to have seven sites and several buildings in the area placed on the National Register of Historic Places, co-founder Don Tollefson said.

The 41-year-old attorney and private contractor called Venice “one of the richest historical districts” in Los Angeles. But he said the area’s historical significance has been overlooked.

“Los Angeles has 300 state and historical cultural landmarks,” Tollefson said. “Unfortunately, only the Venice Canal District and the Warren Wilson Beach House are on the national register.”

Tollefson said the canal district was named to the register four years ago and the Warren Wilson bed and breakfast inn, commonly known as the Venice Beach House, was added in July, 1985.

But other areas, such as the Windward Avenue Arcade Arches, North Beach, West Washington Boulevard and the walk streets along Amaroso, Crescent, Marco and Nowita places also should be declared historical sites, Tollefson said.

“The Windward Avenue Arcade Arches were the focal point of early life in Venice,” said Venice Town Council President Pat McCartney, one of the society’s co-founders. “Unfortunately, many columns were destroyed in 1965 because of potential earthquake hazards.”

In addition to seeking the national landmark designations, McCartney said, a Historical Society committee will also work for the preservation of structures such as the old Venice Public Library, Abbot Kinney Plaza, the remaining Windward Arches and Thornton Tower, where Isadora Duncan, Charles Chaplin and Rudolph Valentino reportedly stayed.

Over the years, however, Kinney’s re-creation of the famed Italian city of canals has become home to people from a variety of ethnic and economic backgrounds.

Moran said the society also wants to obtain historical documentation such as old photos, newspapers, advertisements and artifacts.

Society co-founder Thelma Brawley has started gathering family memorabilia. Brawley’s father, Irving Tabor, 93, is one of the last surviving early Venice residents.

In 1909, Tabor became a construction worker on the Venice pier project, Brawley said.

“My father was 17 years old when he became Kinney’s chauffeur and he worked for the family more than 20 years,” she said. Brawley owns the turn-of-the-century house that the Kinney family willed to her father.

Tollefson said many residents became discouraged when preservation efforts by former groups such as Venice U.S.A. and Venice of America failed to save several historic buildings.

But Phil Parlett, president of the Venice-Marina del Rey Area Board of Realtors and a Historical Society co-founder, said Venice residents “can make the difference.”

The group intends to maintain a $5,000 to $10,000 treasury, he said. According to Parlett, 10 members have paid a $100 co-founder’s fee, which will serve as seed money for the society.

Although additional co-founder pledges have been made, Parlett said a sound financial base will require community participation. General membership costs $25 and senior citizens and students can join for $10.

“We are looking for members who are interested and willing to make a worthwhile investment in their community,” Parlett said.