Venice Beach House

On a few miles of empty marshland Venice Beach’s original visionary saw a beach-side wonderland that his friends just could not see, and they scoffed good-naturedly at his larger than life vision.

Abbot Kinney went on to hire thousands of workers to work on what those early disbelievers referred to as “Kinney’s Folly,” dredging out canals to emulate the famous waterways of Venice, Italy, and building the famous boardwalks that formed the magical Venice of America seaside resort.

Another man with a dream was Warren Wilson, owner of the Los Angeles Daily Journal and outspoken supporter of progressive causes including women’s suffrage and racial equality. He wanted to build a beachside dream getaway for his large LA-based family, and in 1911, the craftsman style home was completed.

When two of Abbot Kenney’s sons married two of Warren Wilson’s daughters, their families became inextricably linked.

Now a small hotel that is rumored to always smell like cookies baking, Venice Beach House was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. Be sure to reserve the wool-plaid upholstered Abbot Kinney Room.