LOS ANGELES AREA |
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Departures & Arrivals
Getting to Catalina Island is a first consideration for taking a vacation to this special destination. From Long Beach to Island Express Helicopter take the 710 freeway to the Queen Mary (follow the signs that  say Port of Long Beach or Queen Mary) enter the Queen Mary parking lot entrance. Keep to the right and follow the signs saying heliport. Continue to the last parking lot. Park on the right side and the offices are about 200 feet from the parking area. You may take the service road on the right side of the Queen Mary parking lot ticket entrance for pick up and drop off.
The Catalina Express departs from its Queen Mary location.
From San Pedro Catalina Classic Cruises, Catalina Express and Island Express Helicopter Service are all located in the Catalina Air Sea Terminal Building, directly beneath the Vincent Thomas bridge.
From Marina Del Rey Catalina-Marina Del Rey Flyer From 405 Fwy, take CA-90 WEST toward Marina Del Rey. Turn left onto Lincoln Blvd. Turn right onto Fiji Way. Ferry departs from the El Torito Dock directly in front of the restaurant.
From Newport Beach Catalina Passenger Service leaves from the Balboa Pavillion, a Southern California landmark.
From Dana Point Catalina Express departs from Dana Point Harbor on Golden Lantern, which dead ends at the Harbor parking lot. Catalina Explorer departs from Dana Point, turn left at Harbor Drive, then left at Puerto Place.
Festivities Abound
On June 26th The Catalina Island Museum celebrates Hollywood’s connections to the Isle of Romance at a special Hollywood Tribute. Kicking things off, legendary actor Mickey Rooney will screen one of his many films made on Catalina Island (10 AM, Avalon Theatre). The Museum will honor Mr. Rooney for his contributions to Catalina’s Hollywood heritage and he will share his special stories and memories of being on the island. Then, relive the glory days of Hollywood! See the fabulous silent film “The Man In The Iron Mask” starring Douglas Fairbanks with live organ accompaniment by award-winning Robert D. Salisbury. Enjoy the art deco opulence of the incomparable Avalon Theatre. Truly an unforgettable experience! To cap off the Hollywood Tribute, Mickey Rooney will present his delightful stage show, One Man, One Wife, co-starring his wife of over 30 years, Jan Rooney. A trio will accompany the couple as they present a musical overview of Mr. Rooney’s amazing career (7:30 PM, Avalon Theatre). Catalina Island Museum (310) 510-2414.
Conservancy Walks and Historic Tournaments
These are held various dates-last week of June through Labor Day. Catalina Island Conservancy naturalists will lead you through a wonderful outdoor learning experience. FREE programs include nature walks & hikes and campground programs. Reservations are not required, for schedules and details visit:
September 12-15, the Zane Grey/Cabo Yachts Invitational Marlin Tournament will test the skills following the tradition of the island's famous author, Zane Grey. Striped marlin-fishing tournament limited to 40 teams. Check in Sunday, fishing Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday. Awards banquet following at a location are to be announced with $60,000 as the 1st place prize. For information call 714/258-0445. |
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Universal City
 Los Angeles has many movie studios but only one studio has it’s own city, that’s Universal Studios in Universal City. Some of the biggest, hottest movies are made at Universal Studios on several hundred acres of studio grounds and sound stages. But the excitement begins with the Universal Studio Tours that take you around this enchanted land of make believe on an expedition and piece of history that locals and tourists find equally, if not more, exciting than Disneyland. Part of the stimulation is Universal City Walk, an adventure in top-notch stores, restaurants, movie theatres and entertainment venues such as Universal City Amphitheater where music is king. And speaking of kings, there’s also B.B. King’s Blues Club.
FARMERS MARKET
“Meet Me At 3rd & Fairfax” In 1934 a group of farmers drove their trucks onto an expanse of empty land on a piece of property known as Gilmore Island, at the corner of Third and Fairfax in Los Angeles to display and sell their produce on the tailgates of their vehicles. From those day until the present, “Meet Me At 3rd & Fairfax” became the catch phrase for those in LA who wanted great produce, shopping and dining.
THE GROVE
“Unique Like You” When The Grove was under construction many thought this would over shadow the famous Farmers Market on the same property. But The Grove let the landmark stand as they deliberately built Los Angeles’ sexiest shopping, dining, and entertainment. From great restaurants like Maggiano’s Little Italy to The Whisper Lounge, a taste of old Hollywood in a new-era supper club and lounge to theatres and shopping, The Grove has it all including the beautiful Pacific Theaters, and just window shopping amongst a variety of entertaining shops will make one happy. And don’t miss riding the trolley around the center as well.
THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL
“Part of Your Life” One of the best reasons to be in Los Angeles in the summer is the Hollywood Bowl, one of the largest natural amphitheaters in the world, with a seating capacity of almost 18,000. Bring a picnic, eat under the stars and let the stars entertain you in this most incredible spot where the tradition of presenting the world’s greatest musicians and striving for musical excellence has stayed the same.
Culver City Summer Music Fest
Those in the know are already dancin’ in the moonlight in anticipation of the Culver City Summer Music Festival, in the Culver City Hall Courtyard, Duquesne at Culver Blvd. This is the Los Angeles Basin’s most popular summer evening music series. Take a romp on Thursday evenings from June through September under the sunset, under the moon, under the stars. It’s about the music, which always sounds better in the open air, perhaps with your picnic, good nibbles, or just coffee and hot chocolate. What a slice of life attends this event.
Food Glorious food begin each Thursday’s Culver City Music Series with great food and drink. Culver City has become the hub of some of the best eateries in the Westside, with picnic favorites from every price range and taste. The picnickers are more inventive than at any other outdoor venue. The Culver City Hall Courtyard gets packed to the rafters (if there are rafters). People hang out over the balcony, sit in trees, on ledges, laps, chairs, blankets.
Check out the Culver City Summer Music Festival at:
, or call 310.253.6643. |
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Early Moviemakers
“California Here I Come!”
by Julie Lugo Cerra
American Thomas Alva Edison is credited with the birth of “the movies” in the late 19th century. Edwin, S. Porter, chief of production at the Edison Studio, shifted films to a storytelling style in 1903 as seen in The Great Train Robbery, one of the first westerns. The twelve-minute western showcased “new” film techniques like out of sequence shooting, editing and multiple camera angles.
The first filmmakers traveled from New York and New Jersey to the California in 1907, for the varied landscape, the temperate climate, and to extend the days and months of filming. Two years later, the 9,000 movie theatres in the United States showed films that were typically one reel, or 12 minutes long, and the New York Times began using the term “stars” to describe the movie actors, previously looked down on by theatre actors.
Carl Laemmle introduced the “star system” and he started his Independent Motion Picture Company(IMP) to compete with Edison in 1910. That same year, film companies began to move to the area later known as “Hollywood” and Max Factor created the first film makeup. The Motion Picture Patents Company (MPPC) set up the General Film Company in an attempt to monopolize film distribution.
Photoplay, the first real movie fan magazine, gave rise to celebrity culture when it debuted in 1911, when the Nestor Company built the first full time studio in Hollywood and the independents flocked there to avoid the MPPC. That year, credits began to appear at the beginning of motion pictures. In 1912, Carl Laemmle merged IMP with other studios to yield Universal Pictures Company. Adolph Zukor founded an independent studio named Famous Players Film Corporation, with distribution handled by the newly formed Paramount. Jesse Lasky and his brother-in-law, Samuel Goldfish(later Goldwyn) partnered with Cecil B. DeMille to form the Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Company.
Mack Sennett’s Keystone Film Company located in Glendale, a Los Angeles suburb, in 1912. That same year, film pioneer Thomas Ince devised standard production budgeting and introduced detailed movie scripts that spawned the role of “film producer.” In 1915, producer/director Thomas Ince introduced the “factory system” a method to mass produce films, and he began to build his first Culver City studio, still famous for its landmark colonnade entry.
Paramount Studios began in 1913 in a rented horse barn near Sunset and Vine, but in 1926 it moved to Gower Street in Hollywood. DeMille’s “The Squaw Man” was filmed in that historic barn that now operates as the Hollywood Studio Museum across from the Hollywood Bowl.
Raleigh Studios in Hollywood has been operating since 1915, and successfully transitioned to television with classic shows like Superman, Gunsmoke and Perry Mason. William Fox founded the Fox Film Corporation the year Raleigh began. The four Warner Brothers (Jack, Albert, Harry and Samuel) opened their first west coast studio in 1918. Warner Brothers, located in Burbank today, offers a museum and tours on site.
Charlie Chaplin, who is considered the first major film star, took his $125 salary to $10,000 weekly in 1916. Chaplin, D.W. Griffith, Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford established United Artists in 1919, the same year Hal Roach moved from Los Angeles to his Culver City Hal Roach Studios. Roach was proud of his “laugh factory to the world” which gave us Laurel and Hardy and the Our Gang Comedies.
In 1921, Rudolph Valentino starred in “The Sheik,” the romantic film of the day that catapulted Valentino into cinema’s best-known lover. That same year, comedian Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle was arrested for the alleged rape and murder of starlet, Virginia Rappe, at a wild party in a San Francisco hotel. Although he was not found guilty, it ruined his career. The movie industry reacted by creating the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America (MPPDA) to censor themselves. Still headquartered in California, the organization, which transitioned into public relations arm of the industry, became known later as the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA).
The Disney Company began in the back of a realty office in Los Angeles in 1923. They moved into the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank in 1937. By that time, “talkies” had replaced silent films.
C.B.C. Films Sales Company made “B” films, but the Cohn brothers and Joe Brandt, tired of being called “Corned Beef and Cabbage” productions, changed their name to Columbia Pictures in 1924. The Torch Lady became their symbol at their “Gower Gulch” studio in Hollywood. That same year, the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer merger took place. MGM’s history started in Culver City, on Thomas Ince’s first studio there (Triangle, with D.W. Griffith and Mack Sennett), where they stayed through the MGM/UA days, and although they sold the six studio lots of 180+ acres, they moved to the Filmland Corporate Center across from their main lot, until their 1992 move to Santa Monica, and more recently to Century City. The one surviving MGM lot became Lorimar in the 1980s, to become a part of the Sony family in 1990, known first as Columbia Pictures and then Sony Pictures Studios.
Ince established his second Culver City studio in 1919, which he held until his untimely death in 1924. Since then the studio has been known as DeMille, RKO, Pathe, Selznick International, Desilu, Culver City Studios, Laird International, and The Culver Studios. Facades on its backlot, known as “the 40 acres” included “Tara” from Gone with the Wind, while the old King Kong sets were ablaze to simulate the burning of Atlanta. Although their names never appeared on the front lawn, Howard Hughes, Joseph Kennedy and others have held financial interest.
During the 1930s, after there were three major studios in Culver City and no credit, stationery at the Chamber of Commerce read “Culver City, where Hollywood movies are made!” reduced to a friendly rivalry, when the Hollywood and Culver City Chambers of Commerce held a “bury the hatchet” ceremony in Hollywood.
And the studios are still thriving today in Southern California, with the entertainment industry still a major revenue stream. It’s all about location, location, location!
Julie Lugo Cerra is the author of three books and over 250 articles, sits on the the California State Historic State Capitol Commission, her local Cultural Affairs Commission and is the Honorary City Historian in Culver City.
By now you must be intrigued let us peak your interest with some of Culver City’s must do’s.
San Gennaro CafÄ. A superlative Italian restaurant/supper club owned by savvy business owners Jay and Linda Handal, who created a 1940’s urbane supper club fit for the 21st century and beyond. The menu is extensive, the food is delicious, with an extensive wine list. Enjoy this rich experience at very reasonable prices. Our favorite nights here are Fridays and Saturdays when you dine and hear Johnny Recine croon the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s from 8:30 until around midnight. San Gennaro also has piano nights, jazz, comedy, African nights, salsa, reggae, poetry and special wine tasting dinners. 9543 Culver Blvd. (310) 836-0400.
Pacifico’s. Picture yourself in Cabo or Mazatlan. Bon Appetit Magazine named this vividly colorful, charismatic spot the best ethnic restaurant in California. “Home of the Huachinango” (a whole fried red snapper), this is the place for California Style Marisco’s (seafood) and Mexican specialties. Owner Howdy Kabrins, the ingenious master of Pacifico’s, has taken a cue from the eateries on Mexico’s coastline and created this dream of a spot, evocative of the lazy tropical atmosphere of Cabo and Mazatlan. Ole! A first class success. Web site 9341 Culver Blvd., (310) 559-3474.
Bistro de L’Hermitage. Bienvenue (welcome). This spot is so perfectly French you could easily visualize you are in the heart of Paris on the Champs ElysÄes with its tree-lined streets, sidewalk cafÄs and Parisians strolling and taking a meal. Possessing an immense amount of Älan, Frenchman Christian Delay and his wife Johanna are the brains behind this enchanting French bistro with Christian doing much of the cooking and Johanna overseeing the cafÄ as your hostess. The beautifully prepared classic French bistro will keep you clamoring for more. 9727 Culver Blvd. (310) 815-8222.
Novecento, Pasta & Grill. This is Main Street’s best-kept secret. Get ready to undergo a taste of northern Genoa-style food. It’s easy to miss this spot, as it is narrow, very Italian-street style. Owner/President Angela P. Vianello has the expertise and class to make this the most special place. Amble inside and let old-world charm captivate you and the aromas take hold of your senses. Executive Chef Giampiero Guglielminetti is in charge of the kitchen and menu and is obviously a magician. This little trattoria is a must-do so put it high on your list. 3837 Main Street, (310) 842-3838.
Jazz Bakery. Located at the historic Helms Bakery building, Jazz Bakery is renowned worldwide for its unsurpassed music and talent. Top-notch musicians love performing here. Because of this there is always an eager, excited, devoted audience of jazz enthusiasts sharing their love of music at this small well-liked concert hall. We love Big-Band Mondays, where the beat keeps you tapping your feet. Jazz Bakery offers half price rush tickets ($10 minimum) for full time students. Check their website for show schedules, 3233 Helms Ave, (310) 204-6368.
Santa Maria Barbecue Company. Did you know that Santa Maria, in north Santa Barbara County is known as the Barbeque Capitol of the World? Native Santa Marian, owner Jim Rodrigues, has brought this legendary BBQ tradition, around since the mid 1800’s, straight to Culver City. The meats are barbequed over genuine California Red Oak Wood, on authentic Santa Maria-style pits. 80% of the meats’ smoky flavors come from this Red Oak, seasoned with salt, pepper and garlic, and served with a homemade salsa. Try the favorite ą tri tip sirloin, with terrific sides. This is the real McCoy. Great party catering. 9739 Culver Blvd. (310) 842-8169
George Petrelli’s Steakhouse. If you are a carnivore, a happy experience awaits you at this hub of Culver City that’s been in the family since 1931. Oscar Wilde said, “I have very simple taste. I only accept the best.” That’s what you’ll get when you dine at George Petrelli’s Steakhouse. Channel 9 called it the #1 steakhouse in Southern California, and for good reason. For 14 years George and Sophie Petrelli have adroitly kept this restaurant a super success. Together they are carrying on a long tradition of excellence and old-fashioned service. Web 5615 Sepulveda Blvd. (310) 398-9777
Sony Pictures Studios Tours. Let Sony Pictures Studios Tours take you away from your day-to-day reality and transport you into the absorbing, enchanting world of movie and television production and possible stargazing, if only for a couple of hours. Marianne Laurenson, Coordinator/Historian of Sony Pictures Tours, is a wealth of information, and is delighted to answer your questions. You will be taken to sound stages where current shows are filmed, get to know a little about the lighting, props, makeup and wardrobe. Watch where they tape Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy. The entire process of film and TV production is fascinating. Sony Plaza 10202 W. Washington Blvd. (323) 520-TOUR
tours.
The Culver City Summer Sunset Music Festival, sets the summer on fire beginning Thursday evenings from June 3 until September 2, at 7pm at the Culver City, City Hall Courtyard. For years we’ve been enjoying these free outdoor concerts under the stars. Accolades to the CC community and Gary Mandell, producer, owner of Boulevard Music, for putting this on and getting such a tremendous variety of entertainment. You will see big bands, jazz, swing, Cajun, roaring twenties, Brazilian, Blue Grass and everything in between. For information call (310) 253-6643.
All this plus lots of shopping (Shopaholics will be happy), Movie Theatres, Ice Skating, the up-and-coming Kirk Douglas Theatre, the Ivy Substation for other live theatre, constant events at the Veterans Memorial Auditorium let you know that Culver City is a happening place.
With several hotels to choose from, our preferred hotel in Culver City is the Four Points by Sheraton. Not only do they offer an extraordinary level of service, stock the rooms with lots of extra goodies, including coffee pot and movies, snacks and robes, Four Points by Sheraton is devoted to the history and provenance of Culver City and are committed to the arts and education and everything that is unique to Culver City. Kudos to General Manager Ian Gee and Food and Beverage Director, Joshua Alderete for their dedication in having Four Points by Sheraton be the sponsor for the Culver City-Marina del Rey-Westchester Symphony, the Culver City Summer Music Fest, along with many other Westside events. Also, Joshua Alderete and Chef Norm Theard have created the innovative, delightful Cabo CafÄ. For holiday brunches, the Cabo CafÄ at Four Points by Sheraton is unsurpassed. 5990 Green Valley Circle (310) 641-7740. |
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Window to the West, by Joy Lanzendorfer
In the 1920s, best-selling Western writer Zane Grey began exploring Catalina Island, 22 miles off of Los Angeles. He would hike up above the town of Avalon and stand on a particular peak, looking out over the water. Then he would shut his eyes and give himself over to “sensorial perceptions,” taking in the ocean, the clean air, and the chatter of sea birds. At such a time, he said, he was always filled with a sense of “swift joy .”
After finding so much inspiration from one spot, it was only natural that Grey would build a home for himself there. In 1926, he built a Hopi Indian-style Pueblo on the same place that he had visited so ma ny times before. With its warm teak-beam ceilings and view of the sea, the home was “a place for rest, dream, sleep. I could write here and be at peace.”
That anyone could find peace in a place so close to Los Angeles was remarkable back then and even more so nowadays. But Catalina Island takes pride in being remarkable, claiming in an ad campaign that “it’s not just an island, it’s a whole other world.” And for complete transportation into that world, you can stay at Zane Grey’s former home, now the Zane Grey Pueblo Hotel.
Catalina Island covers 76 square miles and has a permanent population of 3,500, though at certain times of the year it can see over 10,000 visitors. Getting to the island can be difficult. There’s no bridge, so your options are limited to helicopter, private boat, or one of the ferries that depart daily from Long Beach, San Pedro, or Newport Beach piers. The ferry system assumes that visitors will come to the island in the morning and leave at night, so it can be difficult to get a ferry that works with your travel plans. Only one ferry line, Catalina Express, offers transportation both to and from the island all day long.
The ride to the island does indeed feel like going into another world as you leave the industrial San Pedro pier. Like me, you might be lucky enough to see a school of dolphins riding along with the boat, bursting out of the water in unison. As the ferry approaches the island, Avalon comes into view with its bustling boats and houses clinging to the hillsides like barnacles. On a typical day, parasailors float as serenely above the harbor as leaves falling from a tree.
Catalina Island has two towns, Avalon and Two Harbors. Avalon is the biggest and has most of the shops and restaurants. The other 88% of the island is owned by a nature conservatory.
Avalon, named after the town in the Arthurian Legend, is designed to look like a European city with its fountains, Italian tile, and quaint shop fronts. And for the most part, the town does succeed in capturing a certain old-world charm. The main street, Crescent Avenue, has your typical tourist fare of tee-shirt and knick-knack shops, but the real pleasure comes from drinking in the atmosphere. People stroll along eating ice cream and holding hands. Children play on the white-sand beaches. Golf carts zoom by.
Yes, that’s right -- golf carts. Cars have been banned from the island. In fact, Catalina Island is a Luddite paradise. Few people talk on cell phones and many hotels have banned TVs. There aren’t even clocks in most of the stores since a bell tower on the hill rings every quarter of the hour. The idea is to get away from the hectic Southern California lifestyle, and for the most part, you can (though you can’t always get away from the Southern California attitude).
To get to Zane Grey Pueblo, you can walk or take one of the free golf-cart rides that are offered throughout the day. To take the free ride, walk halfway down Crescent Avenue until you get to the taxi kiosk and explain that you’re staying at the hotel and need a ride.
Walking to the hotel is not for the faint of heart. While the hotel is less than a mile away from the ferry dock, it is sitting on one of the highest hills in town. On the way, though, you can observe the island up close and exercise your calves.
The hotel is perched ten feet from a cliff overlooking the ocean, so it provides some of the best views on the island. Half of the rooms look out on the water and the other half look down at the hills and town. On one end of the building is a large living room with the hotel’s only TV and fireplace. In the center of the hotel, a hallway divides the guestrooms, each named after one of Grey’s novels. One the other end of the Pueblo is the office where you can check in. Grey’s brother lived in the house adjacent to the adobe, which today is part of the hotel. The dirt patio that used to separate the two buildings is now the pool area.
When Zane Grey built the house, he was a best-selling author living out what can only be described as a dream life. He spent half the year adventuring -- traveling, fishing, and camping -- to gather inspiration for his books, and then the other half of the year writing. He was prolific, writing over 90 books in his lifetime. The most famous of these was Riders of the Purple Sage, published in 1912. Though he started out as a dentist and had to self-publish his first book, by 1910, his breakthrough hit Heritage of the Desert launched his career. Grey is one of the most well-known Western writers, and in many ways, he defined the genre.
When Grey built the adobe, he already had several other homes, including one in Altadena, California, and a cabin in Arizona. But he spent much of the last 13 years of his life at the Pueblo and wrote many books there.
I stayed in the Purple Sage room. It was a large, pleasant room, with a color scheme of (you guessed it) purple and sage green. It had a wide bed, a wicker living room set, and a shower, toilet, and sink in what must have formerly been two closets. Above the bed was a painting of cowboys on horses, completing the Western theme to perfection.
The view from the room’s large bay window and two side windows was simply spectacular. Before you lies all of Avalon -- the harbor, boats, hills, and buildings. The room is high enough up that you don’t have to worry about people seeing in, so you never have to draw the curtains for privacy. You can spend the whole afternoon lazing on the bed, reading and napping, while a perfect 70-degree breeze caresses you.
In keeping with island tradition, you won’t find a TV, phone, or even a clock in the room, but the lack of distractions add to the sense of peace that Grey so loved. In the evening, sitting by the pool, you may, like me, get to see deer come down from the woods and graze along the hillside above the ocean.
Though Catalina Island has many beaches, you’re likely to see more beautiful wildlife than sunbathing beauties there. With most of the island left to nature, there’s ample opportunity to hike, ride horses, and bird watch. You might see a variety of native California wildlife, like bald eagles or sea lions, as well as one prominent non-native animal. In 1925, 14 buffalo were brought to the island for the filming of the Western The Vanishing American. They were left to roam the island’s rugged interior and now number more than 200. To see them, you can take a Jeep Eco Tour by the Catalina Island Conservancy, which will take you on the back roads and behind locked gates to the rarely seen parts of the island.
Zane Grey originally came to the island to fish. He wrote about his experiences in the book Tales of Swordfish and Tuna. But fishing is just one of many ways visitors can interact with the island’s marine life. In fact, the waters around the island have been called Southern California’s largest aquarium. Catalina Island has some of the best snorkeling and scuba diving in the state. You can also take the glass bottom boat ride by Catalina Adventure Tours, which lets you see the underwater world of brightly colored fish, spiny lobster, and the occasional octopus.
Grey isn’t the only famous person to come to the Catalina Island. It used to be owned by chewing gum magnet Phillip Wrigley and regular visitors included Charlie Chaplin, Clark Gable, Stan Laurel, and Gene Harlow. Many movies, including Mutiny on the Bounty and The Ten Commandments, were filmed here.
In 1929, Wrigley built the town’s famous Casino, a 12-story circular art deco building on the edge of the town. But don’t expect to find slot machines there -- the word “casino” is meant in the traditional Italian sense of the word, as a “gathering place.” It was once a popular destination for the rich and famous, who danced the night away in the casino’s ballroom under a Tiffany chandelier to music by Glen Miller and Benny Goodman. Today, you can tour the casino, watch a movie in its theater, and browse a gallery of original artwork by local artists.
Most restaurants on the island serve pubgrub like burgers and fish ‘n chips, though many places also offer good German beer. Armstrong’s Seafood’s menu offers fresh cuts of mahi-mahi or thick slabs of grilled swordfish. Though the service at Armstrong’s lacks a bit, it’s still pleasant to dine outside by the water or inside, looking at historic pictures of triumphant fishermen showing off their latest catch. While you’re there, try the Buffalo Milk, a blend of vodka, Kahlua, fresh banana, and coconut milk.
Even though the island lacks in the gourmet food you might expect from a place surrounded by yachts, no one seems to mind. After all, sitting on the Pueblo’s balcony, enjoying the quiet and the beautiful view, it’s easy to see why Zane Grey said that Catalina Island “means enchantment to me.” |
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Venice Beach
If it hadn’t been for Abbot Kinney’s asthma, Venice may never have been founded. Kinney, born 1850 in Brookside, New Jersey, was on a three year trip around the world when a snowstorm prevented his return to the east coast. He journeyed, instead, to Sierra Madre and was so impressed by the climate he developed a citrus ranch called Kinneloa.
After his marriage in 1884, Kinney began purchasing land to the south with Francis Ryan. The partners developed Ocean Park with a walk pier and a country club. A streetcar line was extended to the site.
After Ryan’s untimely death in 1898, and a succession of partners with whom Kinney couldn’t agree, it was decided that the land speculator would toss a coin and the winner would choose which half of the district would be his. When Kinney won the toss, he startled the other four partners by choosing the barren, marshy property. Kinney soon announced that his sand dunes and marshland would soon be a cultural city patterned after Venice, Italy. The public laughed and dubbed the plan “Kinney’s Folly”.
They stopped laughing when trenches for canals were dug and Venetian-patterned buildings began to spring up. By July 4, 1905, Venice-of-America officially opened with a wonderful pier and exciting attractions: Italian gondoliers poling their boats down fairy-lit canals, a concert orchestra supplying music that could be heard nearly all over town, camel rides, exotic hotels catering to the best tastes, a miniature railroad circling the entire scene. Cultural diversion never flourished in Venice. The public came to ride the camels and the little train and to see the sideshow. The Doge of Venice-of America had built a cultural Renaissance by the sea.
This atmosphere still prevails today. |
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