Our Community

The Venice Canals community is located in Venice, CA, 90291 and is part of the City of Los Angeles. We are south of the City of Santa Monica and north of the Marina del Rey small boat harbor, and a few minutes from the Pacific Ocean and the renowned Venice Beach Boardwalk.

The Canals are comprised of six canals, approximately one and a half miles in length, and fifty feet in width, and are laid out in a grid. Carroll, Linnie, Howland, and Sherman Canals run in an east to west direction, Eastern and Grand run north and south. The one-way vehicular entrance to the Canals is at Dell Avenue and Sherman Canal. Dell Avenue traverses four bridges in a south to north direction. Access to the homes from Dell Ave. is provide by Courts A, B, C, D, and E. (See map below)

In addition, nine footbridges provide access within the canals. The canals’ ocean water comes from the Marina del Rey and is controlled by tidal gates at the Marina del Rey jetty and at Washington Blvd. To maintain the quality of the water, the Washington Blvd. gates are opened twice a week to the natural flushing of the ocean tides. The Canals are listed on the National and City of Los Angeles Registry of Historical Places.

The canals were built in 1905 as a private real estate development, Short Line Beach Venice Canals Subdivision No. 1, to capitalize on Abbot Kinney’s “Venice of America,” a canal development and amusement center to the north. Both canal projects, built with a lot of speed and too little sturdy construction had fallen into disrepair by the early 1920’s and all the canals were scheduled to be filled in, but the Venice canals were spared.

By 1940, the sidewalks had so deteriorated that they were taken out of public use. Between 1991 - 1993, a major Renovation Project was completed. The canals were deepened in the center to five feet, the sides of the canals were rebuilt with Loffelblocks, new sidewalks were constructed, and a protective Saltbush barrier planted along the sidewalks.

The canals are a designated wildlife preserve where you can see Herons, Egrets, Mergansers, Coots, Cormorants, Sea Gulls, Pelicans, sometimes the Least Tern, and domesticated Mallard ducks. Occasionally a seal and even a leopard shark will accidentally swim into the canals during a flushing cycle. The canals also provide a valuable nursery for fish.

Early development was comprised of small one-story cottages used mainly in the summer. Starting in the late 1970’s a major change in the canals began and continues today. In 1976, more than 30% of the 375 parcels were vacant. Today less than six are vacant. You will see a mix of one, two, and three story homes with a variety of architectural styles. Ideal growing conditions produce wonderful flowers. For many it is a paradise tucked away in a much too crowded suburban setting.