Photos: A Visual History of the Canals

A skeptical public had heard rumors of Kinney's eccentric redevelopment ideas in the coastal marshlands of Southern California, but no one took him seriously. On July 7, 1904, Kinney unveiled his plan, aptly titled the "Mission of San Marco, or "Venice of America", with over two miles of canals, casinos, a social-club house, aquarium, dance pavilion and much more. For over 30 years, Angelinos rode the trolley to the beach to see different reincarnations of Kinney's vision. But after his death and the city's reincorporation into Los Angeles, many of the canals were cemented over and a number of piers and amusement parks burned to the ground. The Great Depression further brought the area into decline, until decades later when Ruth Galanter lobbied for restoration of the remaining few.