THE GREAT VENICE BEACH ROMP
By Jay de Leon

Saturday, March 15, 2008 dawned bright and sunny in California, after about a week of cloudy weather. It was perfect for a California outing for three aging Luxid capitalists—Johnny Noble, Manny Tiangha, and myself.

Johnny Noble had flown in from his home base in New York City, New York to Los Angeles, California. Manny and I decided to take Johnny on a Saturday outing in Los Angeles. We decided to go topless (in Manny’s Porsche convertible) to world-famous Venice Beach in Los Angeles.

No, no, not this Venice, Italy.  The other Venice.

This one, Venice Beach in Los Angeles, California, USA.

And this one…

For those of you who have never been to Venice Beach, California, here is a write-up on it.

“Venice of America was founded by tobacco millionaire Abbot Kinney in 1905 as a beach resort town, 14 miles west of Los Angeles. He and his partner Francis Ryan had bought two miles of ocean front property south of Santa Monica in 1891. They built a resort town called Ocean Park on the north end of the property, which was soon annexed to Santa Monica.

Venice Beach is understood to include the beach, the promenade that runs parallel to the beach ("Ocean Front Walk" or just "the boardwalk"), Muscle Beach, the handball courts, the paddle ball courts, Skate Dancing plaza, the numerous beach volleyball courts, the bike trail and the businesses and residences that have their addresses on Ocean Front Walk. It is a great magnet for tourists, even from other parts of Los Angeles, and is well-known for its eclectic, counter-culture atmosphere.

While there is a sandy three-mile beach here, that is not what attracts visitors. You go to Venice to shop and gawk.

During the summer season and on weekends, there is street entertainment at every intersection along Ocean Front Walk. Street performers include instrumental musicians, singers, jugglers, acrobats, mimes, comics, magicians, prophets, fortune tellers, and other assorted entertainers. You will see people with tricolor hairdos, painted faces, weird tattoos, and outlandish clothing--or lack of it.

The Boardwalk is a virtual sidewalk circus, a walk 'n' rolling skin show. There are lots of funky shops, too, if you want to eat out of the ordinary or buy an unusual souvenir or T-shirt. There are courts for basketball, handball, shuffleboard and paddle tennis. Muscle Beach is a special area where fanatic bodybuilders pump iron in a public show of strength.”

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