The canals were built in 1905 as a private real estate development named Short Line Beach Venice Canals Subdivision No. 1. They capitalized 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.
