Lot of over 500 vintage postcards from Venice California. Venice, originally called "Venice of America", was founded by Abbot Kinney in 1905 as a beach resort town. He and his partner Francis Ryan had bought 2 miles of ocean-front property south of Santa Monica in 1891. In 1904, Kinney began to build a seaside resort like the namesake Italian city. When Venice of America opened on July 4, 1905, Kinney had dug several miles of canals to drain the marshes for his residential area, built a 1,200-foot-long pier with an auditorium, ship restaurant, and dance hall, constructed a hot salt-water plunge, and built a block-long arcaded business street with Venetian architecture. Attractions on the Kinney Pier became more amusement-oriented by 1910, when a Venice Miniature Railway, Aquarium, Virginia Reel, Whip, Racing Derby, and other rides and game booths were added. State:California City:Venice Date: Provenance: Ken Prag Collection