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Changing Face of Southern California

Lagoon, showing gondola and Race through the Clouds, Venice, Cal.

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Lagoon, showing gondola and Race through the Clouds, Venice, Cal.

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Identifier	post_00162
Title	Lagoon, showing gondola and Race through the Clouds, Venice, Cal.
Creator	unknown
Date Published	1911-1915
Subject (Topic)	Canals--California--Los Angeles; Gondolas--California--Los Angeles; Boats and boating--California--Los Angeles; Roller coasters--California--Los Angeles;
Subject (Name)	Race thru the Clouds (Los Angeles, Calif.);
Subject (Place)	Venice (Los Angeles, Calif.);
Type	image
Form/Genre	Postcards
Physical Description	1 postcard : Color ; 9 x 14 cm.
Institution	Department of Archives and Special Collections, William H. Hannon Library, Loyola Marymount University
Country of Creation	US
Copyright Status	public domain
Copyright Statement	http://library.lmu.edu/generalinformation/departments/digitallibraryprogram/copyrightandreproductionpolicy/
Publisher	M. Kashower Co.
Place of Publication	Los Angeles, Cal.
Language	eng
Description	View of the grand lagoon in Venice, California looking toward the south. Tourists ride in a gondola on the lagoon. Four empty rowboats appear on the right side of the image. The Race thru the Clouds roller coaster appears on the bank of the lagoon.
Historical Background	Originally part of the Ocean Park district of Santa Monica, Abbot Kinney's vision of Venice in America was developed starting in 1904, complete with a canal system and singing gondoliers. Canal construction began in 1904, and in 1905 construction of an amusement pier began. Another amusement area was built on the shore of the grand lagoon, which later became the Venice traffic circle. Known as the Midway Plaisance, this amusement area was torn down in 1910 to be replaced by a roller coaster. The Race thru the Clouds coaster opened on July 4, 1911. It was the first racing roller coaster on the West Coast. Over the years several improvements were made to the roller coaster to make it steeper and faster. It operated until 1924, when it was torn down. By 1929, many of the canals in Venice had been filled in and paved as roads due to health and engineering problems.
Publisher's Identifier	Series number: 79; Written in lower left corner of photograph: "4232"
Source	Werner von Boltenstern Postcard Collection