{"nrhp_refnum":"82002193","name":"Venice Canal Historic District","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Roughly bounded by Grand, Carroll, Eastern, and Sherman canals","address_restricted":false,"city":"Los Angeles","county":"Los Angeles County","state":"CA","lat":33.982277605000036,"lon":-118.46563013799316,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1982-08-30","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A historic district made up of the public right of way of six canals (Carroll, Linnie, Howland, Sherman, Eastern and part of Grand Canal) in Venice, Los Angeles, California, built from 1905 as the Short Line Beach Venice Canal Subdivision Number 1. It covers about 12.11 acres and is city-owned.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the district is an early example of community and recreational planning in a coastal marshland area. It holds the major remaining portion of the Venice canal system and shows how railway builders Moses Sherman and Eli Clark paired transit with land development. The canal system is described as unique in the region and the state, and the six canals retain the integrity of the original development.","narrative":"Six canals in the Venice area of Los Angeles form this district, which covers the public rights of way rather than the private houses beside them. Laid out in 1905 as the Short Line Beach Venice Canal Subdivision Number 1, the system includes four parallel canals about 1,100 feet long, a bordering Grand Canal and Eastern Canal. The channels have a trapezoidal cross section lined with clay, with concrete banks and walks, four concrete vehicular bridges and nine wooden pedestrian bridges. Railway executives Moses Sherman and Eli Clark sponsored the development, which was patterned after Venice, Italy and tied to the Venice Short Line railway. The canals to the north were filled and paved starting in 1929, which leaves this group as the major surviving portion of the system. The canals have kept their basic design since 1905, though silt, pollution and aging bridges have taken a toll. Adjacent housing is a mix of eras and was excluded from the boundary.","period_of_significance":"1905-1920","architect_builder":"Moses Sherman/Eli Clark","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"The canals are described as deteriorated, with silt, debris and pollutants, and the bridges, courts and sidewalks are substandard or deteriorated. They remain publicly owned and maintained by the City of Los Angeles.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:28.010606-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/82002193.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82002193/7506789f92-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82002193/7506789f92-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Carol M. Highsmith","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Highsmithvenicecanals.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Carol M. Highsmith</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Highsmithvenicecanals.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123859591","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venice_Canal_Historic_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7919977"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/los-angeles-county/venice-canal-historic-district-82002193/"}