Abbot Kinney
Encyclopedia
Abbot Kinney was a developer
and conservationist
. Kinney is best known for his "Venice of America
" development in Los Angeles.
and became known in politics. His aunt's husband was Senator
James Dixon
of Connecticut
.
At the age of 16, the 6 in 2 in (1.88 m) Kinney went to Europe
, where he studied in Heidelberg
, Paris
and Zürich
and became fluent in six languages. A walking tour of Italy
took him to Venice
and the Italian Riviera
. Returning to Washington in 1869 he joined the Maryland National Guard and in 1873 was able to join a U. S. Geological Survey team to map the Sioux
reservations of the Dakotas
. He traveled to Salt Lake City and Oregon
and rejoined the survey team in the Yosemite Valley
.
Kinney joined his older brother's, Francis S. tobacco
business with offices in New York
in 1874. The Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company
did much of its purchasing in the southern states
and then took an interest in imported tobaccos. In 1876, Abbot traveled to Egypt
and Ottoman Macedonia
.
, Ceylon, New Guinea
, Australia
and Hawaii
. After his arrival in San Francisco in January 1880, his train travel east was delayed by snow. So, Kinney, an asthmatic, improvised with side trip to a Southern California
health resort, the Sierra Madre Villa Hotel. After showing up without a reservation, he slept on a billiard table in the parlor, where he awoke in the morning free of asthma symptoms. This positive experience inspired him to purchase 550 acres (2.2 km²) of nearby property, which he named "Kinneloa".
, where ranchers typically set fires to clear land for livestock grazing, but then, as a result, subsequent rainfalls led to flooding in the valleys.
On his own property, he developed land management techniques for raising livestock alongside cultivated forests. Aided by his friend naturalist John Muir
, Kinney established the San Gabriel Timberland Reserve
in December 1892, forerunner to the Angeles National Forest
.
In 1883, Kinney and Helen Hunt Jackson
co-wrote a report for the U.S. Department of the Interior on the condition of California Mission Indians
. This report and others led to the Mission Indian Act of 1891, which created a commission to seek to establish or confirm reservations in Southern California.
In 1887, Kinney established the nation's first forestry station in Rustic Canyon on 6 acres (24,281.2 m²) of land donated by Santa Monica co-founder John P. Jones
(also a U.S. Senator from Nevada), and Arcadia Bandini de Stearns Baker
. One of the station's projects was a study of the newly introduced eucalyptus
trees.
. Kinney formed the Santa Monica Improvement Company in 1887 and built a lawn tennis
club. In 1887 Kinney purchased 247 acre (0.99957442 km²) of land on the bluffs north of Santa Monica Canyon to be developed as "Santa Monica Heights", but economic conditions forced Kinney to abandon the project. Collis P. Huntington of Southern Pacific Railroad bought the property in 1891 and renamed it "Huntington Palisades." Kinney shifted his attention to the coastal area south of Santa Monica.
line north to his resort.
Ryan died in 1898, and his widow's new husband, Thomas Dudley, sold their half interest to a group of men (Fraser, Gage and Merritt Jones) not to Kinney's liking. With a flip of a coin, which Kinney won, he took the marshy southern half to build his Venice of America.
-like Assembly lost $16,000 the first summer. By December 1905, Kinney knew his dream of creating a great cultural mecca had failed and, ever the astute businessman, he turned his attention to accommodating the wishes of the public. The character of Venice succumbed to the beach-goers and summer holiday guests who frequented the community's many amusement attractions. Venice came to be known as the "Coney Island of the Pacific." By mid-January 1906, an area was built along the edge of the Grand Lagoon patterned after the amusement thoroughfares of the great 19th and 20th century expositions. It featured foreign exhibits, amusements, and freak shows. Trolley service was available from Downtown Los Angeles and nearby Santa Monica. Visitors were dazzled by the system of canal
s complete with gondola
s and gondoliers brought in from Venice
, Italy. There were ornate Venetian-style businesses and a full-sized amusement pier
. Around the entire park, a miniature steam railroad ran on a 2+1/2 mi track. Kinney and some of the nearby residents were aghast at some of the low-class shows that Venice began to offer, but it was considered the best collection of amusement devices on the Pacific Coast, and made a handsome profit.
Eventually, Kinney gained control of city politics and had the name changed from "Ocean Park" to "Venice" in 1911. Kinney was also allowed to build a 60 feet (18.3 m) breakwater to protect his facilities from storm tides.
, Kinney met Margaret Thornton, daughter of California Supreme Court
Justice James Dabney Thornton. They were married in November 1884 and had seven children, three of whom died during childhood. When Margaret died in June 1911, Kinney married his mistress Winifred Harwell in 1914, formally adopting his two children by her.
Kinney died suddenly in November 1920. He is buried at Woodlawn Memorial Cemetery, Santa Monica
.
Venice became part of the city of Los Angeles
in October 1925. The Venice of America canals came under sharp scrutiny by the health department. The lack of water circulation through the system left the waters turbid and malodorous. The bulk of the canals were paved over in 1929 after a protracted three-year court battle. The remaining canal district stayed in poor condition until extensively renovated in 1992. The canals have since become an expensive residential section and many large, modern houses have been built. The Venice Canal Historic District
was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1982, and as a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument
.
The Venice Pier's demise came in 1946 when the city did not renew the lease on the tidelands.
Real estate development
Real estate development, or Property Development, is a multifaceted business, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw land and the sale of improved land or parcels to others...
and conservationist
Conservationist
Conservationists are proponents or advocates of conservation. They advocate for the protection of all the species in an ecosystem with a strong focus on the natural environment...
. Kinney is best known for his "Venice of America
Venice Canal Historic District
The Venice Canal Historic District is a district in the Venice section of Los Angeles, California. The district is noteworthy for its man-made canals built in 1905 by developer Abbot Kinney as part of his Venice of America plan. Kinney sought to recreate the appearance and feel of Venice, Italy...
" development in Los Angeles.
Early life
Kinney's family moved to Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
and became known in politics. His aunt's husband was Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
James Dixon
James Dixon
James Dixon was a United States Representative and Senator from Connecticut.-Biography:Born in Enfield, Connecticut, Dixon pursued preparatory studies, and graduated from Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts in 1834, where he had been a charter member of The Kappa Alpha Society. He was...
of Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
.
At the age of 16, the 6 in 2 in (1.88 m) Kinney went to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, where he studied in Heidelberg
Heidelberg
-Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...
, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and Zürich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
and became fluent in six languages. A walking tour of Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
took him to Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
and the Italian Riviera
Italian Riviera
The Italian Riviera, or Ligurian Riviera is the narrow coastal strip which lies between the Ligurian Sea and the mountain chain formed by the Maritime Alps and the Apennines...
. Returning to Washington in 1869 he joined the Maryland National Guard and in 1873 was able to join a U. S. Geological Survey team to map the Sioux
Sioux
The Sioux are Native American and First Nations people in North America. The term can refer to any ethnic group within the Great Sioux Nation or any of the nation's many language dialects...
reservations of the Dakotas
The Dakotas
The Dakotas is a collective term that refers to the U.S. states of North Dakota and South Dakota together. The term has been used historically to describe the Dakota Territory, and is continued to be used to describe the collective heritage, culture, geography, fauna, sociology, the economy, and...
. He traveled to Salt Lake City and Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
and rejoined the survey team in the Yosemite Valley
Yosemite Valley
Yosemite Valley is a glacial valley in Yosemite National Park in the western Sierra Nevada mountains of California, carved out by the Merced River. The valley is about long and up to a mile deep, surrounded by high granite summits such as Half Dome and El Capitan, and densely forested with pines...
.
Kinney joined his older brother's, Francis S. tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
business with offices in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
in 1874. The Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company
Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company
The Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company was part of the famed American Tobacco Company and housed in a row of New York City Buildings 200 feet long and 100 feet deep and 4 stories high from 515 to 525 West 22nd Street. At the 513 address was a salesroom and at 529 was a 5-story building of the packing...
did much of its purchasing in the southern states
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
and then took an interest in imported tobaccos. In 1876, Abbot traveled to Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
and Ottoman Macedonia
Macedonia (region)
Macedonia is a geographical and historical region of the Balkan peninsula in southeastern Europe. Its boundaries have changed considerably over time, but nowadays the region is considered to include parts of five Balkan countries: Greece, the Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria, Albania, Serbia, as...
.
Kinneloa
Instead of returning home, Kinney took an extended vacation through Europe, IndiaIndia
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Ceylon, New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
. After his arrival in San Francisco in January 1880, his train travel east was delayed by snow. So, Kinney, an asthmatic, improvised with side trip to a Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
health resort, the Sierra Madre Villa Hotel. After showing up without a reservation, he slept on a billiard table in the parlor, where he awoke in the morning free of asthma symptoms. This positive experience inspired him to purchase 550 acres (2.2 km²) of nearby property, which he named "Kinneloa".
Conservationist
Kinney was appointed to a three-year position as chairman of the California Board of Forestry. There he developed an agency to protect the forests of the San Gabriel MountainsSan Gabriel Mountains
The San Gabriel Mountains Range is located in northern Los Angeles County and western San Bernardino County, California, United States. The mountain range lies between the Los Angeles Basin and the Mojave Desert, with Interstate 5 to the west and Interstate 15 to the east...
, where ranchers typically set fires to clear land for livestock grazing, but then, as a result, subsequent rainfalls led to flooding in the valleys.
On his own property, he developed land management techniques for raising livestock alongside cultivated forests. Aided by his friend naturalist John Muir
John Muir
John Muir was a Scottish-born American naturalist, author, and early advocate of preservation of wilderness in the United States. His letters, essays, and books telling of his adventures in nature, especially in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, have been read by millions...
, Kinney established the San Gabriel Timberland Reserve
San Gabriel Timberland Reserve
The San Gabriel Timberland Reserve was the first federal reserve in the state of California. It was established on December 20, 1892 by proclamation order of President Benjamin Harrison and consisted of extending from Pacoima to Cajon Pass in Southern California. The San Gabriel Timberland Reserve...
in December 1892, forerunner to the Angeles National Forest
Angeles National Forest
The Angeles National Forest of the U.S. National Forest Service is located in the San Gabriel Mountains of Los Angeles County, southern California. It was established on July 1, 1908, incorporating the first San Bernardino National Forest and parts of the former Santa Barbara and San Gabriel...
.
In 1883, Kinney and Helen Hunt Jackson
Helen Hunt Jackson
Helen Maria Hunt Jackson, born Helen Fiske , was a United States writer who became an activist on behalf of improved treatment of Native Americans by the U.S. government. She detailed the adverse effects of government actions in her history A Century of Dishonor...
co-wrote a report for the U.S. Department of the Interior on the condition of California Mission Indians
Mission Indians
Mission Indians is a term for many Native California tribes, primarily living in coastal plains, adjacent inland valleys and mountains, and on the Channel Islands in central and southern California, United States. The tribes had established comparatively peaceful cultures varying from 250 to 8,000...
. This report and others led to the Mission Indian Act of 1891, which created a commission to seek to establish or confirm reservations in Southern California.
In 1887, Kinney established the nation's first forestry station in Rustic Canyon on 6 acres (24,281.2 m²) of land donated by Santa Monica co-founder John P. Jones
John P. Jones
John Percival Jones was an American politician who served for 30 years as a Republican United States Senator from Nevada. He made a fortune in silver mining and was a co-founder of the town of Santa Monica, California....
(also a U.S. Senator from Nevada), and Arcadia Bandini de Stearns Baker
Arcadia Bandini de Stearns Baker
Arcadia Bandini de Stearns Baker was a wealthy Los Angeles landowner.-Early life in San Diego:Arcadia Bandini born 1825 in San Diego, California, the eldest of three daughters of Juan Bandini and Marie de los Dolores Estudio. Arcadia and her two sisters were considered the most beautiful women of...
. One of the station's projects was a study of the newly introduced eucalyptus
Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus is a diverse genus of flowering trees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Members of the genus dominate the tree flora of Australia...
trees.
Santa Monica
Kinneloa did not suit Kinney's first wife Margaret Kinney in the summer months, and in 1886 they built a summer home in Santa MonicaSanta Mônica
Santa Mônica is a town and municipality in the state of Paraná in the Southern Region of Brazil.-References:...
. Kinney formed the Santa Monica Improvement Company in 1887 and built a lawn tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
club. In 1887 Kinney purchased 247 acre (0.99957442 km²) of land on the bluffs north of Santa Monica Canyon to be developed as "Santa Monica Heights", but economic conditions forced Kinney to abandon the project. Collis P. Huntington of Southern Pacific Railroad bought the property in 1891 and renamed it "Huntington Palisades." Kinney shifted his attention to the coastal area south of Santa Monica.
Ocean Park
In 1891, Kinney and his partner, Francis Ryan, bought a controlling interest in Pacific Ocean Casino and a tract of land 1.5 miles (2.4 km) long and 1000 feet (304.8 m) wide along the Santa Monica beach. Kinney and Ryan built a pier, golf course, horse-racing track, boardwalk and other resort amenities. Kinney convinced the Santa Fe Railroad to extend its InglewoodInglewood, California
Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, southwest of downtown Los Angeles. It was incorporated on February 14, 1908. Its population stood at 109,673 as of the 2010 Census...
line north to his resort.
Ryan died in 1898, and his widow's new husband, Thomas Dudley, sold their half interest to a group of men (Fraser, Gage and Merritt Jones) not to Kinney's liking. With a flip of a coin, which Kinney won, he took the marshy southern half to build his Venice of America.
Venice of America
The Venice recreation area opened on July 4, 1905. Unfortunately for Kinney, the majority of the inhabitants of Venice of America did not share his interest in art and culture. Even though he hired the best lecturers and performers of the time, the ChautauquaChautauqua
Chautauqua was an adult education movement in the United States, highly popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Chautauqua assemblies expanded and spread throughout rural America until the mid-1920s. The Chautauqua brought entertainment and culture for the whole community, with...
-like Assembly lost $16,000 the first summer. By December 1905, Kinney knew his dream of creating a great cultural mecca had failed and, ever the astute businessman, he turned his attention to accommodating the wishes of the public. The character of Venice succumbed to the beach-goers and summer holiday guests who frequented the community's many amusement attractions. Venice came to be known as the "Coney Island of the Pacific." By mid-January 1906, an area was built along the edge of the Grand Lagoon patterned after the amusement thoroughfares of the great 19th and 20th century expositions. It featured foreign exhibits, amusements, and freak shows. Trolley service was available from Downtown Los Angeles and nearby Santa Monica. Visitors were dazzled by the system of canal
Canal
Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...
s complete with gondola
Gondola
The gondola is a traditional, flat-bottomed Venetian rowing boat, well suited to the conditions of the Venetian Lagoon. For centuries gondolas were the chief means of transportation and most common watercraft within Venice. In modern times the iconic boats still have a role in public transport in...
s and gondoliers brought in from Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
, Italy. There were ornate Venetian-style businesses and a full-sized amusement pier
Pier
A pier is a raised structure, including bridge and building supports and walkways, over water, typically supported by widely spread piles or pillars...
. Around the entire park, a miniature steam railroad ran on a 2+1/2 mi track. Kinney and some of the nearby residents were aghast at some of the low-class shows that Venice began to offer, but it was considered the best collection of amusement devices on the Pacific Coast, and made a handsome profit.
Eventually, Kinney gained control of city politics and had the name changed from "Ocean Park" to "Venice" in 1911. Kinney was also allowed to build a 60 feet (18.3 m) breakwater to protect his facilities from storm tides.
Published works
- 1890: Australian ballot system, Evening Express Co., 31 pages
- 1893: The Conquest Of Death, 259 pages
- 1893: Task by twilight, B.R. Baumgardt & Co, 211 pages
- 1895: Eucalyptus, B.R. Baumgardt & Co., (Read Books, ISBN 1408663090 334 pages, 2008)
- 1900: Forest and water, The Post Pub. Co.
Family life
In his travels to the California State Legislature in SacramentoSacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
, Kinney met Margaret Thornton, daughter of California Supreme Court
Supreme Court of California
The Supreme Court of California is the highest state court in California. It is headquartered in San Francisco and regularly holds sessions in Los Angeles and Sacramento. Its decisions are binding on all other California state courts.-Composition:...
Justice James Dabney Thornton. They were married in November 1884 and had seven children, three of whom died during childhood. When Margaret died in June 1911, Kinney married his mistress Winifred Harwell in 1914, formally adopting his two children by her.
Kinney died suddenly in November 1920. He is buried at Woodlawn Memorial Cemetery, Santa Monica
Woodlawn Memorial Cemetery, Santa Monica
Woodlawn Memorial Cemetery is located at 1847 14th Street in Santa Monica, California.-Notable burials:*Hugo Ballin , artist*Mabel Ballin , Actress*George Bancroft , actor...
.
Legacy
The Venice Pier business was carried on by Kinney's oldest son Thornton. In December 1920, however, the amusement pier was completely destroyed by fire, except for the new roller coaster and the bandstand tower. The operation was rebuilt and reopened in six months. The miniature railroad ran until 1924.Venice became part of the city of Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
in October 1925. The Venice of America canals came under sharp scrutiny by the health department. The lack of water circulation through the system left the waters turbid and malodorous. The bulk of the canals were paved over in 1929 after a protracted three-year court battle. The remaining canal district stayed in poor condition until extensively renovated in 1992. The canals have since become an expensive residential section and many large, modern houses have been built. The Venice Canal Historic District
Venice Canal Historic District
The Venice Canal Historic District is a district in the Venice section of Los Angeles, California. The district is noteworthy for its man-made canals built in 1905 by developer Abbot Kinney as part of his Venice of America plan. Kinney sought to recreate the appearance and feel of Venice, Italy...
was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1982, and as a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument
Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument
Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments are sites in Los Angeles, California, which have been designated by the Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission as worthy of preservation based on architectural, historic and cultural criteria.-History:...
.
The Venice Pier's demise came in 1946 when the city did not renew the lease on the tidelands.
Relationship
Abbot's adopted son, Thornton Parillo, left a government position and moved to New Brunswick, New Jersey, where he wrote stories and books on his father's experience in Southern California. Kinney's creative spirit continued on to his children and the next generation. Though much of Abbot Kinney's work has been demolised, the Venice Fishing Pier, some of the buildings and the once more extensive canals remain.External links
- Venice of America KCET Departures Venice
- Abbot Kinney Festival