The short oil boom of Venice Beach, and its swift removal from the tourism-laden landscape.

Apartment building was once posh playground to the Hollywood elite.

Two men, two visionaries of Venice Beach, one little hotel that smells like cookies.

An increasingly eccentric apartment building, topped with winged beasties.

The words of the neighborhood's most famous poets adorn four concrete walls.

Legendary frontman of the Doors looms in this giant mural by famed Venice muralist, Rip Cronk.

60 feet of towering steel balances gracefully.

From pre-war whiskey cocktails to prohibition-era speakeasy secrecy, this bar has seen it all.

A black and white mural stands out from its psychedelic surroundings.

The real faces of Venice beach captured on Romanesque columns.

A lonely Gondola stuck on a traffic circle sits in a spot where it once would have floated down the Grand Canal.

An homage to the man who built California's version of Venice.

A gift from Abbot Kinney and a little bit of piece of Black history in Venice Beach.

Rainbow-hued local gem in Venice.

"The only replacement for a DC-3 is another DC-3."

Sister store to the Echo Park Time Travel Store.

Dioramas and animatronics lead you through the story of Bhagavad-gita, the Indian literary classic.

Where a great scandal unfolded with a famous female revivalist at its center.

In a city filled with Frank Gehry buildings, one stands out as one of the architect's weirder works.

A three-story, three-dimensional hobo clown in a tutu welcomes CVS shoppers.

Santa Monica's oldest restaurant, decorated with set pieces from the Mutiny on the Bounty.

This well-traveled chess park offers scenic views of the pacific and a colorful, eclectic clientele.

Giant origami crease patterns engraved in Santa Monica intersections may even be visible from space.

A second generation sun-powered marvel lights up the night.