CASE STUDY

OCEAN COURT

VENICE BEACH | LOS ANGELES, CA

Lovingly coined the "Venice Beach Shack", this small house was originally a crumbling shack reimagined into a modern beach pad. These photos only capture Phase 1 of construction which encompasses the interior reconfiguration and remodel of the kitchen, master bedroom, and bathroom in 550 SF. Phase 2 occurred after additional permits to add a 100 SF expansion connecting the house to the garage, along with the exterior upgrades and landscaping. This little minimal beach house is the ultimate in small space living. - Natalie Myers

PHOTOGRAPHER Jessica Alexander

INTERIOR DESIGNER Veneer Designs

COMMUNITY PLANNER Dario Rodman-Alvarez

FEATURED IN Dwell Magazine

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Venice of America or Venice Beach

Once called Venice of America, Venice Beach was founded in 1905 by Abbot Kinney as a 14-mile beach resort. His vision of a carnivalesque attraction with beachy marshlands, and roller coasters, came into the clash as the strike of black gold appeared on the beaches of Venice. What he was perpetually fond of creating an escape destination was soon turned into a petroleum oil field.

During the early to mid-1920, oil derricks started to tower over homes, schools, and orange groves; this was for much of the 20th century in Los Angeles, becoming a symbolic icon of oil production. Yet it was most striking to see them on Venice's beaches and shores. Yet another destination, Venice Canals, also had the same faith as the beach. During this same year, the canals started to make roads and lots for oil derricks.

Yet the good news of oil was short-lived as the oil was started to be dependent yearly beginning in 1932 and depleting the last ones by the 1990s. However, the neglect of the 30s created a hazardous immediate environmental and safety issue, with oil flooding lagoons, canals, schools, and the shoreline. The cleanup of this neglect took over a decade to clean the oil off the coastline and the waterways. – Jen Carlson (2015)

Source: University of Southern California Libraries and California Historical Society

Parcel Map & Land Subdivision

Parcel Map - Los Angeles Assessor Office

New Beach Shack

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