Venice Pavilion

The Venice Pavilion, originally built as recreation facility in the 1960's has played a multitude of roles based on its many contributing forces. For graffiti artists - walls, for musicians - a stage, for the homeless - shelter, and for skaters, a playground. The concrete amphitheater was criticized for blocking the view of the ocean and others felt it was built for hiding a derelict oil well. It was ignored by the city and overtime fell into disrepair. Its tear-down began in 2000, but as the city ran out of money the rubble became a mainstay of the beach, later buried under the sand. Remnants of the walls next to the skate park exist now almost as a reminder of the many layers of Venice's history.

The Pavilion
"In 1959 the recreation and parks department wanted to help revitalize Venice. In 1962, they said all the buildings west of the boardwalk had to be torn down."

The Walls
"In 1999, the city had the opportunity to remodel the entire ocean front walk. The area was remodeled and the California Coast Commission said that in order to tear down the pavilion, you had to save a portion of the walls as a memorial to the graffiti."