Who needs Italy?

From Scenic Landsc...

For those of you that don't already know, Venice California, home to the famous Muscle Beach, was actually originally named for it's sister city in Italy. A very wealthy man purchased the current site of the city, and after considerable excavation, managed to create a series of canals and waterways similar to its namesake.

Alas, it was a big disaster. Nobody wanted to live there, and the mosquitoes were pretty bad. By the 50's most of it was filled in, and the area went downhill pretty quickly.

However, this story has a happy ending. A few years ago (don't know how many) the canals underwent extensive renovations, and about 3 miles of them are open now, and they are lined with million dollar homes about the size of a Volkswagen Van.

Seriously, it's pretty cool to see, and if you find yourself in LA, it's a top-5 thing to see as it's walking distance from Venice beach.