Coin art is the performance of choice for Ray H.
Bailey on the Venice boardwalk.
"Venice is my destiny,” muses Chili, one of the dozens of
street performers and artists who help paint the scene on the
sun-drenched Venice Beach Boardwalk.
What began in the early 1900s as Abbot Kinney’s
unrelenting vision to re-create Italy’s Venice Canals has
evolved into a widely known Southern California tourist
attraction.
Venice Beach reached its peak of popularity in the 1970s and
’80s when crowds of people flooded the famous boardwalk on a
daily basis. Since that time, however, it has had its share of
setbacks. In the early ’90s, for example, the boardwalk was
shut down for various reasons including increased gang
activity.
Currently, superficial renovations and the infiltration of
upscale businesses have helped to return activity on the boardwalk
to the level it once was.
“It feels like it’s a lot safer now that
they’ve cleaned up over the past year,” said Jimmy
Trimble, a Los Angeles native who recently chose to live in the
Venice area. “It doesn’t seem like there’s as
much violence around here anymore.”
For some, the Boardwalk provides a different kind of safety.
Coin artist Ray H. Bailey has been a street performer in the Venice
area for over 12 years. If it were not for his performances on the
boardwalk, Bailey would not be able to make a living. He said that
he does not use food stamps or participate in General Relief.
“If not for this, I’d be eating out of trash
cans,” Bailey said.
While some frequent the boardwalk to perform, eclectic crowds
are regularly drawn to Venice for many other reasons.
The variety of activities such as handball, paddle tennis, body
building, and power-lifting tournaments attract many participants
and observers.
For Fred Roberts, the Boardwalk is the perfect place to enjoy
the company of a diverse crowd. Over the 12 years that he has been
frequenting Venice, he has made a group of close-knit friends.
“(Venice is) just fun, exercise, meeting interesting
people from different countries, and getting sun all in one,”
Roberts said.
Mike puts the finishing touches on one of his
customer’s new dragon tattoos. Fred Roberts
swings on the rings inside the Venice Beach ‘Sandbox.’ Balloonist
Chili places a crown atop of
Adrian as his father, Pedro,
looks on. J. Garcia winds up to return a handball
at the Venice Recreation Center’s big ball 3-wall
tournament.