Venice alleys

boatIn Venice, the alleyways are the access to your garage.  They are behind every street.  We came home to a boat in our alley the other night.  You can’t make this up.  An abandoned boat.  Or perhaps just a better place to park it considering there is a parking plate on it.

This defines Venice.  It took me 4 phone calls talking to several arms of the police department to help.  They don’t answer phones until 8am either unless of course it is an emergency ( I would gather ).  The city runs very similar to how it was built.  Sprawling growth that just kept adding and adding.  Nothing is really decided with structured standards but judgement decisions based on the day or the wind that is blowing through the town.

It is fascinating and frustrating at the same time.  There is a reason people refer to this part of the world as LaLa land.

Comments (Archived):

  1. jason wright

    http://auto-numbers.com/usa…when every thing that can physically move becomes an IoT object on a blockchain then solutions to such problems may be closer to hand than having to call the police.

    1. Gotham Gal

      i am sure the police found the owner….at least i would hope so.

      1. jim forbes

        probably not. old boats and trailers here often have lapsed registration goinmg back at least two previous owners

  2. William Mougayar

    Haha. We have the same Lala land in Vancouver, and homes have back alleys that lead to the garage too 😉 That’s where you place your garbage bins on pick-up days.

    1. awaldstein

      Yup lived in both places and there is a similar feel from a street perspective though Vancouver is so epic and grand and defined by its beaches. Not so LA.When I was teaching at UBC I used to hold my poetry classes on Wreck Beach or inside the Museum of Anthropology and do readings of Bukowski and Jack Spicer and Charles Olsen.Such a good time of my life.

      1. William Mougayar

        yup.Wreck beach bum, eh?ᐧ

        1. awaldstein

          Lived in a basement apt in Kits and would wake every morning predawm and walk the beaches up and to UBC.I loved living in BC in those days from in city, to a series of tiny outback places in the N. Okanagan–Cherryville, Mara and 14 miles up a logging road in Trinity Valley in the Monashees. My son was born in Vernon.Read some of the work I wrote (as in typewriter) back then a while back. Still the same person.

          1. William Mougayar

            Vancouver is always on my mind.ᐧ

          2. awaldstein

            Gonna get up there a few times this year as a buddy lives in his boat in the harbor in the winter and way out in the islands in a cabin in the summer.A lifetime ago we ran bees together and had a business locating abandoned log cabins in the wilderness, taking them down, selling and reassembling them.What a long strange trip it’s been–and still going!

      2. Gotham Gal

        Bukowski. I love it

  3. TanyaMonteiro

    it would be so interesting swapping police with South Africa. such a contrast to east coast life

    1. Gotham Gal

      i am sure!

  4. jim forbes

    I rebuilt my beloved VW bus- I purchased it originally at the PX in Danang RVN in 1968 in the alley behind my house in Azusa two times. Most So California old towns have alleys.

  5. Kirsten Lambertsen

    Maybe you’ll find Nick Nolte back there next week 😉

    1. Gotham Gal

      LOL!!

    2. Donna Brewington White

      You’d be surprised… I am not much of a celebrity gazer but he is one that I’ve seen more than once out and about.

      1. Kirsten Lambertsen

        I used to have such a crush on him!

  6. ET

    When I saw your post title “Venice alleys” in my email I eagerly clicked the link within — thinking I was going to experience yet another visual treat with one of your beautiful or delectable journeys to Europe… But nope, not exactly! Glad someone was thoughtful enough to stay with the water transportation theme though. 😀

  7. pointsnfigures

    The fire in 1870 gave Chicago the great do-over. Didn’t have alleys prior. After everything was burned down, they built them in. I like it. I like NYC, but one thing that really is disconcerting to me is all the garbage bags on the street. Of course, they get a little icy in the winter! https://soundcloud.com/phis

  8. awaldstein

    Yup, love Venice.Whenever I really want to understand it a bit differently I rewatch American History X. Stunningly disturbing and forever thought provoking films.

  9. Reaction Commerce

    For next time, here’s a non-emergency number that’s worked great for us: 818-734-2223. We were given this number by the local police to report any issues, and I think it’s answered 24/7.Venice alleys aren’t always so bad. Last week, we found two great, slightly used, Herman Miller office chairs in a Venice alley. They are now happily used for a certain startup that you know well. 🙂

    1. Gotham Gal

      i love that. ok…number will be into the contacts today.

  10. Donna Brewington White

    But, to be fair, even in this part of the world, Venice is a LaLa Land unto itself. Haha!