Warren Wilson Beach House

In 1911, Warren Wilson had a two-story, Craftsman bungalow style beach house built in the resort town known then as Venice of America, founded in 1905. The building is now the Venice Beach House, with nine guest rooms and suites. It features a room named after Wilson and its own gardens. Wilson was publisher of an L.A. newspaper and a friend of the founder and builder of Venice of America, Abbot Kinney. The friends' children became married couples. Venice of America was annexed into the City of Los Angeles in 1925 and became the Venice neighborhood. The Warren Wilson Beach House became a National Register of Historic Places listing in 1986.

Warren Wilson was the publisher of a newspaper, the Los Angeles Daily Journal. He also was a buddy of Abbot Kinney, the mastermind and builder of the new resort city of Venice of America. The grand opening of the city, with canals and commercial architecture meant to evoke Venice, Italy, happened on July 4th, 1905. The public first got the chance to buy building lots for houses in November 1905. Wilson had eight children and built the beach house as a summer retreat for his large family. Two of Wilson's sons ended up marrying Kinney's daughters, further linking the families.

The house Warren Wilson built covers three lots he purchased in 1908 and is one of the few houses in town with a full yard. There were no immediate neighboring cottages when this house was built in 1911. The west side of the house faces the ocean and overlooks the side yard. The house is Craftsman style, with a muliple-gabled roof, a wide overhang, and many sets of casement windows. The front porch is connected by a glass door to a sunroom on the east. The first story is clad in stucco and the second in shiplap. Typical of Craftsman style, the interior features wood details like built-in bookcases, chair rails, and boxed beam ceilings. Changes to the beach house were minimal and in keeping with the original style. A pergola for shade on the formerly open-air second story on the front (south side) of the cottage was enclosed around the 1970s. The original rear (north) porch has been enclosed and a second story has been added above. The attached garage faces south and was rebuilt after a fire, along with a balcony on its second story, to match the original.

A number of famous folks have stayed at the Wilson Beach House, just a few hundred yards from the Venice Pier, including silent film star Charlie Chaplin. The Wilsons owned the cottage until 1945. The Boesch family (Phillip and Vivian) restored the Warren Wilson Beach House and its surrounding garden. The restoration into a bed and breakfast was given an award by the Venice Historical Society. The National Register listing int he 1980s was due to the house's significance in architecture, association with people important to Los Angeles history, and representation of early twentieth century beach settlement and vacation patterns. Renamed Venice Beach House since the 1980s, the building contains eight guest rooms and suites.

Los Angeles Relics. The Venice Beach House, Facebook. May 12th, 2016. Accessed April 28th, 2023. https://m.facebook.com/losangelesrelics/posts/the-venice-beach-housesouth-of-abbot-kennys-venice-warren-wilson-sat-on-a-white-/1319211028096359/.

Marsh, Diann. NRHP Nomination of Warren Wilson Beach House, Venice, California. National Register. Washington, DC. National Park Service, 1985.

Venice Beach House. History of the Venice Beach House, Venice Beach House. Accessed April 28th, 2023. https://www.venicebeachhouse.com/our-history1911.

Venice Neighborhood Council. Venice Landmarks, Venice Neighborhood Council. Accessed April 28th, 2023. https://www.venicenc.org/assets/documents/5/committee624cade406aeb.pdf.