View source for Abbot Kinney

{{short description|American businessman, developer and conservationist best known for Venice, Los Angeles.}}
{{refimprove|date=December 2012}}
{{Infobox person
| name          = Abbot Kinney
| image         = Abbot Kinney portrait circa 1900.jpg
| alt           = <!-- descriptive text for use by speech synthesis (text-to-speech) software -->
| caption       = Kinney around 1900.
| birth_name    = <!-- only use if different from name -->
| birth_date    = {{Birth date|1850|11|16}}
| birth_place   = [[New Brunswick, New Jersey]]
| death_date    = {{Death date and age|1920|11|4|1850|11|16}}
| death_place   = [[Santa Monica, California]]
| nationality   = American
| other_names   = 
| occupation    = [[Real estate development]]
| years_active  = 
| known_for     = Founding [[Venice Canal Historic District|Venice of America]]
| notable_works = 
}}
'''Abbot Kinney''' (November 16, 1850 in [[New Brunswick, New Jersey]] – November 4, 1920 in [[Santa Monica, California]]) was an American [[Real estate development|developer]], [[conservation movement|conservationist]], water supply expert and tree expert.  Kinney is best known for his "[[Venice Canal Historic District|Venice of America]]" development in Los Angeles.

==Early life==
Kinney's family moved to [[Washington, D.C.]], and became known in politics. His aunt's husband was [[United States Senate|Senator]] [[James Dixon]] of [[Connecticut]].

At the age of 16, the {{convert|6|ft|2|in|m|adj=on}} Kinney went to [[Europe]], where he studied in [[Heidelberg]], [[Paris]] and [[Zürich]] and became fluent in six languages. A walking tour of [[Italy]] took him to [[Venice]] and the [[Italian Riviera]]. Returning to Washington in 1869 he joined the [[Maryland National Guard]] and in 1873 was able to join a [[U.S. Geological Survey]] team to map the [[Sioux]] reservations of [[the Dakotas]]. He traveled to [[Salt Lake City]] and [[Oregon]] and rejoined the survey team in the [[Yosemite Valley]].

In 1874, Kinney joined the [[tobacco]] business run by his older brother, Francis S. Kinney, with offices in [[New York City|New York]]. The [[Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company]] did much of its purchasing in the [[Southern United States|Southern states]] and then took an interest in imported tobaccos. In 1876, Abbot traveled to [[Khedivate of Egypt|Egypt]] and Ottoman [[Salonica Vilayet|Macedonia]].

==Kinneloa==
[[File:Side view of the exterior of Abbot Kinney's home, "Kinneloa", in Sierra Madre, ca.1905 (CHS-32679).jpg|thumb|right|Kinneloa c.1905]]

Instead of returning home, Kinney took an extended vacation through Europe, [[India]], [[Ceylon]], [[New Guinea]], [[Australia]] and [[Hawaii]]. After his arrival in [[San Francisco]] in January 1880, his plans to travel east by train were delayed by snow. So Kinney, an [[asthmatic]], improvised with a side trip to a [[Southern California]] health resort, the [[Sierra Madre, California#The new century|Sierra Madre Villa Hotel]]. After showing up without a reservation, he slept on a billiard table in the parlor, where he awoke in the morning free of asthma symptoms. This positive experience inspired him to purchase {{convert|550|acre|km2}} of nearby property, which he named "Kinneloa".<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20040207104730/http://www.smva.net/docs/history/villaloa199407.htm The History of the Kinneloa Ranch]</ref><ref>[http://www.veniceofamerica.org/pdf/mar_apr_2004_newsletter.pdf In Kinney's Own Words]</ref>

==Conservationist==
Kinney was appointed to a three-year position as chairman of the [[California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection|California Board of Forestry]]. There he developed an agency to protect the forests of the [[San Gabriel Mountains]], where ranchers typically set fires to clear land for livestock grazing, but then, as a result, subsequent rainfalls led to flooding in the valleys.

On his own property, he developed land management techniques for raising livestock alongside cultivated forests. Aided by his friend naturalist [[John Muir]], Kinney established the [[San Gabriel Timberland Reserve]] in December 1892, forerunner to the [[Angeles National Forest]].

In 1883, Kinney and [[Helen Hunt Jackson]] co-wrote a report for the [[U.S. Department of the Interior]] on the condition of [[Mission Indians|California Mission Indians]].<ref>{{cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d6kFAAAAQAAJ&q=1522&pg=RA1-PA120 |chapter=Report on the Condition and Needs of the Mission Indians of California... |title=Reports of Committees of the Senate of the United States... 1884-85 (48th Congress, 2nd session) |pages=120–150|last1=Senate |first1=United States. Congress |year=1885 }}</ref> This report and others led to the Mission Indian Act of 1891, which created a commission to seek to establish or confirm reservations in Southern California.<ref>Dale, E. E. (1949) ''The Indians of the Southwest'' (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press)</ref><ref>Sutton, I. (1964) "Land Tenure and Occupance Change on Indian Reservations in Southern California," Ph. D. Diss. in Geography (Los Angeles: UCLA).</ref>

In 1887, Kinney established the nation's [[Old Santa Monica Forestry Station|first forestry station]] in [[Rustic Canyon, Los Angeles|Rustic Canyon]] on {{convert|6|acre|m2}} of land donated by Santa Monica co-founder [[John Percival Jones|John P. Jones]] (also a U.S. Senator from Nevada), and [[Arcadia Bandini de Stearns Baker]].  One of the station's projects was a study of the newly introduced [[eucalyptus]] trees.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.kcet.org/updaily/socal_focus/history/la-as-subject/who-eucalyptized-southern-california.html|title=Who Eucalyptized Southern California?|first=Nathan |last=Masters|work=[[KCET]] Socal Focus|date=May 16, 2012}}</ref>

==Real estate developments==

===Santa Monica===
Kinneloa did not suit Kinney's first wife Margaret Kinney in the summer months, and in 1886 they built a summer home in [[Santa Monica]]. Kinney formed the Santa Monica Improvement Company in 1887 and built a [[tennis|lawn tennis]] club. In 1887 Kinney purchased {{convert|247|acre|km2}} of land on the bluffs north of Santa Monica Canyon to be developed as "Santa Monica Heights", but economic conditions forced Kinney to abandon the project. [[Collis Potter Huntington|Collis P. Huntington]] of the [[Southern Pacific Transportation Company|Southern Pacific Railroad]] bought the property in 1891 and renamed it "Huntington Palisades." Kinney shifted his attention to the coastal area south of Santa Monica.

===Ocean Park===
In 1891, Kinney and his partner, Francis Ryan, bought a controlling interest in Pacific Ocean Casino and a tract of land 1.5 miles (2.4&nbsp;km) long  and {{convert|1000|ft|m}} wide along the Santa Monica beach. Kinney and Ryan built a pier, golf course, horse-racing track, boardwalk and other resort amenities. Kinney convinced the [[Santa Fe Railroad]] to extend its [[Inglewood, California|Inglewood]] line north to his resort.

Ryan died in 1898, and his widow's new husband, Thomas Dudley, sold their half interest to a group of men (Fraser, Gage and Merritt Jones) not to Kinney's liking. With a flip of a coin, which Kinney won, he took the marshy southern half to build his Venice of America.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ingersoll |first=Luther A. |title=Ingersoll's Century History, Santa Monica Bay Cities |year=2008 |isbn=978-1-4086-2367-1 }}</ref> [[Abbot Kinney Boulevard]] is named for him.

===The Venice of America===
{{main article|Venice Canal Historic District}}
The [[Venice, Los Angeles|Venice]] recreation area opened on July 4, 1905. Venice came to be known as the "Coney Island of the Pacific." By mid-January 1906, an area was built along the edge of the Grand Lagoon patterned after the amusement thoroughfares of the great 19th and 20th century expositions. It featured foreign exhibits, amusements, and freak shows. Trolley service was available from Downtown Los Angeles and nearby Santa Monica. Around the entire park, a miniature steam railroad ran on a {{convert|2+1/2|mi|km|adj=on}} track. The park included a system of [[canal]]s complete with [[gondola]]s and [[gondolier]]s brought in from [[Venice]], Italy.  

There were ornate Venetian-style businesses and a full-sized amusement [[pier]] with an ocean aquarium featuring a seal and marine life. Kinney and some of the nearby residents were aghast at some of the low-class shows that Venice began to offer, but it was considered the best collection of amusement devices on the Pacific Coast, and made a significant profit.<ref>{{cite book |last=Alexander |first=Carolyn Elayne |title=Abbot Kinney's Venice-of-America |year=1991 |publisher=Los Angeles Westside Genealogical Society }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Alexander |first=Carolyn Elayne |title=Images of America: Venice |year=1999 |publisher=Arcadia |location=San Francisco |isbn=978-0-7385-2099-5 }}</ref>

Eventually, Kinney gained control of city politics and had the name changed from "Ocean Park" to "Venice" in 1911. Kinney was also allowed to build a {{convert|60|ft|m|adj=on}} long breakwater to protect his facilities from storm tides.

===Kinney Heights===
Around 1900 Kinney developed a suburban tract at what was then the western edge of the city of Los Angeles. Named [[Kinney Heights, Los Angeles|Kinney Heights]], the development attracted mostly upper-middle-class families who built large [[American Craftsman|Craftsman]] homes, many of which still stand.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/doc/293101013.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Oct%2001,%201995&author=MARILYN%20TOWER%20OLIVER&pub=Los%20Angeles%20Times%20(pre-1997%20Fulltext)&edition=&startpage=&desc=IN%20TOUCH%20WITH%20THE%20PAST;%20Craftsman-style%20homes%20in%20three%20neighborhoods%20recall%20gracious%20days%20of%20yore.%20Today%20they%20rate%20among%20L.A.'s%20best%20buys|title=In Touch with the Past: Craftsman-style homes in three neighborhoods recall gracious days of yore. Today they rate among L.A.'s best buys|last=Oliver|first=Marilyn Tower|date=October 1, 1995|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=28 July 2013}}</ref> The area is now part of the West Adams Terrace Historic Preservation Overlay Zone (HPOZ).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.preservela.com/archives/000654.html|title=Historic West Adams Tour|date=October 9, 2005|work=PreserveLA.com|access-date=28 July 2013}}</ref>

==Published works==
*1890: ''Australian Ballot System'', Evening Express Co., 31 pages
*1893: ''The Conquest of Death'', 259 pages
*1893: ''Task By Twilight'', B.R. Baumgardt & Co, 211 pages
*1895: ''Eucalyptus'', B.R. Baumgardt & Co., (Read Books, {{ISBN|1-4086-6309-0}},  334 pages, 2008)
*1900: ''Forest and Water'', The Post Pub. Co.

==Family life==
In his travels to the California State Legislature in [[Sacramento, California|Sacramento]], Kinney met Margaret Thornton, daughter of Associate [[Supreme Court of California|California Supreme Court]] Justice [[James D. Thornton]]. They were married in November 1884 and had seven children, three of whom died during childhood. After Margaret died in June 1911, Kinney married Winifred Harwell in 1914, formally adopting her two children by him.{{citation needed|date=December 2012}}

Kinney died suddenly in November 1920. He is buried at [[Woodlawn Memorial Cemetery, Santa Monica]].<ref>{{Find a Grave|10674073|accessdate=September 3, 2010}}</ref>

==Legacy==
The Venice Pier business was carried on by Kinney's oldest son Thornton. In December 1920, however, the amusement pier was completely destroyed by fire, except for the new roller coaster and the bandstand tower. The operation was rebuilt and reopened in six months. The miniature railroad ran until 1924.

Venice became part of the city of [[Los Angeles]] in October 1925. The Venice of America canals came under sharp scrutiny by the health department. The lack of water circulation through the system left the waters turbid and malodorous. The bulk of the canals were paved over in 1929 after a protracted three-year court battle. The remaining canal district stayed in poor condition until extensively renovated in 1992. The canals have since become an expensive residential section and many large, modern houses have been built. The [[Venice Canal Historic District]] was listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 1982, and as a [[Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument]].

The Venice Pier's demise came in 1946 when the city did not renew the lease on the tidelands.

Abbot's adopted son, Thornton Parillo, left a government position and moved to [[New Brunswick, New Jersey]], where he wrote stories and books on his father's experience in Southern California. Kinney's creative spirit continued on to his children and the next generation. Though most of Abbot Kinney's work has been demolished, some of his buildings and Venetian-style arches remain, along with his breakwater.

==In fiction==

In the [[urban fantasy]] / [[alternate history]] novel, ''California Bones'' ([[Tor Books]], June 2014), by [[Greg van Eekhout]], Abbot Kinney's Venetian experiment grew to encompass all of [[Los Angeles]], taking the place of what might otherwise have become L.A.'s metropolitan roads, becoming part of a [[hydraulic empire]] overseen by an immortal [[William Mulholland]].

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Portal|Biography}}
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Abbot Kinney |sopt=t}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100628172920/http://www.kcet.org/socal/departures/venice/venice-of-america/ KCET Departures: "Venice of America"]  
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110923151941/http://abbotkinney.org/ Abbot Kinney Festival]
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kinney, Abbot}}
[[Category:American real estate businesspeople]]
[[Category:American conservationists]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from California]]
[[Category:Land owners from California]]
[[Category:American tobacco industry executives]]
[[Category:Venice, Los Angeles]]
[[Category:1850 births]]
[[Category:1920 deaths]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Los Angeles]]
[[Category:People from Los Angeles]]
[[Category:People from New Brunswick, New Jersey]]
[[Category:People from Santa Monica, California]]
[[Category:People from the San Gabriel Valley]]
[[Category:Burials at Woodlawn Memorial Cemetery, Santa Monica]]
[[Category:19th century in Los Angeles]]
[[Category:20th century in Los Angeles]]
[[Category:Activists from California]]