They were walking home that night. It wasn't late, and they had not been drinking when they saw the apparition. They were crossing one of the many bridges that cross the canals of Venice, the canals that give the beach community its distinctive flavor. It was a dark night when the two saw coming toward them what appeared to be two large black dogs. They looked like they were running side by side. As they approached, another thing appeared; a top hat, floating in the air five feet above the "dogs." As the image drew closer, the witnesses observed that what they thought were two dogs were tall boots! A cape appeared, a vest, and as the phantom slowly materialized, they saw it was a man with a cane. He was dressed as if he was going to the opera! They watched as the figure walked passed them on the other side of the bridge. As he continued to walk away, they watched as the cane, the cape, the clothing and the hat vanished, leaving only the boots to walk into the darkness of the night.

Who is the well-dressed ghost that walks the canals of Venice? It is believed to be the restless phantom of Venice builder and dreamer, Abbot Kinney.

In the first years of the Twentieth Century wealthy real estate developer and cigarette king Abbot Kinney planned his ultimate fantasy - to build his own version of Venice, Italy, on the marshlands south of Santa Monica. He had engineers design a system of canals to carry away the water and the team of architects to design the ornate chain of buildings - exotic hotels, pavilions, restaurants, bath houses and businesses. He even built a 1600 foot pier for fishing and strolling, then a popular form of entertainment at the turn of the century.

The new Venice opened on the Fourth of July, 1905. Gondolas and singing gondoliers drifted down the canals and, for a time, it was believed that the California Venice would indeed become the cultural center of Southern California. But, by the 1920's, the dream of Abbot Kinney had faded away and Venice quickly just became another beachside community.

There was a time when Venice was used by the greats of silent Hollywood - Chaplin relaxed at the Waldorf Hotel, Rudolph Valentino danced at the St. Mark's Hotel, Douglas Fairbanks ate ice cream cones on the ocean front walk, and Marion Davies - actress and mistress to William Randolph Hearst enjoyed hot dogs on the pier. Carole Lombard rode the roller coaster with Claudette Colbert. Venice was the Disneyland of the day. In 1925 the faltering community was incorporated into the City of Los Angeles. The last mayor of Venice, Thomas H. Thurlow, admitted with 20/20 hindsight that joining the City of Los Angeles was a mistake. "We committed suicide." he commented. "That's what we called it and that's what it was." Los Angeles filled many of the canals, built roads and opened the community to oil developers. Venice became nothing more than an industrial park. The dream was killed by neglect and the rush to exploit oil reserves discovered in the beach community. The ghost of Abbot Kinney has reason to walk the night. His shade has reason to inspect the city he planned and reason to be angry that what should have been a California jewel became a soiled suburb of the urban sprawl of Los Angeles. Perhaps, as the community is restored and Venice becomes an artist's colony, another of Kinney's dreams, his ghost will at last rest in peace.