The area now known as Venice was originally founded as "Venice of America" by real estate magnate Abbot Kinney in the fledgling years of the 20th century. This idealistic beach community was built on reclaimed marshland and featured an amusement park, a heated indoor saltwater "plunge," a miniature railroad, and over 16 miles of canals, complete with Venetian gondolas and gondoliers.

Unfortunately, expensive upkeep and the rise of the automobile meant that most of the canals were paved over by 1929, and the remaining six eventually fell into disrepair. Fortunately, those six were restored in the early '90s, and today the neighborhood built around the canals is affluent and idyllic. Come to think of it, we suppose this sidebar might have more appropriately been named "Backwater."