Locals Fear A Change In Venice Beach Culture
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Venice Beach is one of the most eventful and intriguing places in Southern California. The eclectic nature of the town, as well the famous beach and boardwalk have made it an iconic destination for tourists, and a place of community and relaxation for the locals. Whether one is looking to work out, play basketball, surf, go on a bike ride down to Santa Monica, shop for unique clothing and jewelry, or simply watch the sunset over the Pacific Ocean, this is the place to do it.
There's a very unique spirit among those who live in Venice and make it the radiant center of street art and beach life that it is. During the 1960s Venice became the center of the Beat Generation, and the explosion of art, music, poetry and progressive culture that came about still lingers decades later. However, in a time of major technological development and social change, the artists, patrons and locals of Venice Beach fear that things are not what they once were.
The Sidewalk Café & Bar has been a Venice landmark for the past 25 years, serving great food with great views to tourists and Los Angeles natives alike. Located in the very center of the boardwalk, this café has become the perfect spot to relax and people watch. On any given day there are visitors taking pictures, bikers heading down to the Pier, artists displaying their work, and people of all walks of life coming together to enjoy the care-free beauty of Venice.
"There is never a dull day at work," said café bartender Bobby Lovell. "I've made drinks for millionaires, European tourists, the locals who have lived in Venice for the past 40 years, as well as the new-age-hippies celebrating their 21st birthday."
Right outside the restaurant, on the other side of the boardwalk, Steve Groosman has sat for the past 20 years with a guitar and a microphone singing to the patrons of Venice Beach. His band, Street Smart, has become the voice of Venice, and this man has seen the town and the beach he loves change drastically over the years.
"There used to be a time when it was okay to be politically incorrect. People came here to preach new ideas and new ways of thinking. People came here to listen to the truth politicians would not tell them. Artists who cared more about touching humanity than making money came here to paint and to sing. I was there during those days, and unfortunately I am one of the last ones who is still here," Groosman said after singing Hotel California for the customers of the Sidewalk Café and boardwalk pedestrians. "There was a time when a man could make a living singing on the beach, a time when people truly appreciated what I, along with all the other artists in Venice, did. I'm still here playing my music because I love Venice too much to leave, because my band and I want to preserve the true spirit of this town."
For Mr. Groosman and many other artists and shop owners, the people and the spirit of Venice have changed. What once was the center of explosive art and forward thinking is now becoming more and more a place of tourism and spectators. In the age of social media and instant communication, there are fewer people able to make a living selling their art and expressing their thought in a non-commercial manner.
Venice, although still full of beauty and hippie-energy, is not the cultural center of love and revolution that it once was. However, as Groosman pointed out, the one thing that is constant is the presence of change.
Although the culture of Venice Beach is slowly changing, every Sunday at sunset there are still musicians playing the drums on the beach as people dance and sing, in a celebration of life and love that will continue for years to come.
