By Helga Gendell
PAT REYNOLDS, the publisher of The Mariner magazine who writes Nautical News for The Argonaut, said he learned interesting historical facts when creating his documentary on Marina del Rey.
The Marina del Rey Historical Society hosted a social event March 20 for members and the public to watch a documentary about early Marina del Rey, learn about the former “Hoppyland Amusement Park,” and view an exhibit by an artist that featured the historic oil rigs of Venice. The event was held at the Marina del Rey Hotel, the first hotel built in Marina del Rey.
The Marina del Rey Historical Society, co-founded by photographer Greg Wenger and local businesswoman and sail maker Willie Hjorth in 2007, drew a crowd of about 100 people to the event. The documentary on Marina history was produced and edited by Pat Reynolds, local boater and publisher/editor of The Mariner, a local boating magazine. He also contributes to The Argonaut’s Nautical News on a monthly basis.
The Hoppyland Amusement Park feature (original film from the Rosemary Delarme collection) showcased a who’s who of Hollywood actors and their families at the grand opening of William (Bill) Boyd’s (an actor who portrayed the character Hopalong Cassidy) park. Hoppyland was located in the vicinity of what is now Via Dolce and Washington Boulevard, currently the location of Islands restaurant.
Reynolds, explained to The Argonaut how he became involved with producing a documentary for the society:
“Back in December, Tim Tunks, a member of the historical society, asked if I would write something for their quarterly newsletter. Over the past few years I’ve been getting into video shooting and editing, so I asked if they would rather I produce a short documentary on the history of Marina del Rey. With the materials and experts they had available, I could have an actor friend of mine narrate it and maybe I could be like a ‘little Ken Burns, Jr.’ They said, ‘sure, go for it.’
“I knew before I offered that it was going to be an undertaking, because frankly, I didn’t know that much about local history and would have to get up to speed just to be able to navigate the project. As I delved in, I tasted what being an historian must be like. It’s fascinating; every area of this sort of an informational puzzle needs to be assembled,” Reynolds continued.
“It’s so interesting to look back and see what situations caused the people of an era to make the choices they made, and then to follow those effects into our own lives. For example, in the case of Marina del Rey, I never knew that a mosquito problem played a relevant role in where we are today. And those mosquitoes were there because of dirty oil wells that once inhabited this area.”
Reynolds said he isn’t sure how long it took to create the documentary. “With the conducting of interviews, writing the script, editing, recording the narration, assembling music, scanning photographs, and creating titles and graphics, it was a project,” he noted.
He said the narrator was Norman Merrill, an actor who appeared on “Knot’s Landing” and in other roles. Former Argonaut writer Judith Endler was also instrumental in the process, Reynolds said. “Judith has studied the history of this area quite a bit, and was working on a book at one point. She and I had numerous conversations that helped me to better understand the evolution of Marina del Rey.
“I originally was going to go from the late 1800s to the present, but quickly realized that it would take a long time to pull off and it would need to be a longer piece. I chose to go from the late 1800s to the conception of the harbor in the 1960s, because I think, for lots of people, the more distant history is more interesting. I hadn’t found many solid synopsis-type materials about the area’s history, and some, I came to understand, weren’t accurate, so that led me to that time frame,” Reynolds said.
Due to illness, artist JoAnn Cowans was unable to attend the screening event, but her exhibits were displayed. Cowans recalled that when she moved to Venice, the oil derricks were slowly being dismantled, and she was inspired by the sight, spending two years walking, painting and sketching what she saw in her neighborhood.
She donated several of her postcard colored prints of her paintings as door prizes, and donated a signed color print of one her valued oil well paintings for the fundraising raffle at the event, according to the historical society.
Historical society member Debbie Talbot, who also works for with the Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors, was asked several questions by audience members about various Marina projects.
The main question was why the American flag at the Marina’s main channel entrance hadn’t been replaced after the harbor had been dredged until recently. Talbot explained that the flag had been removed because the lighting had to be disconnected during the dredging. She told the audience that the county is exploring various ways to replace the lighting, possibly with solar energy, but assured the audience that the issue is being worked on and the flag will be properly lighted.
The Marina del Rey Historical Society can be reached at (310) 578-1001, or by mail, P.O. Box 9550, Marina del Rey, CA 90295-1950. Information, www.marinadelreyhistoricalsociety.org.
Perhaps Playa del Ray residents recall a different site but as a former Venice resident, I remember Boat races were held at what was called “Mud Lake” in the now marina. Also an acitve local dump was visable from Washington St. This air was filled with the smell of oil. It was a rather forgotten area after WWII until the Marina project, 1960’s.
Here’s a piece on Mud Lake: https://argonautnews.wpengine.com/mothers-beach-was-once-mud-lake/
Marina Del Rey, is not a place, it’s a replacement “Federal designation”, for the International Harbor, Created by the US Congress in the 1954 rivers and Harbors act, as the Playa del Rey, Inlet Harbor, & Venice. The name / Designation was changed by Senator Roosevelt’s bill HR 157, that became Public Law 87-402, Which ordered the international harbor created by the US Congress, as the Playa del Rey, inlet harbor and Venice, “be known and designated as Marina del Rey, and the address used is Marina del Rey, Los Angeles California” as of Feb. 2, 1962.
According to the federal government’s manual, Marina del Rey, Los Angeles California is “Federal public Land.” Which makes it subject to the home stead act.
CFR title 36 § 327.22 Unauthorized occupation. (a) Occupying any lands, buildings, vessels or other facilities within water resource development projects for the purpose of maintaining the same as a full or part-time residence without the written permission of the District Commander is prohibited.
Appendix A to §327.30—Guidelines for Granting Shoreline Use Permits: 2. Applications for Shoreline Use Permits: (2) Private floating recreation facilities, including boat mooring facilities shall not be constructed or used for human habitation or in a manner which gives the appearance of converting Federal public property on which the facility is located to private, exclusive use. New docks with enclosed sides (i.e. boathouses) are prohibited.
The question is, is the person issuing Live a Board permits, a USCG District Commander, impersonating an LA Sherriff, or an LA Sherriff impersonating a USCG District Commander?
As an ongoing water works project run by USACE under thier manual contained in Code of Federal Regulations title 36 sec 327, 0-31 If all revenue is being turned over to the US Treasury why would anyone want control of MDR the 8 federal agancies assigned it don;t want anything to do with it, or the 1972 & 1983 treaties congress signed requiring it to be under federal control. But the US Supreme court has done that for over 200 years, from Gibbons v Ogden 1824 to Lozman v Riviara beach Florida 1/15/2013.