President's Row

Despite its name, nothing seems particularly “presidential” about this area of Venice. In fact, this barely seems like Venice at all. At its western edge, where Abbot Kinney forms the western border, President’s Row is a clutch of run of the mill commercial outlets including a self-storage yard, a welder and an auto repair shop. Only a few signs remind us of the super cool pedigree of the street, this being the French Market and the Lightspace Gallery. Over all, this western end of the neighborhood really does not seem to have the attractive power of the rest of the city.

As you head a little farther east into the neighborhood, you do come across some other signs that you are still in Venice. You find Feel Good Yoga, for example, and Wabbit Automotive, but overall this no longer really has the freeform feel of Venice.

At Zeno Place, President’s Row gives way to the residential third of the neighborhood that forms its heart. Here you will find the typical eclectic mix of Mission Revival Style homes with their stucco walls and clay tiled roofs (so common in LA neighborhoods), 50’s Ranch style homes, squat and long, and the unusual two story Prairie styles with ornamented gardens and little touches of decoration that make them unbearably quaint. Streets are fairly leafy and clean here with tall palms marking major thoroughfares. Rents are just below the average highs of the rest of Venice in this area and you can occasionally find some steals here.

The final third of President’s Row is almost exclusively given over to schools. Coeur Dalene Elementary is a highly effective school whose teachers, according to the LA Times recent study have been shown to be some of the most effective in LA and the school has an API rank of 9 out of 10. Nearby Saint Marks is also a well regarded Catholic School which is strong but under a bit of strain because of understaffing. Overall both are strong programs.

Along Lincoln Blvd. on the east and West Washington Blvd. on the south, you get the usual assortment of car rental and repair places, practical stores like a bicycle shop, and notaries like We the People. The restaurants are mostly chain type fast food places (think McDonalds and its ilk) but there are a couple of exceptions worth noting: 26 Beach, for fancy sandwiches and hamburgers; and C & O Trattoria, a laid back Italian place. Also notable is Garter, a great bar with quirky edge that has interesting cartoon-like alien graffiti outside, and a nice 1970’s feeling bar inside—occasionally, a live music joint as well.

Overall, President’s Row is nice forgotten area of Venice with something for virtually everyone, though largely overlooked which means it almost affordable.