35th Avenue

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Homes and oil derricks near and around 35th Avenue in the Venice Oil Field. This area is located south of Venice, in what is modern day Marina del Rey, sometimes historically referred to as Playa del Rey.The discovery of oil at the beginning of the Depression, at a time when there was little disposable income for Venice's amusement industry, brought the possibilities of untold wealth for the community. The Ohio Oil Company brought in a wildcat well on December 18, 1929 on county property just east of the Grand Canal at Avenue 35 (now Eastwind on the Marina Peninsula), only two blocks from the ocean. The well initially produced 3000 barrels a day of deep sand oil from a depth of 6199 feet. The company then asked for a zoning variance that would permit them to drill for oil within the city limits on the Venice Peninsula.The town's excitement soon turned to oil fever. Parcels of land and mineral rights rapidly traded hands.