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Venice boutique hotel turns Black history into a museum stay
The Redline Venice uses guest rooms, original art and phone-accessible exhibits to tell the stories of Black pioneers and workers who helped build and shape the beach community.
Rina Nakano reported for CBS Los Angeles that hotel founders Kamau Coleman and Michael Clinton originally planned apartments after buying the beachfront property during the pandemic. Research into Venice’s Black history changed that plan, leading them to create a boutique hotel and museum experience near the boardwalk.
Property: The Redline Venice
Concept: Boutique lodging paired with historical art and digital exhibits
Focus: Black and Brown workers, redlining, and Black surf and skate pioneers
Next markets: The founders told CBS they hope to expand the concept to New Orleans and Miami
Local history built into the rooms
One suite recognizes the Black and Brown laborers who dug Venice’s canals but were excluded from living in the area. Other displays address the discriminatory lending practice that inspired the hotel’s name, the neighborhood’s beatnik era, and Black surf and skate figures including Los Angeles lifeguard John Quincy Tabor Jr.
QR codes beside the artwork let guests learn more about the history and artists on their phones. The format gives visitors a way to engage with parts of Venice’s past that are easy to miss in the neighborhood’s better-known beach and entertainment narrative.
Original reporting: CBS Los Angeles — October 22, 2026 →