Binoculars Building

Venice, Marina Del Rey & Playa del Rey


Formerly known as the Chiat/Day Building, this Frank Gehry–designed office building is home to Google and, thanks to its eye-catching architecture and the Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen sculpture out front (clue to its design in the name), makes for a fun photo stop on the north end of Venice.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Venice, Marina Del Rey & Playa del Rey attractions

1. Ballerina Clown

0.06 MILES

Even the artist, Jonathan Borofsky, has questioned the taste of this landmark sculpture of a ballerina in a bearded clown mask perched above the corner of…

3. Axiom Gallery

0.42 MILES

This spacious contemporary-art gallery featuring sculpture and canvases spread over two rooms always makes for a fun wander.

4. Jadis

0.46 MILES

Don’t miss this homespun, steampunk-paradise museum and shop, grinding with old gears and spare-part robots, antique clocks, concept planes and cars, old…

5. Venice Boardwalk

0.53 MILES

Prepare for a sensory overload on Venice's Boardwalk, a one-of-a-kind experience. Buff bodybuilders brush elbows with street performers and sellers of…

6. California Heritage Museum

0.58 MILES

For a trip back in time, check out the latest exhibit at this museum housed in one of Santa Monica’s few surviving grand Victorian mansions – this one…

7. Venice Reconstituted

0.6 MILES

Perhaps Venice's signature mural, it depicts an updated version of Botticelli's Birth of Venus, painted by Rip Cronk in 1989.

8. Abbot Kinney Boulevard

0.62 MILES

Abbot Kinney, who founded Venice in the early 1900s, would probably be delighted to find that one of Venice’s best-loved streets bears his name. Sort of a…