Skip to main content

Image / Ship Cafe, scene of the crime

Have a question about this item?

Item information. View source record on contributor's website.

Title
Ship Cafe, scene of the crime
Alternative Title
Los Angeles Herald Examiner Photo Collection
Date Created and/or Issued
1928
Contributing Institution
Los Angeles Public Library
Collection
Los Angeles Public Library Photo Collection
Rights Information
Images available for reproduction and use. Please see the Ordering & Use page at http://tessa.lapl.org/OrderingUse.html for additional information.
Description
Title supplied by cataloger.; Photograph has a vertical crease the length of the picture on the right side.
Built in 1905, the Ship Cafe, part of The Ship Hotel was the place to go in Venice, California. The restaurant was built on pilings and was designed to be a replica of Juan Cabrillo's Spanish galleon. It was one of the great attractions of the original Venice Pier. High priced cuisine was served in the main dining room as well as in private salons on the second deck. The staff was uniformed like 16th century naval officers. In 1946 the city council voted to tear down the Venice Pier, including the Ship Cafe. Albert Marco, born Marco Albori, was an Italian bootlegger who was active in Los Angeles during the Prohibition Era in the 1920s. Marco worked closely with Charles H. Crawford, who ran city politics along with Kent Kane Parrot, a powerful attorney involved in city politics. On June 28, 1928 Marco was arrested and put on trial for assault with a deadly weapon when he shot Dominic Conterno and Harry Judson. He was found guilty on two counts and was sentenced to two seven-year terms. He was paroled in 1933 and deported to Italy. He returned to Los Angeles in 1937 hoping to permanently stay in the United States, but he was denied and ordered to return to Italy.
Photograph caption dated July 23, 1928 reads "Here is the entrance of the Ship Cafe, the scene of the mysterious shooting. After a rough and tumble fight in which Marco figured, two shots rang out and Conterno and Harry Judson, entertainer, fell wounded. Marco was standing in this entrance, and it was from this direction that the shots came, witnesses said."
Type
image
Format
1 photographic print :b&w ;21 x 26 cm.
Photographic prints
Identifier
00106486
Herald Examiner Collection
HE box 2112; HE-000-063 4x5
CARL0005337664
http://173.196.26.125/cdm/ref/collection/photos/id/31829
Subject
Marco, Albert--Trials, litigation, etc
Ship Cafe (Venice, Los Angeles, Calif.)
Restaurants--California--Venice (Los Angeles)
Mimetic architecture--California--Venice (Los Angeles)
Crime scenes--California--Los Angeles
Organized crime--United States
Crime--California--Los Angeles
Lost architecture--California--Venice (Los Angeles)
Venice (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Herald-Examiner Collection photographs

About the collections in Calisphere

Learn more about the collections in Calisphere. View our statement on digital primary resources.

Copyright, permissions, and use

If you're wondering about permissions and what you can do with this item, a good starting point is the "rights information" on this page. See our terms of use for more tips.

Share your story

Has Calisphere helped you advance your research, complete a project, or find something meaningful? We'd love to hear about it; please send us a message.

Explore related content on Calisphere: