Mayor Touts Google Opening in Venice

Los Angeles - Los Angeles -- Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa welcomed Google's arrival in Venice today, saying the move from Santa Monica to Los Angeles is a boon for the city's creative economy.

"Google's decision to move to Los Angeles is the latest sign that surf's up at L.A.'s "Silicon Beach,"' Villaraigosa said. "We see Google's L.A. opening as a catalyst that will usher in new jobs, more investment and a stronger tech industry to Los Angeles."

Google moved 500 workers from three separate locations in Santa Monica to a 100,000 square-foot campus that includes the Frank Gehry-designed Binoculars Building, a few blocks away from Venice Beach.

The company is seeking to recreate a campus feel similar to its main headquarters in Mountain View.

The mayor is hopeful Google's new campus will be a magnet for other tech firms.

The search engine's online map application already reflects the company's new location at 340 Main St. in Venice.

"My message to LA-based venture capitalists and entertainment companies is to invest in local technology firms," Villaraigosa said. "We have a growing creative economy in Los Angeles. Let's invest locally to help it thrive."

About three-quarters of the jobs at Google's new Venice location will be computer engineers. The rest will be sales jobs.