Ventura is a city of 100,000 or so located about 70 miles West-Northwest of downtown LA. It's the seat of Ventura County and is rightly included in the blob that is greater Los Angeles.
Ventura is a coastal city not unlike Santa Barbara but was always much smaller. Suburbanization in the 1960's and the new 101 freeway gutted much of the city and left it not in a state of disrepair...just a little left behind. While Santa Barbara maintained its status as a coastal destination, Ventura oddly became a way station of sorts and a place for people to live who couldn't afford Santa Barbara (thus the population growth).
The city now is a city on the rise. A very progressive city administration has adopted form-based zoning which will allow up to 10,000 new housing units to be built within the city without destroying the infrastructure that is there. A true densification plan if there ever was one. I really wish Santa Barbara would do something like this...but then again nobody who actually owns a house here wants anybody else to move here!
Anyway, downtown Ventura (at least on weekends) is suprisingly vibrant and has a decent shot at becoming something akin to San Clemente. I was down there on Saturday and decided to snap some photos.
Yes, it's a mission city too...
California Street...
Main Street and environs...
Mision de San Buenaventura
San Bernadino-by-the-Sea (Oxnard) in the distance...
The Crowne Plaza Hotel in the distance was featured at the end of 'Little Miss Sunshine' - Ventura was cast at Redondo Beach...
Ventura Harbor
toward the Ojai Valley (there's a huge abandoned oil refinery just over the first hill that you can ride through...I should go take some photos...)
Jesus (It's in a city park! Church and State! Church and State! )
world HQ of Patagonia (in the distance with the vertical trees) - consistently voted one of the 10 best US companies to work for...
Ventura
__________________
Even if you are 1 in a million, there are still 8,000 people just like you...
"Chewing on a piece of grass
Walking down the road
Tell me, how long you gonna stay here Joe?
Some people say this town don't look
Good in snow
You don't care, I know
Ventura Highway in the sunshine
Where the days are longer
The nights are stronger
Than moonshine
You're gonna go I know"
I would say that Ventura has more going for it as far as cool stuff to check out and a walkable downtown then San Clemente. It looks to me like there are a decent amount of cool old buildings there. And I never understood the "San Bernardino By the Sea" moniker that Oxnard has??
"Chewing on a piece of grass
Walking down the road
Tell me, how long you gonna stay here Joe?
Some people say this town don't look
Good in snow
You don't care, I know
Ventura Highway in the sunshine
Where the days are longer
The nights are stronger
Than moonshine
You're gonna go I know"
Yep, something like that...
America rules!
Current Denverite, former Simi Valleyian...
Aaron (Glowrock)
__________________
"Deeply corrupt but still semi-functional - it's the Chicago way." -- Barrelfish
What the hell is a Retarded Children's Thrift Store?
Like a Goodwill or ARC store, Shawn. In other words, thrift store which is run by the charity, where the proceeds go to help the retarded and/or disabled...
Aaron (Glowrock)
__________________
"Deeply corrupt but still semi-functional - it's the Chicago way." -- Barrelfish
Yeah, you can't see jack shit of Ventura from the 101... You've got to get off the freeway and check the place out! Same for Santa Barbara, really... The views from the 101 aren't exactly the greatest on earth! (however, the view between Ventura and Santa Barbara is freaking awesome! )
Aaron (Glowrock)
__________________
"Deeply corrupt but still semi-functional - it's the Chicago way." -- Barrelfish
Like a Goodwill or ARC store, Shawn. In other words, thrift store which is run by the charity, where the proceeds go to help the retarded and/or disabled...
Aaron (Glowrock)
I thought calling them "retarded" was a no-no. lol
Ventura looks gorgeous.
__________________ "Emancipate yourself from mental slavery. None but ourselves can free our minds."
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