Ventura, CA

sopas ej · #1 Posted **Jul 16, 2023, 7:25 PM**

My partner and I knew it would be a very hot Saturday (7.15.2023) in the SGV so we decided to head to a beach city. We decided on Ventura, an hour's drive away on a good traffic day, but this time, it took about 85 minutes or so. When we left South Pasadena, the thermometer on the car said it was 88 degrees, this being around 11:30am. By the time we reached Woodland Hills, the thermometer said 104. Yuck. When we got to Ventura, the weather was perfect, a nice 72 degrees.

Mission San Buenaventura, founded in 1782 by those rascally Spanish colonizers. But of course the native Chumash people have been living in the area for at least 10,000 years.

Photo by me

Photo by me

When we're in Ventura, we know to eat here. They must have the best mole in all of California, I kid you not.

Photo by me

My partner's mole negro.

Photo by me

My mole amarillo.

Photo by me

Photo by me

I guess the X Games are in town, because we kept seeing advertising for it everywhere.

Photo by me

Photo by me

Ventura City Hall, which originally was the Ventura County Courthouse, built from 1912-1913. It became the city hall in 1974. And incidentally, Ventura's official city name is actually San Buenaventura, but everyone calls it Ventura, and is denoted as Ventura on maps.

Photo by me

I guess because of its architectural style and the palm trees, it looks like it could be the capitol of a fictional banana republic in a movie or something.

Photo by me

Photo by me

A memorial mural dedicated to the old San Buenaventura China Alley, honoring the lives and history of the early Chinese pioneers of the area. China Alley, also known as Sui Mon Gong, running west to east behind Main Street off Figueroa Street, was a self-contained community of simple wooden buildings with shops, businesses and rooming houses that was home to a community of more than 200 Chinese settlers in the late 1860s. The community was removed by the 1920s as many of the residents had by then begun to disperse, returning to China or relocating to nearby Oxnard.

Photo by me

Photo by me

No one was on the pier---because it's currently closed to the public, I assume because of some damage that it might've sustained during last winter's storms.

Photo by me

Photo by me

The hotel used in the film "Little Miss Sunshine," though that was set in Redondo Beach and not Ventura.

Photo by me

xzmattzx · #2 Posted **Jul 17, 2023, 12:39 AM**

Nice pictures! I always like seeing the old California missions.

I thought I saw that full name before you mentioned it. Is there a reason why the full name isn't used more often, or really at all? Ventura must be the only city in the US that is "officially" referred to by its nickname. I've never seen "Philly", "L.A.", "Vegas", "K.C.", etc. These cities are known by their full names (other than maybe Los Angeles, if that old Spanish name is still official), and show up on maps and in documentation as such.

EastSideHBG · #3 Posted **Jul 17, 2023, 1:39 PM**

Beautiful!

Coldrsx · #4 Posted **Jul 17, 2023, 2:12 PM**

That's the look and feel I really am digging' these days and need to find more of.

Thanks!

mrnyc · #5 Posted **Jul 17, 2023, 6:57 PM**

i can’t help singing ‘ventura hiiighway …’ looking at these.

Murphy de la Sucre · #6 Posted **Jul 18, 2023, 12:59 AM**

Bank of Italy Building, that's such a name

craigs · #7 Posted **Jul 18, 2023, 1:42 AM**

I love Ventura. We seem to end up there at least once a month these days. VenTiki (in the photo below) is awesome--if you go, sit inside at the bar and order a Zombie. I won't spoil the surprise for you.

ChrisLA · #8 Posted **Jul 18, 2023, 2:31 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrnyc

i can’t help singing ‘ventura hiiighway …’ looking at these.

Same thoughts as well.

ChrisLA · #9 Posted **Jul 18, 2023, 2:48 AM**

Ventura is a short trip down the highway from Camarillo where I worked until a few months ago. When our department supervisor wanted to treat our department for a nice and relaxing lunch, Ventura was usually the top choice. It’s such a chill and laid back spot, usually after we eat the group would take a walk on the pier or walk down to the beach and just take in the beauty of the area.

Sometimes on a Saturday my wife and I will drive to Ventura to pick up some Johnny’s Mexican Food on Ventura Avenue. My previous supervisor took us there for lunch once and I was hooked after that. It’s not a fancy place but it is well known throughout that area (Camarillo, Oxnard, Ventura), check it out the next time you visit the area.

Also love the photos, thanks for sharing.

PBuchman · #10 Posted **Jul 18, 2023, 3:13 AM**

Beautiful pictures of a beautiful town. Ventura has, arguably, the best climate of any locale on the planet.

sopas ej · #11 Posted **Jul 18, 2023, 4:26 PM**

Thanks for all the comments!

Quote:

Originally Posted by xzmattzx

I thought I saw that full name before you mentioned it. Is there a reason why the full name isn't used more often, or really at all? Ventura must be the only city in the US that is "officially" referred to by its nickname. I've never seen "Philly", "L.A.", "Vegas", "K.C.", etc. These cities are known by their full names (other than maybe Los Angeles, if that old Spanish name is still official), and show up on maps and in documentation as such.

I wondered about people calling it "Ventura" myself; here is one take on it: When ‘San Buenaventura’ became ‘Ventura’

And, another California city is also referred to by its shorter name, and is denoted as such on maps: Paso Robles, a town I was recently in on my recent road trip to San Fran. Its official name is El Paso de Robles. It's even on its city seal:

Its pronunciation tends to differ among the locals vs. visitors. Many of the locals say "Paso Row-bulls," instead of "Paso Row-blezz/Paso Row-bless," which is the way I say it. There's a street in Pasadena called "Los Robles" that also gets pronounced differently depending on who says it; I notice older people tend to say "Los Row-bulls" instead of "Los Row-bless/Los Row-blezz," which is the way I say it.

And no, LA's official name is not the original Spanish name; it's just the City of Los Angeles. I don't know why the Spanish settlers tended to give these tiny settlements HUGE LONG NAMES.

Quote:

Originally Posted by craigs

I love Ventura. We seem to end up there at least once a month these days. VenTiki ... is awesome--if you go, sit inside at the bar and order a Zombie. I won't spoil the surprise for you.

Years ago, we went to a tiki bar in Ventura... I don't remember if this was the one. But thanks for the suggestion! We love rum drinks. Looking at the menu online, that Zombie sounds pretty good... and maybe dangerous.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrnyc

i can’t help singing ‘ventura hiiighway …’ looking at these.

Oh believe me, driving through Ventura on the 101, that song does enter my mind... especially that guitar intro riff... and it always puts me in a good mood.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChrisLA

Ventura is a short trip down the highway from Camarillo where I worked until a few months ago. When our department supervisor wanted to treat our department for a nice and relaxing lunch, Ventura was usually the top choice. It’s such a chill and laid back spot, usually after we eat the group would take a walk on the pier or walk down to the beach and just take in the beauty of the area.

Sometimes on a Saturday my wife and I will drive to Ventura to pick up some Johnny’s Mexican Food on Ventura Avenue. My previous supervisor took us there for lunch once and I was hooked after that. It’s not a fancy place but it is well known throughout that area (Camarillo, Oxnard, Ventura), check it out the next time you visit the area.

Thanks for the suggestion! We've driven by Johnny's a number of times but never ate there.

geomorph · #12 Posted **Jul 21, 2023, 1:32 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Murphy de la Sucre

Bank of Italy Building, that's such a name

This was once a branch of the Bank of Italy, founded in San Francisco in 1904 by a man of Italian descent. The company expanded rapidly and was renamed as Bank of America in 1930, and is still a major financial institution here in the US.