San Buenaventura Mission in Ventura

The San Buenaventura Mission was the 9th and last mission founded by Father Junipero Serra among California's 21 Missions and is now a Catholic parish of 3000 members. The beautiful Mission, founded in 1782, continues to serve as an active Catholic parish within the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. The Mission grounds include Holy Cross School (PreK - 8th grade), a museum and gift shop. The Church and Mission Garden are open to visitors every day. Access the Mission via the Mission Gift Shop on the right side of the Mission (when facing the Mission).

The Mission is included in the National Register of Historic Places.

The Mission Gift Shop and Museum are open daily except for major holidays (Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years Day). Hours are Mon to Fri 10 am to 5 pm, Sat 9 am to 5 pm and Sun 10 am to 5 pm. Admission is $2 for kids ages 5-17, $4 for seniors (65+), $5 for adults and $10 for families (parents with children).

Located at 211 East Main Street in Downtown Ventura, across from the Museum of Ventura County. More information at www.sanbuenaventuramission.org or call 805.643.4318.

Casa de la Guerra in Santa Barbara

Casa de la Guerra is one of the most important remnants of Santa Barbara's Spanish-Mexican heritage, along with El Presidio de Santa Bárbara (1782) and Mission Santa Barbara (1786). This adobe residence was constructed between 1818 and 1828 by Josè de la Guerra, the fifth comandante of the Presidio. In addition to his military post, de la Guerra ran an active commercial trade enterprise and served as a patriarch for the community.

His home was the social, political, and cultural center of Santa Barbara during the Mexican period. Descendants of Josè continued to occupy the building until 1943, when the Casa was fully incorporated into the El Paseo complex. In the 1990s, the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation restored the building to its appearance between 1828 and 1858.

The adobe is now a museum, containing exhibits on the history of the de la Guerra family and the building, furnished period rooms, and rotating exhibits on Santa Barbara and Early California history.

Casa de la Guerra is a City Landmark, a California Landmark, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Museum hours are Saturday/Sunday noon to 4 p.m. Located at 13-15 East De la Guerra Street, Santa Barbara (just half a block off of State Street. Admission is Adult: $5, Senior (62+): $4, Children (under 16): Free (Note: Free admission to SB Presidio with purchase of admission to Casa de la Guerra).

Visit www.sbthp.org or call 805.965.0093 for more information.

El Presidio de Santa Barbara State Historic Park (123 East Canon Perdido Street, Santa Barbara)

Old Mission Santa Barbara

The Santa Barbara Mission was established on the Feast of Saint Barbara, December 4, 1786 and was the 10th of 21 California Missions to be founded by the Spanish Franciscans.

More than 200 years later, the Mission continues to be the chief cultural and historic landmark in the city of Santa Barbara. Home to a community of Franciscan friars, the Mission also has a retreat center with guest rooms, conference rooms, a fully equipped commercial kitchen and dining room, a beautiful church with a large and active parish, a museum and gift shop, a cemetery and mausoleum and ten acres of beautifully landscaped gardens.

Self-guided tours are available through the main entrance. Tour tickets may be purchased in the main entry, and each visitor will be provided with a museum guide available in 8 different languages. The Mission is open daily from 9am to 5:30pm from July 4th through Labor Day and until 4:15pm the rest of the year. Tour admission (as of March 2020) is $12 for adults (ages 18-64), $10 for seniors 65+, $7 youth 5-17 and free to 4 and under. Parking is free.

Points of interest within the Museum and garden tour include a Sacred Garden, Video Room (watch a 18 minute video), Cemetery (1789 to present; contains burial sites of early Santa Barbara settlers and Native Americans), Church, Museum (originally used as living quarters for missionaries and their guests), The Serra Shop (souvenirs and gifts), Fountain (built in 1808) and Aqueduct (ruins of the Mission's early water system visible next to cemetery outside walls).

The Mission Museum also offers docent guided public tours Thursday and Friday at 11:00am and Saturday at 10:30am. Admission for docent guided public tours are $16 for ages 18-64, $14 age 65+ and $11 for youth 5 to 17. Children age 4 and under free. Roughly an hour in duration. Private tours are also available.

Visit www.santabarbaramission.org for more information or call 805.682.4713. It is located at 2201 Laguna Street, just around the corner from the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, which we LOVE to visit.

Fillmore Historical Museum

The Fillmore Historical Museum is located at 340 Main Street. Stroll through the Craftsman-style Hinckley home built in 1905 and filled with antique furniture, kitchen items, pump organ and Dr. Hinckley's dental office. Allow time to tour the 1919 Sespe Bunkhouse, a building full of Fillmore history and originally used as a dormitory by farm workers.

Other history on display includes orange and lemon industry history dating back to 1900, military, police and fire department memorabilia, Native American artifacts, Fillmore insectary, antique clothing and toys and more.

The Southern Pacific Railroad Depot, a functioning depot from 1887 to 1970 is also located on site, located adjacent to the Hinckley house. This Depot was designated Ventura County Historical Landmark #48, designated in May 1979. When the Southern Pacific Railroad finished its line between Ventura and Los Angeles in 1887, Fillmore, named after Southern Pacific's West Coast superintendent, Jerome A. Fillmore, was established at the only train stop in the Santa Clara Valley. The town of Fillmore was subsequently founded in 1888 and incorporated on July 10, 1914.

An original Barksdale post office from the late 1800s is also on the site.

As of May 2013, the Museum is open Tuesday to Friday from 9 am to 4pm and Saturdays 10am to 3pm. Donation is Family $10, Adults $4, Students $2 and Children under 5 years, free. Call 805.524.0948 to confirm hours. Visit www.fillmorehistoricalmuseum.org to learn more.

The Woolworth Museum in Downtown Oxnard (CLOSED)

Although the vintage items in the Woolworth Museum still reside in the building as described below, the museum is generally not open to the public at this point.

What is believed to be the only Woolworth Museum in the world is located in the Woolworth Building (circa 1950) at 210 West Fourth Street, Oxnard (4th and A Streets). This small, unique museum contains all sorts of nostalgia associated with the F. W. Woolworth Company, one of the original "five and dime" stores. Woolworth closed its stores in 1997.

The Woolworth Building is a 16,800 square foot building completed in 1950 that was completely redeveloped in 2003. It is now occupied by office tenants.

Many of the old items in the museum exemplify what Woolworths used to sell. Other items relate directly to this building and the people who worked there, including two managers and a woman who worked here on the first day that the store opened in 1950. There are souvenirs from the Woolworth Building in New York, which was the tallest building in the world when completed in 1913.

There is a collection of books related to the Woolworth stores. There are several items from old lunch counters, including dishes and menus, as well as some items that relate directly to the pivotal civil rights sit-in that took place at a Woolworth lunch counter in 1960.

Photos of various Woolworth stores from 1878 through the 1960s are seen throughout the building. There is a working antique dial pay-phone, a take-your-own photo booth from the 1940s and games and vending machines from the 1930s through the 1960s.

There is a vintage cash register, like those found in most stores in the 60's and 70's, displayed so visitors can push down "No Sale" so that the cash-drawer pops open with the familiar ch-ching, bell ringing and all, and the wooden drawer can be examined and closed.

Also seen is a 1959 Cavalier 96 Coke machine, which dispenses ice cold vintage coke bottles...at a not quite as vintage price of $1.25.

So stop by sometime! Just walk in. No attendants and no entrance fees. The museum is typically open from 7:30 am to 2:30 pm Monday to Friday and 9 am to 2:30 pm on Saturday.

For more information and pictures, visit www.thewoolworthbuilding.com (not functional as of 8/6/18).

Throwback time seen in the men's room

Heritage Square Oxnard - Historic Tours

Visit Heritage Square in Oxnard for an information-filled tour of the historic structures of Heritage Square and learn more about Oxnard. Docent led tours are $5, $10 for a family of four. Every Saturday 10AM - 4PM and every Sunday 1PM - 4PM, weather permitting. School and group tours available by appointment. The tours are approximately 45 minutes long and include 3 interiors and 8 exteriors of the 15 structures on this block. Tours start at the Heritage Square Visitor Center at 715 South A Street, next to the water tower.

More information at www.heritagesquareoxnard.com or call 805.483.7960.

Point Mugu Missile Park in Port Hueneme

Click the image for information regarding the Naval Base Ventura County "Missile Park" open to the public from sunrise to sunset daily.

Carpinteria Valley Museum of History

The Carpinteria Valley Museum of History hosts exhibits that reflect the histories of the three cultures that have dwelled in the region: the Chumash people; Spanish and Mexican settlers; and the pioneers. On display are historical photographs that reflect the development of the region as well as artifacts left behind by former inhabitants.

General Admission is free, donations are appreciated. Suggested donations: Adults: $2; Seniors and Children: $1

Exhibit Gallery Hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 1:00 – 4:00 PM. (Closed Sundays, Mondays and major holidays.)

Visit www.carpinteriahistoricalmuseum.org for more information. Located at 956 Maple Avenue, Carpinteria.

Red Tile Walking Tour in Santa Barbara

The Red Tile Walking Tour in Santa Barbara is an informal, 12 block walk in the downtown area that will take you past a variety of Santa Barbara historical landmarks. It was originally developed by the Santa Barbara Chamber of Commerce. The walk is summarized below but visit Santa Barbara Car Free website at www.santabarbaracarfree.org for additional details and a printable map.

1. Santa Barbara County Courthouse (Built in 1929)
2. Public Library
3. Santa Barbara Museum of Art
4. Hill-Carrillo Adobe
5. El Paseo
6. Casa De La Guerra
7. Plaza De La Guerra
8. Orena Adobes
9. Presidio Avenue (the oldest street in Santa Barbara)
10. Lugo Adobe
11. Santa Barbara Historical Museum
12. Casa Covarrubias
13. Rochin Adobe
14. El Presidio de Santa Barbara State Historic Park
15. El Cuartel (second oldest surviving building in California)
16. Main Post Office
17. Lobero Theatre

Grandma Prisbrey's Bottle Village in Simi Valley

Grandma Prisbrey's Bottle Village in Simi Valley is a California Historical Landmark, Ventura County Cultural Landmark, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and has a historic designation from the city of Simi Valley. CLICK HERE to learn more and to see more photos here on CVG.