By Stephen Schafer, President San Buenaventura Conservancy for Preservation –
After successful (sold-out) tours of the Elks Lodge in late 2023, Conservancy projects in 2024 focused on nominating Washington Elementary School to the National Register of Historic Places and lots of behind-the-scenes advocating and letter writing.
The first two State Historic Resource Commission deliberations for Washington School in Sacramento in August and November were twice rescheduled for public notice deficiencies on the part of the Office of Historic Preservation. The new hearing date will be February 7, 2025. Conservancy president Stephen Schafer will attend and advocate for listing and feels confident that the historic midtown Ventura school will this time be listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the California Register of Historic Resources on the 100th anniversary of its 1925 construction. While School District Staff still oppose the nomination, approval for listing is eminent. The National Register listing will incentivize adaptive reuse of the school buildings, unlock tax-credits, and preserve the character of the neighborhood while disincentivizing speculative demolition Preservation is about people, and the community really, really came out for Washington School. Owners (stewards) of landmarks listed their Ventura County properties on local registers; both the Scarlett-McGrath House (1869) on the Oxnard Plain and the Bell Canyon Equestrian Center (1968) were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Ventura County in 2024 with supporting comments from the Conservancy.
In 2024, representatives from the Conservancy Board of Directors attended, commented and advocated for preservation at the City of Ventura Historic Preservation Committee (HPC), the Ojai Historic Preservation Commission, the Ventura County Cultural Heritage Board, the Ventura Unified School Board meetings, various community council meetings and at the Ventura City Council. The Conservancy made written comments supporting preservation on CalTrans projects in Ventura, Camarillo, Port Hueneme, Oxnard, at CSUCI and in Bardsdale.
In the City of Ventura, the most important preservation project of the decade(s) has been the first-ever Citywide Historic Context Statement and Historic Resources Inventory (survey). The Conservancy has been working with City of Ventura staff and the Historic Preservation Committee to ensure that all historic proper ties in Ventura are identified. This is the first time Midtown has ever been surveyed. This should make preservation easier for people who want to create historic districts and invest in historic buildings while also protecting identified resources from unnecessary demolition or in sensitive development.
2024 was another year when adaptive reuse played a large part in the rehabilitation of historic buildings in the Downtown Ventura core. The adaptively preserved Mission Hotel on Oak and E. Santa Clara was completed. The restoration plan for the Top Hat at 299 E. Main Street was submitted and approved by the HPC. 2024 saw developers purchase properties in midtown and downtown Ventura for restoration, rehabilitation and reuse. One of our core missions is championing adaptive reuse, and it seems investors have begun to see preservation as profitable. While malls have lost popularity, authentic places and sensitive remodels have become popular while also being environmentally responsible. Investing in architectural heritage and reusing historic buildings rather than demolishing and rebuilding is suddenly cool.
Besides the loss of the Santa Paula Firehouse which was demolished this year (despite lobbying by the Conservancy) no unnecessary demolitions of historic buildings were proposed.
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