What to See in Ventura County - Top Sights and Attractions

Mission in Ventura, California. Mission San Buenaventura, formally known as the Mission Basilica of San Buenaventura, is a Catholic parish and basilica in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. The parish church in the city of Ventura, California, United States, is a Spanish mission founded by the Order of Friars Minor. Founded on March 31, 1782, it was the ninth Spanish mission established in Alta California and the last to be established by the head of the Franciscan missions in California, Junípero Serra. Designated a California Historical Landmark, the mission is one of many locally designated landmarks in downtown Ventura.

The mission was named after St. Bonaventure, a 13th-century Franciscan saint, one of the early leaders of the Order to which the friars belonged, and a Doctor of the Church. On June 9, 2020, Pope Francis elevated the church to a minor basilica, and on July 15, 2020, the feast day of its patron saint, the announcement of the Pope's action was made and the elevation of the mission's status was officially proclaimed by Archbishop José Gómez of Los Angeles. The name of the mission was changed to reflect this new status in the Catholic Church.

Mission San Buenaventura was planned to be founded in 1770, but the founding was delayed because of the low availability of the military escorts needed to establish the mission. In 1793, the first church burned down. When the mission was completed, it included an adjacent quadrangle with living and work space. All that remains of the original mission is the church and its garden.^[1]

The Serra Cross, sometimes also known as the Cross on the Hill or the Grant Park Cross, is a Christian cross on a hill known as "La Loma de la Cruz" in Ventura, California. The site is in Serra Cross Park, a one-acre parcel within the larger Grant Park that overlooks downtown Ventura, the Santa Barbara Channel, and Anacapa and Santa Cruz Islands.

According to some accounts, the first cross was erected at the site in 1782 at the time of the founding of the Mission San Buenaventura. The cross has been replaced several times, including known instances in the early 1860s under the supervision of Father John Campala, in 1912 by the E. C. O. Club, and in 1941 by the Alice M. Bartlett Club (successor to the E. C. O. Club). The site was designated as California Historical Landmark No. 113 in 1933; it was also designated in 1974 as City of Ventura Historical Landmark No. 5.

In 2003, the threat of litigation over the city's use of public funds to maintain a religious symbol on city-owned land resulted in a settlement pursuant to which the city agreed to dim the lighting of the cross and sold a one-acre site underlying the cross to a private, non-profit organization that is now known as the Serra Cross Conservancy.^[2]

Building in Ventura, California. The Olivas Adobe in Ventura, California is an adobe structure built in 1841 by Raymundo Olivas on the north bank of the Santa Clara River about a mile from the estuary where it flows into the Santa Barbara Channel.

Olivas received, in recognition of his service at the Presidio of Santa Barbara, approximately 2,250 acres (9 km2) as part of land grant from Governor Juan Bautista Alvarado in 1841, which he named Rancho San Miguel. The land had originally been part of grazing area for the cattle herds of Mission San Buenaventura but was appropriated during the secularization of the missions lands.

Olivas built the adobe home in 1841, and expanded it in 1849 to two stories, making it the only such building in the area. He and his wife and their 21 children lived here until 1899. It later became Max Fleischmann's hunting lodge (of yeast and margarine fame). After his death, his foundation donated the land and the house to the City of Ventura.

The Olivas Adobe is registered as California Historical Landmark #115 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.^[4]

Fairground in Ventura, California. Seaside Park is an event venue in Ventura, California, United States. The 62-acre site is the home of the Ventura County Fair. Trade shows, concerts, and other events are held throughout the year at the fairgrounds. The beachfront site, near the mouth of the Ventura River, also includes Surfers' Point, known for its point break that produces distinctive waves.

The original 65 acres (26 ha) were donated to the County of Ventura by Eugene Preston Foster and Orpha Foster, who envisioned the Seaside Park as a miniature Golden Gate Park. The Fosters wanted a beautiful gateway to Ventura, where families could walk and picnic, play tennis, and enjoy family outings. Most of the site is now owned by the State of California and is managed by the 31st District Agricultural Association, an independent state agency.^[5]

The Peirano Market, also known as Peirano's Grocery and Peirano Store, is a historic building in Ventura, California. Located across the street from the Mission San Buenaventura, the red brick structure was built in 1877 and has ornamental relief brickwork and a mansard, Spanish revival tile roof.

The building housed a general merchandise store and later, a grocery store operated by the Peirano family for more than 100 years from the 1880s to the 1980s. The building was designated in 1978 as City of Ventura Historic Landmark No. 32. In 1991, archaeological remains of the San Buenaventura Mission Lavanderia were discovered beneath the building and were designated as Ventura Historic Landmark No. 85. The building is also a contributing property within the Mission San Buenaventura Historic District.

The Peirano Market building was acquired in 1987 by the San Buenaventura Redevelopment Agency and was unoccupied for more than 10 years. From August 1998 until January 2016, the building housed Jonathan's at Peirano's and later Peirano's Restaurant and the Red Room. The building has been vacant since January 2016 but is scheduled to re-open in 2018 as Peirano's Market & Delicatessen.^[6]

State park in Ventura, California. San Buenaventura State Beach is a beach located in Ventura, California. The primary entrance is located at 901 Pedro Street, off the 101 Freeway.

This beach consists of a 1,700-foot (520 m) pier that has a snack bar, restaurant, and bait shop. People often come to this beach to surf, swim, and picnic. This is the beginning of the Omer Rains Bike Trail system that leads to other nearby beaches.

Several special events take place in this place, such as the Pirate Festival, triathlon, the "Seaside Invitational" cross country meet, the State Junior Lifeguards Program that is held each summer, and volleyball tournaments.

The nesting of the Snowy plover is monitored here, and temporary informational/warning signs and fences (or ropes) are erected near nest sites during the breeding season. To help in the recovery of the bird, nonnative vegetation that threatens the beach habitat has been removed, and beach goers are educated as to the sensitive nature of the area to dunes and other sandy areas.^[7]

Museum in Ventura, California. Dudley House in Ventura, California is a historic house museum built in 1891 in a Late Victorian-style. Designed and built by local architect and builder Selwyn Shaw, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.

At the time of the NRHP listing, the farmhouse was occupied by the fifth generation of the Dudley family and the property included nine out of an original 200 acres (81 ha). The property was deemed significant for its architecture and for its association with this farming family; it was then the last surviving family farm in the city of Ventura.

Owned by the city of Ventura, the house is managed by San Buenaventura Heritage, Inc. which opens the house for tours on a limited basis.^[9]

City in California. Ventura, formally known as San Buenaventura, is a city on the Central Coast of California and the county seat of Ventura County. The population was 110,763 at the 2020 census. Ventura is a popular tourist destination, owing to its historic landmarks, beaches, and resorts.

Ventura was founded by the Spanish in 1782, when Saint Junípero Serra established Mission San Buenaventura. Following the Mexican secularization of the Californian missions, San Buenaventura was granted by Governor Pío Pico to Don José de Arnaz as Rancho Ex-Mission San Buenaventura and a small community arose. Following the American Conquest of California, San Buenaventura eventually incorporated as a city in 1866. The 1920's brought a major oil boom, which along with the post–World War II economic expansion, significantly developed and expanded Ventura.^[10]

Bus stop in Ventura, California. The Ventura Pier, formerly known as the Ventura Wharf and the San Buenaventura Wharf, is a wooden pier located on the Pacific Ocean in Ventura, California. The pier has been designated as Ventura Historic Landmark No. 20. It is the oldest pier in California.

The pier was first built in 1872 and served for many years as a transportation hub and commercial wharf used to bring merchandise and lumber to the area and to export the area's agricultural products and crude oil. It has been partially destroyed by storms and waves on several occasions and by collision with the steamer Coos Bay in 1914. The pier's most recent reconstruction and renovation project was completed in 2000. From 1938 to 1995, it was the largest wooden pier on the California coast at a length of 1,958 feet (597 meters).

In its current configuration, the pier is 1,600 feet (490 meters) long. It is no longer used as a commercial wharf and is instead used for fishing and as a pedestrian walkway with views of Ventura and the Channel Islands.^[11]