Architects Who Built Southern California by Antonio Gonzalez

Author:Antonio Gonzalez
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing Inc.
Published: 2019-03-26T16:00:00+00:00

VENTURA COUNTY COURTHOUSE

In 1911 Ventura County, at the time known for its lima bean fields and lemon trees, needed a county courthouse. Since Ventura was rather remote, it’s not surprising to see a newspaper refer to the design of the new Ventura County Courthouse as “imposing” and almost question the need for such a formal building in a rural area. The reporter quickly corrected himself and endorsed the new courthouse. Once the idea sunk in, he wrote, the building would be “a credit to the seat of government of the prosperous lima bean section.”120

Plans called for the courthouse to have a frontage of 280 feet and a depth of 95 feet. Style-wise it was Classical Revival with a row of Doric columns facing Poli Street. The building cost was estimated to be $200,000, and by April 23, 1911, bid requests for the excavation had gone out. Excavation was to be finished by July 15, and March 1, 1912, was set as the completion date of the courthouse. They were very optimistic.

The site was deemed noteworthy because it sat on a ridge that looked out over the city and beyond to the Pacific Ocean but was still within the business district. The fireproof nature of the building was emphasized along with the “reinforced concrete skeleton of columns, floors and roof inclosed [sic] with heavy brick walls.”121 Granite and white glazed terra cotta cover the exterior of the building with interior stairways of marble. Plans called for important papers and books to be housed in rooms with hollow metal doors, metal windows and metal trim to ensure against fire. Offices had maple floors and all other woodwork throughout the building was oak. When built the main courtroom had a twenty-eight-foot coffered ceiling and ornamental plaster beams. The courthouse was dedicated on July 12, 1913, sixteen months later than expected.

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