Note that Ventura is actually a contraction of the official name of the city and mission: San Buenaventura. But that's a mouthful to put on a sign. [However, I'm getting some of my own medicine, for it took me several days to realize that Cyn on road signs meant Canyon; my siblings complain that I use too many abbreviations and acronymns in my e-mail....]
Unlike Santa Barbara, where the mission is about a mile from the the downtown area on a hill, Ventura's mission is on Main Street. While I did walk up to stairs to the right of the mission, one was required to walk through the Gift Shop to access the gardens. The walk from the main branch of the Ventura Library was longer than a librarian had estimated -- while she was thinking, I ventured "three blocks" -- so she agreed. It was actually 7 or 8 blocks. My right foot held up well and it was comfortable walking on the west, or shady, side of the main drag.
The first photo was taken over a fountain with some very attractive blue tile; in fact, you'll see more of that tile around a planter on the mission-side of the street in the 2nd photo. Note that the mission was founded in 1782; here's Wikipedia's article on the San Buenaventura Mission. The water from the fountain ran through the above-mentioned blue tile toward the ocean.
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Note that in both photos the mission has only one bell tower rather than the usual triple-node tower as at the San Juan Bautista and San Antonio Missions -- among others.
As I walked back toward the Library Parking Lot I decided to eschew the main drag and cut up Palm Street. An old brick building, being used as a playhouse or comedy venue and called "The Improv" caught my eye. After taking the photo you see to the right, I crossed the street to read the plaque on the building.
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The building has functioned as a stable, carriage house, and/or garage from c1875 until the early 1970s. And the brick facade replaced the original wooden front in the early 1900s. [Click once or twice to read the plaque.]
As I walked the street which is to the east of Main Street I happened upon City Hall. The little cherubic faces just below the window sills on the 2nd floor caught my attention. [Incidentally, there is a great deal of free parking, clearly marked, off of Main St -- something which no doubt is strongly supported by local merchants; as I walked by some people eating at tables on the sidewalk, I resisted the temptation to ask, "How does it taste?"]
Finally, here's a photo taken from in front of the statue of Father Junipero Serra looking toward Venture harbor. [Have you ever noticed that many padres used walking staffs? Is that so they can support themselves after stubbing their toes while wearing sandals. Presumably they didn't use the Anglo-Saxon terms my sergeants used to exhort the troops on to greater levels of performance. Nay, being men of the cloth, they probably vowed to watch their steps more carefully.]
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