Oxnard, California

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Oxnard
Official seal of Oxnard
Seal
Nickname: "The City that Cares"
Location of Oxnard, California
Location of Oxnard, California
Coordinates: 34°11′29″N, 119°10′57″W
Country United States
State California
County Ventura County
Government
 - Mayor Dr. Thomas E. Holden
Area
 - City  36.6 sq mi (94.8 km²)
 - Land  25.3 sq mi (65.5 km²)
 - Water  11.3 sq mi (29.3 km²)
Population (2005)
 - City 200,000
 - Density 1,784.2/sq mi (689.0/km²)
 - Metro 800,000
Time zone PST (UTC)
 - Summer (DST) PDT (UTC)
Website: http://www.ci.oxnard.ca.us/

Oxnard is the largest city in Ventura County, California in terms of population. It is located at the western edge of the fertile Oxnard Plain, and is one of the world's most important agricultural centers, with its distinction as the strawberry and lima bean capital. Founded in 1903, it is home to more than 200,000 citizens and is the largest city in the Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura Metropolitan Area.

The city is home to two large U.S. Navy bases (Port Hueneme and Point Mugu). The Port of Hueneme is the busiest commercial port between Los Angeles and San Francisco. Oxnard is also a major transit hub in Southern California, with Amtrak, Union Pacific, Metrolink, Greyhound, Intercalifornias and many others stopping in Oxnard. Oxnard also has a regional airport called Oxnard Airport (OXR), but its only destination is Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). There are ongoing discussions regarding future plans to build a major airport in the region.

The city boasts of its weather, its beaches, its economy (home to several major companies), its ambiance, its sense of community and the numerous opportunities it offers.

Contents

[edit] History

Downtown Oxnard, late-1900s.
Downtown Oxnard, late-1900s.

Before the arrival of Europeans, the area that is now Oxnard was inhabited by Chumash Indians. The first European to encounter the area was Portuguese explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, who claimed it for Spain in 1542. During the mission period, it was serviced by the Mission San Buenaventura, established in 1782.

Ranching began to take hold among Californio settlers, who lost their regional influence when California became a U.S. state in 1850. At about the same time, the area was settled by American farmers, who cultivated barley and lima beans.

Henry Oxnard, who operated a successful sugar beet factory with his three brothers (Ben, James, and Robert) in Chino, California, was enticed to build a two-million dollar factory on the plain inland from Port Hueneme shortly after the 1897 beet campaign, a new town soon emerged. Ironically the Oxnard brothers never lived in their namesake city, and they sold both the Chino and the giant red-brick Oxnard factory with its landmark twin smokestacks in 1899 for nearly four-million dollars. The Oxnard factory operated from August 19, 1899 until October 26, 1959. Given the growth of the town of Oxnard, in the spring of 1898, a railroad station was built to service the plant, which attracted a population of Chinese, Japanese, and Mexican laborers and enough commerce to merit the designation of a town. Oxnard intended to name the settlement after the Greek word for "sugar", but frustrated by bureaucracy, named it after himself.

Oxnard, 1908. The public library is at the right.
Oxnard, 1908. The public library is at the right.

Oxnard was incorporated as a California city on June 30,1903, and the public library was opened in 1907, one of only three built west of the Mississippi river financed by Andrew Carnegie. Prior to and during World War II, the naval bases of Point Mugu and Port Hueneme were established in the area to take advantage of the only major navigable port on California's coast between the Port of Los Angeles and San Francisco Bay, and these encouraged the development of the defense-based aerospace and communications industries.

In the mid-century Oxnard grew and developed the areas outside the downtown with homes, industry, retail, and a new harbor named Channel Islands Harbor. Martin V. ("Bud") Smith (1916-2001) became the most influential developer in the history of Oxnard during this time. Smith's first enterprise in 1941 was the Colonial House Restaurant (demolished 1988) and then the Wagon Wheel Junction in 1947. He was also involved in the development of the high-rise towers at the Topa Financial Plaza, the Channel Islands Harbor, Casa Sirena Resort, the Esplanade Shopping Mall, Fisherman's Wharf, the Carriage Square Shopping Center, the Maritime Museum, and a plethora of hotel and restaurant projects.

During the 1950s, a phenomenon know as white flight was commonplace in Southern California, and Oxnard was no exception. With the rise of the local defense industry and other high tech and financial industries, the more educated, predominantly Caucasian and Asian-American "white-collar" professional class moved from the older city core to the newer, more suburban neighborhoods either to the north, south, or west. Subsequently, the less educated, predominantly Hispanic and African American "blue-collar" working class populated the more affordable areas in the city center, particularly the La Colonia Barrio just east of Downtown Oxnard. The poverty and neglect in these neighborhoods gave rise to gangs such as the infamous "Colonia Chiques," and violence continues to this day over turf disputes between rival gangs.

In June 2004 the Oxnard Police Department and the Ventura County Sheriff imposed a gang injunction in over a 6.6 square-mile area of the central district of the city, in order to restrict gang activity. Some political activists lobbied against the injunction arguing that it amounted to racial discrimination, its provisions against the wearing of Dallas Cowboys attire was tantamount to "fashion policing," a violation of free expression, its provision against public assembly was unconstitutional, and that it was generally too broad to be effective.

Some residents of Oxnard and Ventura County who had long been upset over criminal gang activity in their neighborhoods supported the gang injunction. The injunction proved to be an effective tool against Oxnard's biggest and most dangerous gangs, and it was upheld in the Ventura County Superior Court, and was made permanent law in 2005. A similar injunction was imposed in September 2006 over a 4.26-square-mile area of the south side of the city.

[edit] Geography

Oxnard is located at 34°11′29″N, 119°10′57″W (34.191292, -119.182497)GR1. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 94.8 km² (36.6 mi²). 65.6 km² (25.3 mi²) of it is land and 29.2 km² (11.3 mi²) of it (30.83%) is water.

Oxnard is located on the Oxnard Plain, an area with fertile soil. With its beaches, dunes, wetlands, creeks and the Santa Clara River, the area contains a number of important biological communities. Native plant communities include: coastal sage scrub, California Annual Grassland, and Coastal Dune Scrub species; however, most native plants have been eliminated from within the city limits to make way for agriculture and urban and industrial development. Also native to the region is the endangered Ventura Marsh Milkvetch, and the last self-sustaining population is in Oxnard in the center of a recently approved high-end housing development. [1]

[edit] Geology

Like the rest of California, Oxnard is subject to earthquakes due to its location near the San Andreas Fault.

One active fault line that transverses Oxnard is the Oak Ridge Fault, which straddles the Santa Clara River Valley westward from the Santa Susana Mountains, crosses the Oxnard Plain through Oxnard, and extends into the Santa Barbara Channel.

The fault has proven to be a significant contributor to seismic activity in the Oxnard region and beyond. The Northridge Earthquake, a devastating magnitude 6.7 temblor that occurred on January 17, 1994, is believed to have occurred in the Santa Clarita extension of the Oak Ridge Fault. Landslides and ridge-top shattering resulting from the Northridge Earthquake were observed above Moorpark, a city just east of Oxnard. [2]

[edit] Economy

The economy of Oxnard is driven by international trade, agriculture, manufacturing, defense, and tourism. Oxnard is one of the key manufacturing centers in the Greater Los Angeles Area. The Port of Hueneme is the busiest commercial port between Los Angeles and San Francisco, and is vital to trade with the Pacific Rim economies. Other key industries include finance, transportation and the high tech industry.

Some of the major companies headquartered in Oxnard are Haas Automation, Vivitar, Seminis, Raypak, Drum Workshop, and Boss Audio. Procter & Gamble and Sysco maintain their West Coast operations in Oxnard.

The Dallas Cowboys had their pre-season training camp in Oxnard from 2004-2006, but are returning to San Antonio in 2007 [3]. In the past, the Cowboys have also had training camps in nearby Ventura and Thousand Oaks.

[edit] Neighborhoods

Map showing Oxnard Neighborhoods
Customized street sign in Oxnard. Such designs are for nearly every street sign in the city.
Customized street sign in Oxnard. Such designs are for nearly every street sign in the city.
  • Del Norte District
  • Central District/Downtown Oxnard
    • Bartolo Square North
    • Bartolo Square South
    • Cal Giesler
    • Durley/Kamala Park
    • Five Points Northwest
    • Fremont South
    • Hill Street
    • Hobson Park East
    • Hobson Park West
    • La Colonia
    • Wilson
  • Northeast District
    • East Village
    • Rio Lindo
    • Rose Park
    • West Village
  • Northwest District
  • Southcentral District
    • Blackstock North
    • Blackstock South
    • Bryce Canyon North
    • Bryce Canyon South
    • Cypress
    • Ormond Beach (North)
    • Pleasant Valley Estates
    • Pleasant Valley Village
    • Redwood
    • Southwinds
  • Southeast District
    • Diamond Bar
    • College Estates
    • College Park
    • Lemonwood/Eastmont
    • Mar Vista
    • Ormond Beach (South)
    • Oxnard Pacific
    • Terrace Estates
    • Tierra Vista
    • Villa Capri
  • Southwest District

[edit] Beaches

The City of Oxnard is home to over 20 miles of scenic, relatively uncrowded coastline. The beaches in Oxnard are large and the sand is exceptionally soft. The sand dunes in Oxnard, which were once much more extensive, have been used to recreate Middle-Eastern desert dunes in many movies, the first being The Sheik with Rudolph Valentino. There are very few rocks or driftwood piles at most beaches, but Oxnard is known to have dangerous rip-currents at certain beaches. Oxnard is home to world-class surf, although its best surf is inaccessible to the general public because it breaks at the beach inside the Navy base at Point Mugu. Only those with access to the base can surf its fast-moving (and at times up to 15 foot) break. Silver Strand has excellent surf, but territorial locals tend to make outsiders feel unwelcome.

Beaches in Oxnard include: Mugu Rock State Beach, Ormond Beach, Hueneme Beach, Silver Strand Beach, Hollywood Beach, Hollywood-By-the-Sea, Mandalay Beach, Oxnard State Beach, Oxnard Shores, 5th Street Beach, McGrath State Beach and Rivermouth Beach.

[edit] Port

The Port of Hueneme is the only deep water port between the Port of Long Beach and the Port of San Francisco, and the only military deep water port between San Diego Bay and Puget Sound. It is operated jointly by the United States Navy and the Oxnard Harbor District. The port is a shipping and receiving point for a wide variety of goods destined for the Los Angeles Basin, and beyond including automobiles, pineapples, and bananas. Agricultural products such as onions, strawberries, and flowers are shipped.

The United States Navy maintains a facility at Port Hueneme, in support of the naval air station at Point Mugu to the south, with which it comprises Naval Base Ventura County. Port Hueneme is the West Coast home of the Construction Battalion, the famous "Seabees," as well as a link in the coastal radar system.

[edit] Harbors

Oxnard is home to one harbor: Channel Islands Harbor, with Ventura Harbor located in adjacent San Buenaventura. Channel Islands Harbor is located on the south shore of Oxnard and is nicknamed the "Gateway to the Channel Islands" because of the high number of operations that sail to the islands out of the harbor. Both harbors are vital fishing industry harbors.

[edit] Agriculture

According to the Camarillo General Plan PDF: "The areas studied showed a high percentage of Group I soils, primarily located on the relatively flat Oxnard Plain. The Oxnard Plain, because of these high-quality agricultural soils, coupled with a favorable climate, is considered one of the most fertile areas in the world."

Oxnard has been known for several different crops over the years, including: sugar beets, lima beans, Stock (the cut flower), and strawberries. In the years of Oxnard's growth during the 70's and 80's, many farms and ranches were annexed for development, and many new development plans threatened much of the plain's farmland. In 1995, a grassroots effort known as SOAR (Save Open Space and Agricultural Resources) was initiated by farmers, ranchers and citizens of Ventura County in an effort to save the vast agricultural asset of the Oxnard Plain.

The Oxnard Plain is well-known for its strawberries. "Ventura County is California’s largest strawberry producer, supplying about one-third of the State’ annual strawberry volume." USDA strawberry PFD. (The state of California supplies over 85 percent of U.S. strawberries, with the U.S. supplying for a quarter of total world production of strawberries.) Oxnard is one of several cities (including Watsonville, California) that claim the title of "Strawberry Capital of the World".

Each year Oxnard hosts a strawberry festival during the summer at Oxnard College, featuring vendors as well as food items based on the fruit such as strawberry nachos, strawberry pizza, strawberry funnel cake, strawberry sundaes, and strawberry champagne.

[edit] Climate

The city is situated in a Mediterranean, or dry subtropical climate zone, experiencing mild winters that are warmer than average, and mild summers that are cooler than average. Onshore breezes keep the communities of Oxnard cooler in summer and warmer in winter than those further inland. The average mean temperature is 60 degrees. Average minimum temperature is 52.4 degrees and the average maximum temperature is 70 degrees. Generally the weather is cool and dry, with 354 days of sunshine a year. The last recorded snow fall was in January of 1942.

[edit] Culture & The Arts

Oxnard offers several cultural institutions. These include the Carnegie Art Museum, founded in 1907 by philanthropist Andrew Carnegie; the Chandler Vintage Museum of Transportation and Wildlife, founded by the late Los Angeles Times publisher Otis Chandler, which houses the largest collection of rare and vintage automobiles in the nation; the Murphy Auto Museum, founded by neurosurgeon Dan Murphy; The Heritage Square, a collection of restored Victorian and Craftsman houses which were once owned by Oxnard ’s pioneer families (Heritage Square is also home to the Petit Playhouse and Oxnard ’s award-winning Elite Theatre Company; the Ventura County Maritme Museum; The Gull Wings Children's Museum; The Henry T. Oxnard Historic District; the Herzog Winery and wine cellar, the nation's largest collection of fine kosher wines; the Seabee Museum and the The Oxnard Performing Arts and Convention Center, home to the New West Symphony. It is also home to the award winning Oxnard Independent Film Festival.

[edit] Famous people from Oxnard

[edit] Political/Cultural

  • Cesar Chavez: Farm worker, political activist and union leader, lived in the La Colonia Barrio of Oxnard during his childhood. Several streets and schools in the Oxnard area and surrounding areas bear his name.

[edit] Business People

  • Martin V. ("Bud") Smith: Developer and philanthropist. Built the Financial Plaza Towers and financed construction of CSUCI's school of business and economics.

[edit] Athletes & Sportspeople

In alphabetical order by last name:

[edit] Actors

  • Walter Brennan died in Oxnard.
  • John Carradine lived in Oxnard for many years.
  • The actor Lee Van Cleef died in Oxnard.
  • The actor Jeffrey Combs was born in Oxnard.
  • Brandon Cruz, child actor and lead singer of the punk band Dr. Know, has family and a beach home in Oxnard.
  • John Curtis Holmes, the pornographic film phenomenon of the 1970's had his ashes scattered at sea off the coast of Oxnard in 1988.
  • Ryan Fredette, energetic front man for infamous Oxnard hardcore band In Control.

[edit] Authors

[edit] Entertainers

[edit] Scholars and Scientists

[edit] Music

  • Hip hop producer Madlib was raised in Oxnard

[edit] Trivia

  • The film Sideways featured the city Oxnard, where the mother of main character Miles Raymond resides. However, the only actual shot of Oxnard in the film is the brief shot of Miles pulling onto the freeway off-ramp (where Miles says to his friend, "I just want to say hello to my mother.")
  • The one episode Battletoads animated television program was set in Oxnard.
  • The character Oxnard Montalvo in the Nickelodeon animated series The Angry Beavers is an homage to both Oxnard and Montalvo, a section of nearby Ventura.
  • When former pro wrestler Jesse Ventura (real name James Janos), who took his stage name from a road atlas of California, became the governor of Minnesota, famous Minnesotan humorist Garrison Keillor wrote a satirical "mock biography" of Ventura, called Me, by Jimmy (Big Boy) Valente, using the name "Oxnard" as the surname of Ventura's doppelganger.
  • Oxnard was once mentioned on the show Rocket Power.
  • For many years, the Chamber of Commerce used the motto "Oxnard, more than just a pretty name" in their advertising.
  • Johnny Carson used the interesting sound of the name "Oxnard" as a butt of many Tonight Show jokes for years.
  • Oxnard is the title setting of the Firesign Theatre's comic film The Yolks of Oxnard
  • Oxnard is part of the area code 805.
  • Oxnard was mentioned by Randy Newman on The Colbert Report.
  • In an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Xander Harris said he only made it to Oxnard before his engine fell out of the car.
  • In Desperately Seeking Susan, Madonna was filmed in a car chase scene in South Oxnard. In the scene, the automobile narrowly misses being hit by a train as it crosses the railroad tracks in "New York City" (Bard Road near San Simeon Ave).
  • The Back to The Future movies utilized the railroad tracks near Hueneme Beach to film the train scenes.

[edit] Demographics

A May 1, 2006 California Department of Finance estimate shows the city's population right at 200,000, with the Oxnard Metro at roughly 800,000 people. As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 170,358 people, 43,576 households, and 34,947 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,598.8/km² (6,729.7/mi²). There were 45,166 housing units at an average density of 689.0/km² (1,784.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 42.08% White, 3.78% African American, 1.26% Native American, 7.39% Asian, 0.41% Pacific Islander, 40.36% from other races, and 4.72% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 66.22% of the population.

There were 43,576 households out of which 46.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.4% were married couples living together, 14.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.8% were non-families. 14.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.85 and the average family size was 4.16.

In the city the population was spread out with 31.8% under the age of 18, 11.8% from 18 to 24, 31.0% from 25 to 44, 17.3% from 45 to 64, and 8.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females there were 104.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $48,603, and the median income for a family was $49,150. Males had a median income of $30,643 versus $25,381 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,288. About 11.4% of families and 15.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.4% of those under age 18 and 8.8% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] References

Hoad, Patricia; et al (Spring & Summer 2002). Oxnard at 100, The Ventura County Historical Society Quarterly. Ventura County Museum of History & Art, pages 6-49. ISSN 0042-3491. 

Maulhardt, Jeffrey W. (2005). Oxnard 1941-2004. Arcadia Publishing, pages 7,19,28,58,63,66,68,70,78,79,81. ISBN 978-0-7385-2953-0. 

Gutleben, Dan, The Oxnard Beet Sugar Factory, Oxnard, California, 1959 - Revised 1960, page 1, Book available at the Oxnard Public Library

Mitchell, John, Influential developer Martin 'Bud' Smith dies, Ventura County Star, November 20, 2001

Shepherd, Dirk, Save the Wagon Wheel, VC Reporter Newspaper article, Jan 11, 2007 link to article

[edit] External links

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Ventura County, California

Incorporated places
Population over 100,000:    Ventura (County seat) • Oxnard • Simi Valley • Thousand Oaks
Population under 100,000:    Camarillo • Fillmore • Moorpark • Ojai • Port Hueneme • Santa Paula

Census-designated places
Casa Conejo • Channel Islands Beach • El Rio • Meiners Oaks • Mira Monte • Oak Park • Oak View • Piru

Other unincorporated communities
Bardsdale • Bell Canyon • La Conchita • Newbury Park • Point Mugu • Saticoy • Somis

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