Martin V. ("Bud") Smith
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Martin V. Smith, also known as Bud Smith or simply Bud, born October 18, 1916 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, was a prominent Oxnard, California developer and philanthropist with properties from Los Angeles County to San Luis Obispo County. In 1941, he ventured into business when he traded a collection of jukeboxes for a failing hamburger drive-in on Oxnard Boulevard which he remodeled into the Colonial House Restaurant; he was 23 years old. After returning from military service in the South Pacific during World War II, Smith transformed the Colonial House into the most popular restaurant in Ventura County. The Colonial House was frequented by Hollywood stars such as Marilyn Monroe, Bing Crosby and Clark Gable.[1] The Colonial House was demolished in 1988, but its stone fireplace is still standing alongside Oxnard Boulevard.
His first venture into development came in 1945 when he purchased 40 acres of flood-prone land at the junction of U.S. Route 101 and Pacific Coast Highway, and began construction on The Wagon Wheel Junction, a collection of offices, shops, restaurants and a motel. The Wagon Wheel Motel was completed in 1947, and quickly became a popular stop for travelers between Los Angeles and Santa Barbara. The Trade Winds restaurant was built in 1964, designed by Fred Moniger of 20th Century Fox and decorator Ione Keenan, had a lagoon with a Chinese junk. Don Ho and the Beachboys performed there. They would bring quests by rickshaw from the Wagon Wheel Motel and the interior was decorated with Bud's collection from his world travels. He went on to build the Channel Islands Peninsula where he lived including the Casa Sirena Resort, Villa Sirena Apartments and the Lobster Trap Restaurant.
From humble beginnings, Smith went on to develop a number of restaurants, motels, shopping centers, and finally the high-rise Financial Plaza Towers in Oxnard, which remain the tallest buildings between Los Angeles and San Jose. When Bud Smith began his retirement in the mid-1990s, his company, Martin V. Smith and Associates was the biggest developer and landlord in Oxnard with some 4500 tenants and over 200 properties from Calabasas to Santa Maria.
Smith became the first billionaire in Ventura County, and he was a generous philanthropist who donated millions of dollars to various causes and organizations. He and his wife, Martha, created the Martin V. and Martha K. Smith Foundation to support community organizations. He financed the construction of a new Boys and Girls Club in Oxnard, which was named after him. He also donated 8 million dollars to finance the construction of California State University, Channel Islands, and the first school on its campus was named after him, the Martin V. Smith School of Business and Economics, as well as the Martin V. Smith Professorship in Land Use Studies, and the Martin V. Smith Center for Integrative Decision Making.[2]
