Foster Park Bowl

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Foster Park Bowl

FPB Picture.jpg

Foster Park Bowl in disrepair, 25 July 2009
Address 438 Casitas Vista Road
Ventura, California 93001
Coordinates 34°21′08″N119°18′39″W / 34.352336°N 119.310898°W / 34.352336; -119.310898 Coordinates: 34°21′08″N119°18′39″W / 34.352336°N 119.310898°W / 34.352336; -119.310898
Owner Ventura County Parks Department
Type Amphitheatre
Capacity 1,000
Construction
Built 1928

The Foster Park Bowl is an outdoor amphitheatre located between Ojai and Ventura, California. Built in 1928, it has a seating capacity of 1,000.

Amphitheatre open-air venue used for entertainment and performances

An amphitheatre or amphitheater is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ἀμφιθέατρον (amphitheatron), from ἀμφί (amphi), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and θέατρον (théātron), meaning "place for viewing".

Ojai, California City in California, United States

Ojai is a city in Ventura County in the U.S. state of California. Located in the Ojai Valley, it is northwest of Los Angeles and east of Santa Barbara. The valley is about 10 miles (16 km) long by 3 miles (5 km) wide, surrounded by hills and mountains. The population was 7,461 at the 2010 census, down from 7,862 at the 2000 census.

Ventura, California City in California, United States

Ventura, officially the City of San Buenaventura, is the county seat of Ventura County, California, United States. The coastal site, set against undeveloped hills and flanked by two free-flowing rivers, has been inhabited for thousands of years. European explorers encountered a Chumash village, referred to as Shisholop, here while traveling along the Pacific coast. They witnessed the ocean navigation skill of the native people and their use of the abundant local resources from sea and land. The eponymous Mission San Buenaventura was founded nearby in 1782 where it benefitted from the water of the Ventura River. The town grew around the mission compound and incorporated in 1866. The development of nearby oil fields in the 1920s and the age of automobile travel created a major real estate boom during which many designated landmark buildings were constructed. The mission and these buildings are at the center of a downtown that has become a cultural, retail, and residential district and visitor destination.

Contents

History

Ventura County pioneer and philanthropist Eugene Preston Foster initiated the idea of a county park system [1] in 1904; the 205-acre (0.83 km2) Foster Park was established in 1908. The concrete amphitheatre began construction in the summer of 1928 [2] and was dedicated on November 26, 1928. [3]

Ventura County, California County in California, United States

Ventura County is a county in the southern part of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, the population was 823,318. The largest city is Oxnard, and the county seat is the city of Ventura.

The bowl was used frequently into the 1960s, but in the 1970s it saw less use as people started to shift to Libbey Bowl in Ojai. The bowl was occasionally used after the 1970s but fell into disrepair. An attempt to renovate Foster Park Bowl was mounted in 1988 by the Ventura County Repertory Theatre. [4] [5]

As of 2009, Teenagers for The Preservation of Historical Landmarks, a student group based at Foothill Technology High School, are working to get the necessary permits and release forms in order to go to the bowl and do an initial cleanup. The group is planning various fundraisers to pay for the stage to be reinforced, which a 2007 assessment stated would require $30,000 worth of work.[ citation needed ]

Foothill Technology High School is a magnet school in Ventura, California. It has been a California Distinguished School since 2005 and won the National Blue Ribbon Award in 2006, and 2012. It is ranked 78th in California and 419th in the US by U.S. News & World Report in 2012.

See also

The Ventura County Historic Landmarks & Points of Interest consist of buildings, sites, and neighborhoods designated by Ventura County, California, Cultural Heritage Board as historic landmarks and points of interest.

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References

  1. HISTORY OF THE VENTURA COUNTY PARKS DEPARTMENT Archived November 1, 2014, at the Wayback Machine .
  2. "Bowl will be started at Ventura". Los Angeles Times. 1928-07-09. p. A10.
  3. "Dedicate bowl near Ventura". Los Angeles Times. 1928-11-25. p. B8. With the dedication of Foster Bowl tomorrow afternoon Ventura county will have taken another important cultural stride.
  4. Sullivan, Meg (1988-09-08). "Shakespeare, Sweat Revive Deteriorating Foster Bowl". Los Angeles Times . The group, which has roamed from theater to theater in Ventura and Oxnard over its lifetime, hopes to persuade county officials to allow it to thoroughly renovate Foster Bowl as a permanent, year-round venue for children's theater and Broadway musicals.
  5. Pool, Bob (1990-03-30). "Bowl-Bound Amphitheater". Los Angeles Times . p. B1. Ventura County parks officials have turned over the keys to the Foster Park Bowl to Elizabeth Harris in return for a promise that she will renovate and upgrade the open-air amphitheater that is tucked into the side of a hill between Ojai and Ventura.