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Discover Santa Paula
City of
Santa Paula
Santa Paula
Citrus Festival
Come join in the fun!
Santa
Paula History can be found here.
Some 70 minutes - and 70 years - from Los Angeles is
the singular city of Santa Paula. This is a place warmed by year-round
sunshine, nourished by deep soils and ample water, a place unspoiled by
development, smog and overcrowding.
27,000 people live here, enfolded by mountains and by the
last great citrus greenbelts of Southern California, some 34,000 acres in
lemons, oranges and avocados. We are ten minutes from the Pacific and deep
in the heart of Ventura County.
There are as many reasons to live and work in Santa Paula
as there are warm, welcoming people. This is a city of genuine grace and
historic charm, of tree-lined streets and parks among pleasant river
valleys.
It is a place where the founding industries of agriculture
and oil coexist comfortably with fresh ideas, new people and high-tech
businesses. Best of all, this town is quiet and unhurried, yet within easy
reach of the Los Angeles metroplex.
Whether you’re a visitor or business owner, whether you’re
staying minutes or months, you are welcome in Santa Paula.
Downtown:
Amongst the dash and splash of contemporary California, Santa Paula’s
downtown is a pleasant surprise. There are no strip malls, billboards or
cookie-cutter chain stores here. Crowds are rare, parking meters
non-existent.
This is hometown USA, broad sidewalks and bens seating,
trees and planters. Original storefronts and family businesses bid
welcome. Subtle aromas invite, fresh discoveries and forgotten bargains
beckon a visitor deep into a store.
In a century-old city, you’ll find an antique or two.
Santa Paul has a dozen, many like The Mill (c. 1890) in buildings that are
themselves antique. Here are the memorabilia and minutiae of bygone times,
jewelry, furniture, bric-a-brac and curiosities, each a collectible and a
perfect gift. The Citrus Classic Balloon Festival
offers the excitement of seeing hot air balloons flying through this green corridor towards the Pacific Ocean. It is primarily a spectator event, with opportunities to watch the hot
air balloons Glow at night, and ascend for morning races. There are is fun for the whole family, including live music and entertainment, a Kids Activity Korral, and a Heritage
Valley Vendors Village with an assortment of food, beverages, arts, crafts and souvenir booths
Everything old is new again:
As Santa Paula approaches its 100th year, the city is
undertaking a major refurbishing of its downtown and the railroad
corridor.
Santa Paula’s is one of the last remaining historic
downtowns in Southern California. The project maintains the integrity of a
remarkable building stock while creating infrastructure for the next
century.
The $3.5 million first phase brought new sidewalks, bench
seating, pear trees, and planters. Old-fashioned street lights replaced
overhead lamps, while traffic lanes gave way to a pedestrian paseo.
At the same time, the developing Heritage Valley visitor
route is linking historic attractions along the Santa Clara River valley,
and prefaces a new age for Santa Paula.
Fly back in time:
Long before there were thrill rides, there were airplanes. Before
simulators, there was reality. There was flight.
Even now, nothing on earth takes you higher or faster than
an airplane. And when it comes to airplanes, nothing comes close to Santa
Paula Airport. This is the place to take a ride, get an attitude
adjustment, see the sights.
This private airport’s 100 or so old-fashioned gray
hangers house the rare and remarkable. An airport tour - every first
Sunday of each month - takes in open cockpit aircraft, staggerwing
biplanes, gullwing Stinsons, a vintage Lockheed 12, experimental,
aerobatic and high performance planes. Caution: Santa Paula is a working
airport so pay close attention to spinning propellers.
And now the Santa Paula Airport has its own Aviation
Museum celebrating the days of wood propellers and wondrous flying
machines.
Art, Murals and Galleries
In a half century, Santa Paula has produced a number of remarkable
artists: the signatures of Cornelis and Jesse Arms Botke, Robert Clunie
and Douglas Shively are known nationally. The city itself has a long
association with art; annual, juried art shows draw outstanding talent
from across the state and the nation.
Seven outstanding murals have been completed and more are
planned to lead you around our community. The murals are an outstanding
example of what a community can do to express itself.
Many art galleries are spread throughout the downtown
including the Society of The Arts of Santa Paula, featuring works by local
artists.
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Attractions:
California Oil Museum
This beautifully restored Queen Anne-Italianate-style building was built
in 1890 by Union Oil Company and now houses a museum of the oil industry
artifacts plus rotating exhibits of science, history, and art. Tours and
museum store shopping are available. Ventura County Historical Landmark
#36; National Register #86002619.
Wednesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
1001 East Main Street
(805) 933-0076
Santa Paula Theatre Center
Originally the Ebell Club; offers live theatre in 1917 building; Ventura
County Historical Landmark #76; National Register #89000949; shown by
appt.
125 South Seventh Street
(805) 525-3073
Mountain View Golf Course
Scenic 18-hole public golf course nestled between the mountains and the
Santa Clara River
16799 South Mountain Road
(805) 525-1571
Southern Pacific Railroad Depot
Houses the Santa Paula Chamber of Commerce and the Santa Paula Society of the
Arts; built 1887; Ventura County
Historical Landmark #23. The depot is located at:
963 East Santa Barbara Street; corner of Tenth and Santa Barbara
(805) 525-5561 Limoneira Ranch
1141 Cummings Road.
(805) 525-5541
Limoneira Building
North Tenth Street
Pan American Seed
Fundraising spring flower tours conducted by Santa Clara Valley Hospice.
Santa Paula Airport and Aviation Museum
The aviation museum highlights the history of this 1930 airport, home to
one of the largest collections antique aircraft in the world. The best
time to go is the first Sunday of every month, 10 a.m.to 3 p.m.
(805) 933-1155
(805) 525-1109
Downtown Murals
A new collection of murals depicting vintage scenes of Santa Paula life,
including the Chumash Indian era, Main Street in 1910, and Citrus Capital
Days. Perfect for a walking tour.
The Abundant Harvest
With 20 feet of topsoil, 14 inches of rain and a Mediterranean
climate, Santa Paula provides perhaps the best site for citrus orchards
anywhere. And it’s highly favorable for the avocados, vegetables and
nursery stock that also occupy the 34,000 acre greenbelt around the city.
Agriculture brings close to a billion dollars a year to
Ventura County. At $6,700 per acre, productivity of irrigated cropland
around Santa Paula is three times higher than the California average. The
area has many growers, biotech and agricultural support companies.
When traveling to the quaint City of Santa Paula, visitors
can peacefully stroll through its old-fashioned streets lined with Queen
Anne and Victorian style homes. There are even a few Craftsman-era
residences which add to the architectural diversity of this charming town.
Historic Main Street offers a glimpse of buildings dating from the late
1800’s. One of the City’s more popular attractions is the California Oil Museum. This is the original building that housed Union Oil when
it was founded in 1890. A tour of the museum offers an insight into the
development of the area including the growth of the oil industry with the
arrival of the railroad in 1887.
Many travelers to Santa Paula choose to stay over-night in
one of its bed and breakfast inns or the historic Glen Tavern Inn. Since
its opening, the Glen Tavern Inn, established in 1911, has continued to
delight visitors with its English Tudor atmosphere and nostalgia. And if
you are interested in antique shopping, you will enjoy the many antique
stores and galleries.
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