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Statues of Junípero Serra (Ventura, California)

July 2020 events in the United StatesLandmarks in Ventura, CaliforniaMonuments and memorials in the United States removed during the George Floyd protestsOutdoor sculptures in CaliforniaSculptures of books
Sculptures of men in CaliforniaStatues of Junípero SerraStatues removed in 2020Use American English from December 2021Use mdy dates from December 2021Vandalized works of art in California
Father Junípero Serra Statue
Father Junípero Serra Statue

The Father Serra statue in Ventura, California, representing Junípero Serra, the founder of Mission San Buenaventura, was commissioned by Ventura County through the Works Progress Administration as part of the Federal Art Project in 1935. This statue, made of concrete from a clay model by Uno John Palo Kangas, was placed in a prominent location in a public park across the street from the Ventura County Courthouse in 1936. After the Courthouse was repurposed as Ventura City Hall, the statue was designated as City of Ventura Historic Landmark No. 3 in 1974. As deterioration of the concrete statue became a concern, a wood replica was created by local carvers and used to make a bronze cast. The concrete statue was replaced by the bronze cast in 1989. The wood replica was set in the atrium of the city hall for public display. The public display of statuary honoring Serra has been a source of controversy, particularly among those alleging that Serra was responsible for the suppression of the culture of Chumash people. The city council decided in 2020 to remove the bronze statue and the wood replica from public display.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Statues of Junípero Serra (Ventura, California) (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Statues of Junípero Serra (Ventura, California)
Poli Street, Ventura

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Latitude Longitude
N 34.28198 ° E -119.2931 °
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Ventura City Hall

Poli Street 501
93001 Ventura
California, United States
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Father Junípero Serra Statue
Father Junípero Serra Statue
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Ventura Theatre
Ventura Theatre

The Ventura Theatre is a historic live concert venue in downtown Ventura, California. This was "the only luxury theatre built in Ventura County in the 1920s in the "style of the great movie palaces." The lavish, elegant interior of gilt and opulence was originally designed by Robert E. Power Studios of San Francisco and has been restored. The theatre with a capacity of 1,150 and a flanking office building were designed by architect L. A. Smith in the Spanish Colonial Revival architecture that was favored by architects of motion picture theaters during the 1920s.In 1928, Ventura was a bustling oil boom town when the grand opening featured an organ solo, the latest news, Our Gang comedies, a vaudeville act and the movie Excess Baggage. During the period between 1923 and 1929, many other buildings were constructed: the Hobson Brothers Meat Packing Company (1923), the First National Bank of Ventura (1926) (commonly called the Erle Stanley Gardner), the Ventura Hotel (1926), the Elks Lodge - B. P. 0. E. #1430 (1928), the Mission Theater (1928), the Hotel Washington (1928), the Swift & Company Building (1928), and the Masonic Temple (1929). Contemporary downtown Ventura is defined by the theatre and the other extant buildings from this period.Declared a landmark by the City of Ventura In 1976, the theatre was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. The office building was modernized in 1958 and was not included in the historic designation. The theater currently has an active concert schedule.

Mission San Buenaventura
Mission San Buenaventura

Mission San Buenaventura (Spanish: Misión San Buenaventura), formally known as the Mission Basilica of San Buenaventura, is a Catholic parish and basilica in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. The parish church in the city of Ventura, California, United States, is a Spanish mission founded by the Order of Friars Minor. Founded on March 31, 1782, it was the ninth Spanish mission established in Alta California (or Nueva California) and the last to be established by the head of the Franciscan missions in California, Junípero Serra. Designated a California Historical Landmark, the mission is one of many locally designated landmarks in downtown Ventura. The mission was named after St. Bonaventure, a 13th-century Franciscan saint, one of the early leaders of the Order to which the friars belonged, and a Doctor of the Church. On June 9, 2020, Pope Francis elevated the church to a minor basilica, and on July 15, 2020, the feast day of its patron saint, the announcement of the Pope's action was made and the elevation of the mission's status was officially proclaimed by Archbishop José Gómez of Los Angeles. The name of the mission was changed to reflect this new status in the Catholic Church.Mission San Buenaventura was planned to be founded in 1770, but the founding was delayed because of the low availability of the military escorts needed to establish the mission. In 1793, the first church burned down. When the mission was completed, it included an adjacent quadrangle with living and work space. All that remains of the original mission is the church and its garden.