Cross Is Sold to Highest Bidder

Despite impassioned protests from several residents, the Ventura City Council on Monday night sold the landmark wooden cross that sits in a hillside park above the city’s historic downtown.

Beating out four other bidders, a historic preservation group called San Buenaventura Heritage purchased the 24-foot-tall cross and an acre around it. Christie Weir, one of the group’s leaders, said the cross would remain in place as a reminder of Ventura’s mission heritage. The group’s bid for the site was $104,216.87.

“We are committed to preserving it for many more generations to enjoy,” said Weir, adding that her group’s backers include people of various faiths who see the cross as a symbol of Ventura.

The city had been threatened with a lawsuit by Americans United for Separation of Church and State, which contended the cross should not be situated on public land or maintained with public funds. Two months ago, the council recommended an auction, agreeing with its legal advisors that fighting a lawsuit would be futile and expensive.

Only one council member dissented from Monday’s vote approving the sale. Neal Andrews, who previously had urged the city to challenge any lawsuit over the cross, called his no vote “a matter of principle.”

Even after the bids were opened, a number of speakers expressed disappointment that the city had decided not to fight for the cross.

Two residents were moved to song, with Joe Vandenberg playing guitar and rhapsodizing about the cross in a Bob Dylan-like wail, and, separately, Helen Yunker launching into a spirited rendition of “Old Rugged Cross.”

Before the packed council chamber, Deputy City Atty. Amy Albano and City Clerk Barbara Kam opened the five bids for the cross and a surrounding chunk of Grant Park that commands a stunning coastal view. One bid was deemed invalid because it did not meet the city’s required minimum of $10,000.

In submitting their bids, prospective buyers promised the public continued access to the spot, which, under the new deed, is to be used only for a monument or open space.

The cross was installed in 1942 but a succession of earlier crosses had stood at the site for most of the years since the late 1700s. According to local lore, a cross was first planted there by Father Junipero Serra, founder of the California missions, including the San Buenaventura Mission in Ventura.

Whether the Grant Park cross was primarily a religious icon or a monument to Ventura’s history was at the heart of the conflict over its setting in a public park.

Stan Kohls, one of three plaintiffs in the threatened lawsuit, contended it was a publicly subsidized “advertisement for Christianity.”

Reached Monday, the retired Somis teacher said the transfer of the cross to private hands apparently resolves the constitutional questions raised by the threatened suit.

“If a private party wants to keep the cross, there’s no technical violation of the Constitution,” he said. “People have a right to express whatever mythology they happen to believe in.”

Kohls said he had been advised to stay away from the council meeting because of death threats that had been made against him.

But for many people, the cross is not so much a religious symbol as a piece of history both public and personal, said Weir, whose group collected donations from hundreds of residents.

“This spot is a landmark in people’s lives,” said Weir, a candidate for City Council in next month’s election.

“It’s one of those indescribable, unique places,” she added.