TOURS DESIGN HOUSE : Remodeling History : Refurbished 1911 Oxnard Bungalow to Open for Symphony Fund-Raiser
A rambling 1911 California Cottage-style home is located at the corner of 2nd and F streets in Oxnard on a broad parkway lined with mature Sycamore trees. It has been home to families who have shaped Ventura County’s history.
For the next month, it will be home to Design House ‘90, the Ventura County Symphony’s eighth annual fund-raising event, which opens to the public on Saturday. A premiere party tomorrow night features tours by the designers, a catered tapas buffet, and a mariachi band, said Katherine Griffith Young, Design House chairwoman.
Extensively remodeled over the years, the 14-room, single-story house at 205 S. F St., is now owned by George and Jurhee Fitzgibbons. It is the first Oxnard residence to be renovated by the Ventura County Symphony League.
It sits on 2 1/2 city lots and was the first home built on F Street. With the public library, City Hall, and Santa Clara Catholic Church, it formed a hub of the Oxnard community.
This year, a group of 24 Ventura County interior and landscape designers have worked three months to transform the house’s 1950s decor and add modern conveniences.
The charm of the California Arts and Crafts-style bungalow has been retained and even enhanced by renovations that include blonde hardwood floors, built-in cabinets, leaded glass windows, innovative tile work and wall coverings. A tour of the house should be accompanied by a stroll around this historic neighborhood, which contains many largely unmodified houses that are fine examples of the California and Craftsman bungalows built between 1910 and 1930.
The city of Oxnard grew rapidly after the arrival of the Oxnard brother’s American Beet Sugar Company in 1898, which was managed by Maj. J. A. Driffill. Homes were in great demand and the majority were constructed for the city’s middle and upper-middle-class families, including many successful early businessmen, developers, and professional people.
F Street, known as the Henry T. Oxnard subdivision, was developed in April 1909 by the Oxnard Light and Water Company, whose president was Driffill.
This particular house was built by Driffill as a wedding present for his daughter and her husband Charles J. Murphy, another prosperous Oxnard pioneer and partner of Murphy and Weill, the only grocery store in Oxnard.
T. Frank McGrath bought the house in 1949. About 1956, following his death, Mrs. McGath moved into the spacious four-room guest house, giving the main residence to her daughter and family.
The Fitzgibbons have owned the house for two and a half years. With only one child now living at home, the comfortable house and gardens are a perfect setting for visits from their other four children and three grandchildren.
According to design coordinator Noel Daily, designers have donated time, labor and most of the materials in decorating each room to conform to the color palette approved by the owners.
Each room is like a musical movement with the predominant color reflecting the room’s function and creating a specific mood. The light mustard living room glows in contrast to the black marble fireplace.
Colors range from pale yellow, cornflower blue, and putty to coral, jade and bright Canton blue.
Much of the furniture is upholstered in chintz fruit or floral patterns to bring the gardens indoors. Artists accented these shades by painting the crown moldings and wide baseboards white. The 9-foot ceilings are papered, painted, or bordered. The guest house, decorated in green and peach with white wooden shutters, is in cool contrast to the warm, brighter tones and tropical bird wall coverings of the main residence.
All proceeds from the Design House benefit the Ventura County Symphony. Last year over 4,000 people toured the design home. The fund-raiser provided $30,000 of the $45,000 raised by the Symphony League, including chapters in Camarillo, Ojai, Point Hueneme/Oxnard, and Ventura.
Frank Salazar, music director and conductor of the symphony, said “without the support of the League and the Board we would depend entirely upon ticket sales and that never pays all the bills.” Salazar said the league is responsible for raising 10% of the annual symphony budget.
The orchestra, formed in 1962, is now an ensemble of 80 professional musicians.
The Ventura County Symphony League, with more than 500 volunteers, also provides cultural enrichment projects and educational outreach programs.
The Symphony Assn. and private contributions support the Civic/Youth Orchestra, whose players are students and non-professional adults. The Music in the Schools Ensemble Program consists of small ensembles that perform lecture/demonstrations for elementary school students. The Young Artist Award Competition provides scholarships and performance opportunities for talented young musicians, and Music-Go-Round, a van filled with instruments for hands-on workshops and demonstrations for children, is operated by docents through the League.
EVENTS AT DESIGN HOUSE
Premiere Party
April 20, 5-9 p.m.
$35 per person (no-host bar)
Call for reservations (805) 648-5656
Public Viewing
April 21 through May 20
Wednesday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 4 p.m.
$9 in advance. $10 at the door, beginning April 21
For ticket information, call (805) 983-2811. For group tours, call (805) 644-4611
Art and gift items by 25 artists will be for sale in the boutique. Box lunches available; call one day ahead: (805) 487-5205.
Where:
205 S. F St., Oxnard
From the Ventura Freeway, northbound, turn left at Vineyard exit; left on Oxnard Boulevard; right on Second Street to F Street
From Ventura Freeway southbound, exit at Oxnard Boulevard; right on Second Street to F Street.
