LANDMARKS / COUNTY HISTORICAL SITES : Keene House Has Rare Architecture

HISTORY: Built about 1872 by Josiah Keene, this house was one of the first grand residences built in the city of San Buenaventura after its incorporation in 1866. Originally the house faced east on Ventura Avenue but was moved around the corner to its present location on Bell Way between Ventura Avenue and Olive Street in 1927. The Keene House is both a county and city landmark.

LOCATION: 41 Bell Way, Ventura

* VIEWING: The outside of the Keene House, a private residence owned by Howard and Grace Ranniger, can be seen from the street. For information, contact the county Cultural Heritage Board at 654-3967 or the city Historical Preservation Department at 654-7800.

The Keene House, a showplace of its day, may be the only remaining example of Second Empire/Victorian residential styles of architecture in the city of Ventura and perhaps in the county.

Second Empire, popular from 1864 to 1885, was a French way of enlarging living space without violating the height limitations of Paris. This was achieved by a steep mansard roof from which gabled dormer windows projected.

The mansard or hip roof of the Keene House has a variety of shingle patterns, originally in different colors, but now in a natural wood tone. Both the living and dining rooms have bay windows on the front and east side of the ground floor.

Victorian elements are seen in the elaborate porch entrance supported by turned columns and balustrades with spindle and spool detail under the roof.

The house originally had a widow’s walk on the third level, but that was damaged by fire and removed around 1880. Rumor was that youngsters were up there smoking, Grace Ranniger said.

Inside, a narrow, steep staircase, now boarded up, led from the second story to the widow’s walk, which had a view of the surrounding 18 acres of apricot trees. “The women would go up there to see where the men were working in the fields,” she said.

The house was built about 1872 by Josiah Keene, a native of Maine who lost his left arm in the Civil War. He worked for the U.S. Treasury Department in Washington until he came to Ventura in 1871 for health reasons. After buying the Ventura Avenue property, he became a beekeeper.

In 1874, Keene married Lucy Monroe, a native of Massachusetts. Four of their five children were born in the house. One son, Herman Keene, became a well-known trapper of mountain lions and homesteaded in the Santa Paula area.

The house had several owners between the Keenes and the Rannigers, who bought it in 1969.

“It was in bad shape,” Grace Ranniger said. “There were 15 railings out of the banister, windows were broken and the plaster was falling off. We redid all that but never changed the structure.”

She recalled using 26 gallons of paint stripper to clean the woodwork. When done, she was pleased to discover an ivy design carved into the moldings.

The house is furnished with antiques that Grace Ranniger refinished herself. “I’ve just always liked old things,” she said.