VENTURA : Olivas Adobe Landscape to Be Restored

The Olivas Adobe, a historical landmark near the Channel Islands Harbor, will be landscaped early next year to look as it did when the spacious Monterey-style adobe home was built in the mid-18th Century, Ventura parks officials said Friday.

The restoration project--which will cost the city of Ventura $60,000--is in line with a trend that has seen curators at sites across the nation attempting to re-create historically accurate landscapes, project coordinator Beth Cohen said.

“Over the years, landscaping efforts at the Olivas Adobe have made the area green and lush, but that’s not how the original site looked in the 1800s,” said Cohen, a Ventura parks and recreation supervisor.

Old photographs show that the grounds surrounding the adobe home, which was built between 1847 and 1849 by wealthy rancher Don Raymundo Olivas, were sparse. The most prominent features were a boardwalk in front of the home and a white picket fence around it.

Both features are being incorporated into the renovations, according to Don Marquardt, the city of Ventura landscape architect who drew up the new design.

Taking out plants that were put in after Olivas left the residence will help preserve the house, because it will eliminate irrigation water that is deteriorating the house’s adobe walls, Marquardt said.

For those who wish to see the Olivas Adobe before the restoration efforts begin, the parks department is sponsoring a wine festival from noon to 3 p.m. today at 4200 Olivas Park Drive.

Money raised at the event--which will feature food from several area restaurants and wine from Southern California vintners--will go toward the purchase of period furniture for the adobe.

Tickets cost $25 and are available at the door.