OJAI : Fate of Old Jail Divides Officials

Not one of the 600 prisoners who were locked up in the squat cinder-block building behind Libbey Bowl in Ojai ever escaped.

The light came in through the side of the jail, and the heavy door closed like a vault. Just like in Alcatraz, said a park supervisor, smiling.

“You couldn’t get out of there if you wanted to,” said Elizabeth McAllister, chairwoman of the Ojai Historic Preservation Commission.

The building, which served as the city jail from the 1920s until the 1970s, is now used by the city Department of Public Works to store fencing for events in the 30-acre Libbey Park.

Some council members and landscape planners see the building as an eyesore that should be replaced with picnic tables.

James Loebl, who has served on the council for 24 years, said his opinion has not changed during his tenure.

“I believe it is in the wrong spot, and I think it’s an ugly building and I think it detracts from the park as a whole,” Loebl said. “I’ve always thought so and I always will.”

But McAllister is leading a fight to restore the square white structure and educate people about its history.

“I think it reflects the history of social order in the valley,” McAllister said. “When you think we had this little tiny jail up until the 1970s, it shows how times have changed.”

McAllister and the commission want to see the building cleaned up and become the focal point of information about Ojai history. Free-standing signs could be stuck into the ground, they say, revealing facts about historic sites.

For example, the Ojai Trail, which runs next to the jail, was once a railroad track that transported oranges to Ventura, McAllister said. The biking and walking trail starts at Foster Park, heads through Ojai and Libbey Park before it turns into a horse trail that ends at Soule Park.

Since history repeats itself, it is not surprising that this is not the first time that the battle over the jail has been fought.

The argument began 20 years ago when the original master plan called for demolition of the jail.

“It happens to be in a place that just doesn’t help the park as a park,” said Robert Royston, the Mill Valley landscape architect who designed the original and recent plan. “It’s visually in the way.”

The debate started up again after Royston repeated his recommendation that the jail be demolished. The council has approved the plan, leaving the jail issue for more discussion.