The Once and Future Downtown : Shopping: Tomorrow’s consumer dollars may be spent in communities that spruce up their business districts to resemble those of yesteryear.

There are hundreds, maybe even thousands, of Ventura County residents who, right about now, are gearing up to make a last-minute holiday dash through the malls.

They will all be hunting down parking spaces, cramming into elevators, hurling themselves toward that last reindeer-ornamented turtleneck, sweating profusely, stomachs churning, and then waiting 30 minutes at the cashier counter.

But there is another option. One that city planners around the county have been hoping local residents would consider: Going to some of the smaller shops in their own cities. Avoiding the crowds. Avoiding the noise. Avoiding the shopping centers altogether. Heading downtown.

You remember downtown, don’t you?

It has been nearly three decades since Petula Clark sang her now-familiar praises of downtown:

*

“Forget all your troubles,

Forget all your cares, and go Downtown,

Things will be great when you’re

Downtown, no finer place for sure,

Downtown, everything’s waiting for you.”

*

A lot has changed since then.

Strip malls, suburban shopping centers, television shopping channels and catalogue shopping have all aspired to rob downtowns of customers--and they’ve had a considerable degree of success doing so.

But downtown historical centers of commerce--indeed the first “shopping centers”--continue to exist, and some even thrive.

But few flourish simply by existing. Downtown business associations are common and work hard to promote themselves. Their members must be versed in the four Rs: Redevelopment, Revitalization, Renewal and Restoration.

“There are so many factors beyond our control . . . freeways, malls, shopping by mail,” said John Nichols, owner of Mr. Nichols Bookstore and Art Gallery in Downtown Santa Paula.

Nichols is chairman of the Design Committee of the Santa Paula Chamber of Commerce’s Main Street Project.

“The downtown is the heart of the city,” he said, “but it needs life support, even heroic measures, to remain viable.”

Encouraging consumers to return to their roots in downtown is an enormous undertaking. An appealing and enticing environment must be created and maintained and customers need to be educated about the advantages of shopping downtown. This is all particularly challenging considering the deteriorating infrastructure of aging downtowns.

Here is a look at the history and the future of some of Ventura County’s downtowns.

Ojai

A cohesive theme for a downtown is often an elusive goal for modern urban planners. Perhaps the first successful attempt at this in Ventura County was the Ojai Arcade, built on Ojai Avenue in 1917 and donated to the city by wealthy glass manufacturer Edward Drummond Libbey.

The arcade was designed to give a unifying and aesthetically appealing architectural theme to Ojai’s downtown business section. The Spanish-mission style arches were completely refurbished and made earthquake resistant in 1989, using donations from local citizens, businesses and organizations.

Downtown Ojai still reflects the city’s tourist-Mecca beginnings. Many of the upscale, trendy shops and businesses cater to the weekend tourist trade from Los Angeles.

Margaret Westrom, executive director of the Ojai Valley Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau, said a resort, The Oaks at Ojai, attracts many visitors who shop at the unique clothing stores, galleries, shops and restaurants, and the venerable Rains Department Store, located in the arcade.

“Visitors come mostly from Los Angeles to enjoy our natural beauty,” Westrom said. “They come to hike, bike, play tennis or to attend one of our festivals.”

Many of those festivals take place directly across from the arcade in Libbey Park, yet another Libbey legacy. Fifteen wooded acres complete with tennis courts and an outdoor amphitheater lure tourists and their much sought-after pocketbooks. Park events include the Ojai Tennis Tournament (the nation’s oldest continuing tennis tournament), the Ojai Music Festival, and summer Shakespeare in the Park productions.

Some downtown Ojai stats (Ojai Avenue between Signal and Montgomery streets), provided by the business licensing office of the city of Ojai:

* 30-35 retail stores and service businesses

* 6 eateries

* 1 place of lodging

* 1 department store

* 1 spa

* 1 park and outdoor amphitheater

* 1 movie theater

* 1 post office

Oxnard

Oxnard’s downtown has been the object of some less-successful schemes to save it from extinction.

In the ‘60s, a then-popular idea for saving downtowns from the growing popularity of large, suburban shopping malls, was to block the main thoroughfare from automobiles and reserve the street for foot traffic, creating a downtown mall of sorts.

In Oxnard’s case, that thoroughfare was the span of A Street between 2nd and 5th streets. Work on the mall began in 1969 and wasn’t completed until 1971. Many business owners left the area during the construction period.

The final results were discouraging, if not disastrous.

“The downtown property owners and redevelopment agency expressed concern that the lack of traffic was hurting business,” said Dennis Matthews, administrator of the Oxnard Redevelopment Agency.

Vacancy rates soared, business was down and the area sank further into a slump. At the urging of property owners--and paid for by them--A Street was reopened to vehicle traffic in 1987, at a cost of nearly half a million dollars.

“(The redevelopment agency) paid for the mall, which literally killed my business, and then we had to pay to take it out,” said Chuck Johnson, owner of Johnson’s Television and Video, which has been downtown since Johnson’s father founded the company in 1937. “I’m still paying for it.”

Some of the remnants of the street blockage still exist, such as small “mini-parks” at regular intervals that cause motorists to zig and zag slowly down A Street. A large number of commercial retail buildings display “For Rent” signs even today, but merchants say reopening the street has helped.

“Downtown Oxnard is coming back,” Johnson said. “There are activities like a push-’em, pull-’em parade, Christmas decorating contests . . . things I haven’t seen since I was a kid.”

A large dose of Oxnard’s history has been restored recently with the completion of Heritage Square. Historical homes from around Oxnard, including those of many of the founding farming families, have been moved to a single city block--A and 7th streets--at the south end of Oxnard’s downtown.

“It was the worst block in downtown,” Matthews said of what he explained had been an underdeveloped area. “(The restoration) has been extremely popular in the community. It has brought people to downtown who haven’t been there in years.”

Extensive repairs and renovations, funded by the redevelopment agency, have been completed and the homes are now being rented as office space for professionals. Matthews said that even with the current recession, and with downtown Oxnard rents at the highest level they have ever been, the 50,000 square feet available is two-thirds rented.

Another redevelopment project, the Oxnard Transportation Center, was completed in 1984. Its red brick bus and train station has provided a boost to businesses on the east side of Oxnard Boulevard, said Matthews, spurring $1.5 million in private investment there, but little change on the west side of the boulevard.

“Due to the heavy traffic on Oxnard Boulevard, there is very little exchange between the two sides of the street,” Matthews said. “It is sort of like the Mason-Dixon line.” He said the city is working on a bypass for Oxnard Boulevard that would lessen through traffic and provide for more interchange between the two sides of the street.

Another plan for the future includes rebuilding the residential community around downtown to provide a new customer base.

Some downtown Oxnard stats (A Street between 2nd and 6th streets), provided by the Oxnard Redevelopment Agency:

* 26 retail stores or service businesses

* 2 eateries

* 10 law offices

* 6 beauty salons

* 3 tax services

* 1 Hispanic Chamber of Commerce

Santa Paula

Santa Paula’s downtown is anchored by two National Landmark buildings, created by the forces driving the early development of the city: oil and agriculture.

At 10th and Main streets is the Unocal Oil Museum, a painstakingly restored 1890 Queen Anne office building. It was built as the original headquarters for the Union Oil Co., which later became Unocal, now one of the largest energy concerns in the world. The first discovery of oil in California was made in the hills just north of Santa Paula, and oil continues to play a role in the local business community.

Anchoring the west end at 7th and Main streets is an edifice created with the profits from agriculture, the Santa Paula Women’s (or Ebell) Clubhouse, home of the Santa Paula Theater Center since 1988.

As with other cities in the county, the earthquake safety of downtown buildings is a concern in Santa Paula. Seismic considerations, of little concern to the early builders of downtowns, have become a major issue in the revitalization of historic buildings. In a significant shaker, unreinforced masonry buildings are the first to go.

Design Committee Chairman Nichols said that in Santa Paula alone there are more than 150 such structures, some built as long ago as 1870, most in the downtown area.

The look of downtown is eye-catching enough, but what about the bottom line? Nichols said the city’s downtown businesses have been particularly affected by consumer flight.

“Santa Paula has a high percentage of income spent outside the city,” he said. In fact, the city’s Chamber of Commerce estimates 70% of the spendable income of Santa Paula residents goes into shopping malls in other areas of the county.

In an effort to bring that money back home, the Santa Paula Chamber of Commerce recently sponsored a highly focused study of Santa Paula’s downtown by a group of fifth-year architecture students from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

A blueprint for a new, improved downtown Santa Paula was created. It includes plans for everything from the grandiose to the mundane; from redesignating parking angles from parallel to diagonal, to plans for a 300-seat amphitheater in a nearby park.

One of the new ideas is actually a return to the original, historical integrity of the buildings’ architecture, which has been lost over the years to attempts at improvement.

The students’ designs and recommendations are being studied by Nichols’ Design Committee. A period of public display and comment is planned, followed by presentations to the Chamber of Commerce and finally to the City Council. Schemes include options for a five-, 10- and 20-year implementation of recommendations.

Nichols said it is hoped that the downtown ultimately will have a 1920s flavor that will appeal to tourists and help augment, but not replace, businesses catering to local residents. “There are no quick and easy fixes,” he said. “But now we have a vision to pursue.”

Some downtown Santa Paula stats (Main Street between 7th and 10th streets), provided by the business licensing office of the city of Santa Paula:

* 30 retail stores or service businesses

* 9 eateries

* 4 places of lodging

* 20 doctors

* 18 beauty salons

Fillmore

Fillmore was founded in 1886 when the Southern Pacific Railroad came to town and planted a station at the halfway point of the just-completed Saugus to Ventura line. Named after a railroad executive, the city’s downtown began at the depot and spread north along Central Avenue.

Downtown Fillmore, destroyed by fire in 1903, today largely is composed of structures of brick and mortar built in the boom years of the ‘20s and late 1910s.

Renovation of Fillmore’s downtown, another subject of a Cal Poly design study, was completed in 1990. It was paid for by redevelopment funds at a cost of just less than $1 million.

“Redevelopment is the best way to spend tax dollars,” said Fillmore City Councilman Roger Campbell. “Our gross sales tax revenues increased significantly after we finished the renovation of our downtown district.” And this, said Campbell, was at a time of declining tax revenue in other cities in the county.

Changes implemented in Fillmore’s plan include the addition of planters and benches, refinished sidewalks that include red brick designs integrated into the concrete, faux cobblestone street surfaces at crosswalks, and restoration of building facades to bring them closer to their original state.

The alterations meant the removal of elements of modernization that were added over the years, such as non-original tile, aluminum siding and stucco facings, to lend a more historically accurate and consistent look to the downtown.

Some downtown Fillmore stats (Central Avenue, between Ventura and Kensington avenues):

* 23 retail stores

* 3 eateries

* 3 churches

* 1 park

* 1 gym

* 1 pool hall

* 1 arcade

* 1 car dealership

Ventura

Ventura’s downtown boasts the oldest building extant in Ventura County, Mission San Buenaventura, built in 1783. It is still in use today as a Catholic church and school. The downtown business district begins at the mission and extends to the east along Main Street.

Directly across from the mission stands the empty Peirano’s Grocery. Restrictive earthquake codes would require expensive renovations to the building, which is made of unreinforced brick and mortar. These costs have kept businesses from occupying the structure since Peirano’s closed in the 1970s.

Cost figures into equations about doing business anywhere, but especially, it seems, in downtowns, where many unique businesses open because rents are cheaper than in newer commercial buildings. This allows for lower overhead, said John Nichols of Santa Paula. A lesser margin of profit can be generated, he said, yet the business can still remain viable. Ventura’s downtown is no different.

The uniqueness inherent to some downtown businesses, however, can cause a problem for downtown uniformity. An enormous controversy erupted when the Wild Planet record store opened in downtown Ventura. Lime green was chosen for the exterior color scheme, with vibrant flames of yellow and orange paint licking the roof line. Incongruently, the entryway still retains the original terrazzo flooring of the long-since defunct childrens clothing store Rex’s. Nearby business owners were incensed at the Wild Planet’s color scheme, saying it didn’t keep with the historic nature of downtown. After much serious debate Wild Planet was allowed to keep its decor.

“Hey, I’d paint myself green to do the kind of business they’re doing,” said Sandy Smith, former president of the Downtown Ventura Business Assn. and owner of Rosarito Beach Cafe.

“But in the future, if a standard look for downtown Ventura is eventually adopted, that may be a different story.”

Smith, who refers to Ventura’s downtown as the only “seaside downtown” in the county, has spent two years working on the city’s Downtown Specific Plan, which he expects will be presented to the Planning Commission by January. From there it would go to the City Council.

The plan includes the goal of creating housing out of what is now a light-industrial area west of downtown.

Smith’s vision of downtown Ventura is an eclectic mix of art galleries, cafes and retail stores, with parking supplemented by large, multilevel parking structures behind current businesses.

With a timetable reaching well into the 21st Century, Smith, Nichols and many other downtown business owners have their eyes set on the consumer dollar of the future. With any luck, and a lot of hard work, that future could well be a return to the past.

But who cares about the future? You have shopping to do.

Some downtown Ventura stats, (between Ash and Olive streets, Poli Street and the ocean), provided by the Ventura Visitors and Convention Bureau and the Downtown Ventura Merchants Assn.

* 228 retail shops and service businesses

* 34 eateries

* 7 places of lodging

* 1 movie theater

* 1 concert theater

* 1 county fairgrounds

* 2 parks

* 1 mission

* 2 museums

DOWNTOWN SHOPPING / A RANDOM SAMPLING

You’re down to hours, not days, of shopping time left before Christmas. And you’re now convinced that QVC Network will not get that all-important package to you by tonight.

Well, forget all your troubles, forget all your cares, and go downtown!

Here is a random, wholly subjective selection of shops and gift-giving ideas, representative of the wide variety of unique choices appearing at a downtown near you. Prices do not include tax, license or delivery by the bearded guy in the sleigh.

FILLMORE

J.R.’s Indian City, 404 Central Ave., open today 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., 524-2314.

* Faux coonskin cap: $7.95

* Doll in traditional Cherokee garb: $9.95.

* Turquoise and silver earrings: $22.50.

* Black felt “Billy Jack” hat: $24.95.

OJAI

Tottenham Court, 242 E. Ojai Ave., open today 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., 646-2339.

* Honeycomb wax candle (green, shaped like a Christmas tree): $2.

* “A Day at the Races” fine English teapot: $52.50.

* Duchess of Devonshire fine afternoon tea: $8.50.

* Tottenham scone mix: $5.50.

* A “Dollar” chocolate: $1.25.

Rains Department Store, 218 E. Ojai Ave., open today 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., 646-1441.

This place has just about everything for Christmas under one roof: from a ceramic-on-steel roaster for the turkey ($10.99) to one-coat acrylic paint for a quick once-over on the walls before the big party ($20.99 a gallon) to a Pendleton wool flannel shirt for Uncle Fred ($56.). Other items of note:

* 1993 calender towel: $9.25.

* Santa nightshirt (with socks that look like boots): $24.

OXNARD

Woolworth’s, 401 S. A St., open today 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., 483-5114.

This was a real five-and-dime store, kids, a relic from the days when most items could still be purchased for 5 and 10 cents. Woolworth’s is even inscribed in the original terrazzo of the entrance. Prices have gone up since the good old days, but bargains can still be had. Some examples:

* Boys’ long-johns (in white, black, gray and ecru): $4.77.

* Non-stick aluminum range-top grill: $9.99.

* Mainline HO scale train set with 73 railroad and street signs: $29.99.

SANTA PAULA

Mr. Nichols Bookstore and Art Gallery, 910 E. Main St., open today 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., 525-7804.

* A tape of “The romantic piano music and unique light touch of Bob Andrews”: $11.

* Parmlee Duke original ceramic plates: $35.

* Kit-Kat clock with rolling eyes and wagging tail: $39.95.

* Art from the “A Look at Santa Paula Artists” exhibit: $125. and up.

Musselman & Luttrull Antiques and Old Lighting, 840 E. Main St., open today 10 a.m. to about 2 p.m., 525-5406.

* “Santa Paula” pattern pottery from Vernon Kilns: $20 and up.

* Disaster lamp: $55.

* Restored 1890 “Gone With the Wind” kerosene parlor lamp: $795.

* 1881 Waterbury iron case clock with visible escapement: $795.

* Antique walnut desk (Santa: I’ve been a good boy . . . ): $895.

VENTURA

Atelier de Chocolat, 442 E. Main Street, open today 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., 648-5937.

A candy store has been at this location continuously, although under different names, since the Ventura Sweet Shop opened in 1925.

* Solid chocolate dinosaur pop: $1.95.

* Solid chocolate Santa: $6.

* Solid chocolate train (three cars): $49.95.

* Truffles in an edible chocolate basket: $10.50.

* Chocolate champagne bottle filled with chocolate liqueur balls: $34.95.

Wild Planet, 576 E. Main St., open today 10 a.m. to about 6 p.m., 643-5238.

* Plastic dashboard Shriner: $1.99.

* “Easy Rider” movie poster: $7.

* Felix the Cat boxer shorts: $11.99.

* Live video of the Red Hot Chili Peppers in concert in Tokyo: $19.99