VENTURA : Poles Expected to Cast Proper Light on Project

About 50 ornate cast-iron light poles sat rusting away in Hall Canyon for nearly 35 years, relics of a downtown Ventura from the turn-of-the-century era.

But when members of San Buenaventura Heritage, a historical preservation group, learned about the poles recently, they jumped at the chance to restore five of them.

“They are magnificent,” said Steve Cummings, president of the group.

The reason old iron light poles are so exciting to Cummings and others is that the group has been toiling 16 years to meticulously restore Dudley House at Loma Vista Road and Ashwood Avenue in Ventura.

A Queen Anne-style structure built in 1892, Dudley House is nearing its public debut. The 13-foot poles have fluted columns and elaborate bases with rosettes and other floral designs, perfect for the era that Dudley House will depict, said Steve Harberts, a Ventura architect who is overseeing the restoration project.

“We think they are great because we can get the historical accuracy we wanted, starting right out in the parking lot,” he said.

Dudley House will be a living museum where people can see rooms and Victorian architecture as they existed in Ventura from the late 1800s to about 1929, Harberts said.

Heritage organizers hope to open the house for holiday bazaars and other fund-raising events this winter, said Marie Lakin, a spokeswoman for the group.

But Heritage is made up of volunteers, and nearly all the money for restoration comes from infrequent fund-raisers and donations of time, labor or money. The latter is most valuable when it comes to the detailed work of restoring a 100-year-old home, Lakin said.

The foundation has already spent $400,000 on the project, Harberts said. But major work remains, including laying cement walkways, installing railings on a wheelchair-access ramp and decorating the house.

The group needs some “really hefty guys” to help lift the 500-pound poles onto workhorses. The top layer of rust must be sanded, primer applied, followed by a final coat of paint, Cummings said.

Because the lights are so heavy, they must be seated in concrete four feet deep.

But Cummings, Harberts and others think the work will be worth it. Dudley House is envisioned to include a community room and brick terrace where public concerts would take place, officials said.

“It will be a tremendous asset for the city,” Cummings said.