Tour to Feature 5 Historic Homes

Five homes in the city’s Henry T. Oxnard National Historic District will be opened to the public Sunday for the fifth annual Autumn Home Tour.

The homes, on F and G streets, date from 1910 to 1938 and feature stained and leaded glass windows, and brick porches and chimneys in designs common for the era. Although it’s a self-guided tour, docents will be available to provide information at each home.

The district’s 144 homes, between 5th Street and Magnolia Avenue, made up the city’s first subdivision and opened in 1911. It is the only district in Ventura County to receive a national historic distinction. It was named after Henry T. Oxnard, one of four Oxnard brothers who built the sugar beet factory that led to Oxnard’s growth as a city.

The event, from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., is sponsored by the Friends of Old Oxnard and the Oxnard Convention & Visitors Bureau. Proceeds will benefit the Gull Wings Children’s Museum, Ventura County Maritime Museum, Plaza Park Bandstand Restoration Project and neighborhood preservation programs.

Visitors may park in the parking lot of the former Oxnard High School, at 5th and H streets, where an information booth will be set up. Participants can pick up a brochure and map of the tour and walk one block to the first house.

Tickets are $15. They are available at the Ventura County Maritime Museum, 2731 S. Victoria Ave., and at the Oxnard Convention & Visitors Bureau, 200 W. 7th St.

For more information, call 385-7545.