Martin Smith, 85; Real Estate Mogul, Philanthropist

Editor’s note: A version of this obituary appeared in some editions of Tuesday’s Times.

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Martin V. “Bud” Smith, the millionaire real estate mogul and philanthropist whose empire once included Ventura County’s landmark high-rise towers, has died. He was 85.

Smith died Sunday at his Oxnard home of complications from Parkinson’s disease.

The pioneering developer moved to Oxnard nearly 60 years ago and bought a hamburger stand on Pacific Coast Highway that he later converted to the Colonial House restaurant, which became a popular spot for Hollywood stars on their way to Santa Barbara.

Over the years, Smith’s portfolio grew to include more than 200 properties between Calabasas and Santa Maria. He was believed to be one of the wealthiest entrepreneurs in Ventura County.

His biggest act of philanthropy occurred last year, when he gave $5 million to the county’s first public university: Cal State Channel Islands near Camarillo.

Although diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease several years ago, Smith continued working until last month at the Dean Witter Tower, one of two high-rises his company built at the Oxnard Financial Plaza, just off the Ventura Freeway. The 21-story Dean Witter tower is the tallest building between Los Angeles and San Jose.

After the 1996 sale of most of his holdings--including the Financial Plaza complex, eight hotels, more than 1,000 apartment units and several restaurants--Smith gave his employees a total of several million dollars in bonuses.

“We are sharing our good fortune with all of the people who helped create it,” Smith said in a December 1995 interview with The Times.

The $175-million deal was thought to be the largest property sale in county history. A key to Smith’s wealth was his policy of retaining ownership of practically everything he built. Instead of selling buildings when they were completed, he became the landlord.

In addition to the Financial Plaza complex, which includes the towers and four low-rise buildings, Smith founded Commercial and Farmer’s Bank in Ventura, which was later sold to Union Bank, and he was instrumental in the creation of Channel Islands Harbor.

Smith was born Oct. 18, 1916, in Sioux Falls, S.D., where his mother managed an apartment building. His father, a banker, had a heart attack and died soon after the stock market crash of 1929.

Several years later, Smith’s family moved to Beverly Hills, where he dropped out of high school and went to work operating a network of vending machines from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara.

Smith served in the Army Air Corps during World War II. While he was away, his mother, sister and new wife operated the Colonial House and saved money for Smith’s future investments.

When he returned to Oxnard in 1944, he bought 50 acres on the Oxnard plain. Using surplus Air Corps barracks he bought after the war, he built the Wagon Wheel Restaurant and Motel.

To promote the new venture, Smith bought 200 chickens and turned them loose in downtown Oxnard. Strapped to their legs, he once said, were bands bearing the words, “I just escaped from the Wagon Wheel, where they serve the finest chicken around.”

Smith is survived by his wife of 58 years, Martha; four daughters; and seven grandchildren. A celebration of his life, for family and friends, will be from 3 to 5 p.m. Tuesday at the Tower Club in Oxnard.

Donations may be made to the Martha K. and Martin V. Smith Fund to Benefit the Community, in care of the Ventura County Community Foundation, 1317 Del Norte Road, Suite 150, Camarillo, CA 93010.