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                  Remembering When
                  In 1916, downtown Ojai was transformed
                  by David Mason

                  "In a country of many beautiful hotels, the El Roblar
                  stands out in a striking and picturesque manner.
                  Furnishings and appointments are in the best of
                  taste, and the cuisine and service are of the highest
                  standard of excellence."
                  - Country Life Magazine
                  September 1924

                  Mr. Edward D. Libbey, Ojai's greatest benefactor, had
                  bought the property where the only hotel in town
                  stood for many years, and was in the process of
                  having it removed to create the Civic Center Park,
                  now Libbey Park.
                  The desire to have a grand hotel facing the main
                  street of Nordhoff, now Ojai, started in 1916. The
                  downtown was going through a transformation; bricks
                  and lumber, for the construction of the arcade, post
                  office tower and pergola, were stacked up along both
                  sides of the street.
                  The block proposed for the hotel was between Ventura
                  and Signal streets; the banner headline in the local
                  newspaper The Ojai was: "Plan for $50,000 Hotel for
                  this Community." The paper continued with the
                  important news: "This location is central and very
                  desirable for many reasons. There are a number of
                  live oaks on the property, and the grounds could be
                  highly attractive. It is high ground and possesses
                  almost a natural drainage." It continued on with the
                  proposal, "This fine hostelry, as contemplated,
                  should appeal strongly to the spirit of pride and
                  local loyalty that so happily rules in Nordhoff and
                  the valley, and every citizen of wealth, or even
                  moderate means, should rally to the support of the
                  promoters of the project, as it is proposed to form a
                  stock company to launch the undertaking without
                  unnecessary delay."
                  Like so many projects in the young town, the hotel
                  proposal wasn't started.
                  When the great fire of 1917 destroyed the Victorian
                  homes that had stood for many years on that downtown
                  block, Mr. Libbey strongly supported the idea of
                  building the hotel in the newly named town of Ojai.
                  To finance this hotel, Libbey donated $10,000 and two
                  prominent Ojai citizens, Judge Boyd Gabbert and J.J.
                  Burke of the Ojai Realty Co., took it upon themselves
                  to sell stock for the projected amount of $30,000.
                  Libbey saw the need for a hotel that would be open
                  year-round, as the other hotel, The Foothills, was
                  only open during the winter months. He contacted
                  Richard S. Requa, the arcade's architect, to draw up
                  the plans.
                  Building commenced in the summer of 1919, with Robert
                  Winfield, a noted builder from Pasadena, overseeing
                  the construction. Here again, the very best features
                  of Spanish architecture were used with beautiful
                  results. After much discussion and suggestions as to
                  what name to call the hotel, a name was decided upon,
                  the Hotel El Roblar. Some local citizens wanted to
                  name it Libbey's Tavern, but Mr. Libbey was not in
                  agreement with that name in the least.
                  The hotel opened informally, Wednesday evening, Jan.
                  28, 1920. Many of the hotel's fine pieces of
                  furnishings had not arrived before the opening and
                  the management was forced to gather up substitutions
                  here and there around the valley in order to
                  accommodate the guests.
                  The manager Frank J. Barrington was born in Ireland
                  and came to America in 1897 and went into the
                  catering business in Philadelphia, Pa. In 1906, he
                  came to California and entered into the same business
                  in Santa Barbara until he obtained the position of
                  manager of the new Hotel El Roblar in 1920.
                  It was an exciting time in Ojai. The downtown
                  reminded everyone of a small Spanish village, and in
                  the center of town was now a striking two-story
                  hotel. The city fathers took it all one step further
                  and installed street lights.
                  The Ojai newspaper wrote: "Bright Lights of Ojai
                  Shine for All." They referred to the business and
                  professional men as being "progressive and
                  up-to-date." In the tone of excitement, the paper
                  wrote, " the street-lighting system that now adorns
                  Ojai Avenue - the main street of the village, looms
                  up by night in a class with Los Angeles' famous
                  Broadway. If you of the down-country section doubt
                  this statement just step into your 'Lizzie Six' and
                  motor into the valley any old evening and see for
                  yourselves."
                  By 1924, Mr. Barrington had managed to buy up all of
                  the shares of stock in the hotel and became the sole
                  owner. He continued to make improvements that gave it
                  a home-type atmosphere that appealed to the guests.
                  He also started the planning and development of
                  additional rooms.
                  Mr. John Roine of Hollywood was hired as the
                  architect for the addition. Roine had designed many
                  of the Ojai Valley's finest homes and, with the help
                  of Carlton Winslow, the architect who designed the
                  Ojai Library and Ojai Presbyterian Church, the hotel
                  expansion would be carried out in the best possible
                  style.
                  The hotel addition extended the original building 38
                  feet west and 77 feet north, containing 16 rooms,
                  each with a private bath. This gave the hotel 40
                  rooms in all. The grounds also went through extensive
                  changes.
                  In 1927, a seven-room cottage was built on the
                  property to provide quarters for the hotel staff.
                  During the winter months, the hotel had a staff of 14
                  people and the new building was necessary to provide
                  for them.
                  Barrington became a popular citizen of the valley. In
                  the book "History of Ventura County" (1926), Sol
                  Sheridan wrote, "He has by his enterprising and
                  progressive methods not only advanced his own
                  interests but has in a very definite way contributed
                  to the welfare and prestige of the community in which
                  he lives." And Walter W. Bristol in 1946 wrote in
                  "The Ojai Valley Story" that Barrington had been "a
                  diamond in the rough."
                  The death of Frank Barrington in 1942 brought his
                  wife Jeanie into a greater service of management, and
                  for the next few years, she continued to run a
                  successful hostelry.
                  The Canfield Enterprises of Santa Barbara purchased
                  the hotel from Mrs. Barrington and had very little
                  success in the business, the Great Depression being
                  blamed, and, eventually, Mr. Canfield committed
                  suicide. The hotel then went into the hands of Mr.
                  and Mrs. Cromwell of San Francisco, and it looked
                  like the hotel might once again become successful.
                  But it was not to be and, like Canfield, Cromwell
                  also committed suicide.
                  Mrs. Barrington was then forced to take back the
                  hotel and she leased it to Richard Paige and Morgan
                  Baker, two very capable and prominent Ojai citizens.
                  Under their management, a large swimming pool and the
                  cocktail lounge were constructed. The hotel was
                  finally alive with activity until Paige and Baker
                  became so involved in other community activities that
                  they returned the hotel to the Barrington estate.
                  The coming of Frank Keenan to the ownership of the
                  hotel in 1952 changed the course and direction of
                  this local landmark. Keenan was well-known in Chicago
                  and had big plans for the hotel. He built more
                  cottages, changed the dining room to a swank
                  restaurant and renamed it the Chicago Room and
                  removed the Spanish wall and plantings in front and
                  built a 1950s modern porte cochere and circular
                  drive.
                  The rooms were filled with glamorous names from
                  Hollywood, New York and Chicago. Even gangster Bugsy
                  Siegal could be seen lounging around the pool.
                  Keenan brought his brother Jim Keenan to the hotel to
                  help run the place and act as the dining room host.
                  Things appeared to be going along smoothly for about
                  four years. During that time, the Keenan brothers
                  applied to the city for a Las Vegas-type casino
                  permit, but they were turned down.
                  Then the hotel was to have another setback. The
                  brothers were arrested for income tax evasion,
                  convicted and sent to prison. Jim Keenan died while
                  in prison. The hotel's future was now anyone's guess.
                  Next came Lolita Armour, the Armour Meat Packing
                  heiress. She traded the lovely Armour estate in Lake
                  Forest, Ill. for the hotel and gave the management to
                  her husband Charles Madrin.
                  The hotel continued to attract the Hollywood crowd,
                  but a different type of guests. The halls and lobby
                  were decorated with museum-quality works of art,
                  undoubtedly from the Lake Forest Armour estate, and
                  once again there was laughter and gaiety. After the
                  breakup of her marriage, the hotel was once again
                  closed and its fate left unknown. It remained closed
                  for more than a year during 1962 and 1963. Years
                  later, Madrin also would commit suicide while living
                  in the Virgin Islands.
                  From Santa Barbara came Vernon Johnson as the next
                  owner of the hotel, which, by now, was no longer
                  known as the Hotel El Roblar, but by a more modern
                  name, The Oaks Hotel. Johnson retained ownership for
                  a year and lost the hotel in a bankruptcy filing. The
                  running of the hotel then fell to the bankruptcy
                  court, which managed to keep it open.
                  The Oaks Hotel was bought in 1966 by a group of local
                  residents who were afraid the building might be in
                  danger of being destroyed. The leaders of this group
                  were two fine and respected Ojai gentlemen - Rodney
                  Walker, a noted builder and designer, and Jerald
                  Peterson, a prominent developer.
                  The two very capable men managed the hotel for some
                  time, until the popularity of the place required them
                  to hire a manager. The one chosen was Keith Lloyd,
                  cousin of the comedian Harold Lloyd.
                  Many local residents remember these times as the best
                  - always a full house and live music streaming from
                  the Flamingo Room as the murals of tropical birds
                  painted by the famous artist Jessie Arms Botke
                  watched silently.
                  Those days are gone, but the building is probably
                  more successful today than in any of the years past.
                  The guests arrive daily and, once more, the rich and
                  famous have found a "home away from home." Now
                  lounging around that pool can be seen movie stars
                  such as: Debbie Reynolds, Rhonda Fleming, June Haver,
                  Diane Ladd and television stars Estelle Getty and
                  Merv Griffin.
                  Today, the hotel is under the guidance Sheila Cluff,
                  television personality, who in 1977 opened The Oaks
                  at Ojai health spa. It has consistently received rave
                  reviews as one of the most successful businesses in
                  Ojai and is highly regarded by guests who have
                  traveled the world over and still return to this bit
                  of Shangri-la in the Ojai Valley.

                  © 1999 The Ojai Valley News

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