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                  Remembering When
                  Pergola's history was colorful, violent
                  by David Mason

                  "Some morning, not far distant, the village of
                  Nordhoff is going to wake up and find itself famous."
                  - Editor, The (Ventura) Free Press, 1916

                  Indeed, the village was about to be transformed from
                  a ramshackle old town called Nordhoff, named after
                  the author Charles Nordhoff, into the beautiful city
                  of Ojai.
                  It was the coming of E.D. Libbey, the millionaire
                  cut-glass manufacturer from Toledo, Ohio, to the Ojai
                  which changed the course of growth and development of
                  the valley.
                  Libbey brought about the arcading of the main street,
                  and since the only worthy architectural feature of
                  the old town was the memorial fountain, it was
                  incorporated into the scheme of things to come.
                  The fountain was constructed in 1904 to honor
                  Nordhoff's daughter.
                  Architect Richard Requa designed a combination of
                  arched entrances, connecting pergola and walls around
                  the fountain, all of which would serve to separate
                  the park from the main street and still allow the
                  park's charm and beauty to be enjoyed from the
                  thoroughfare.
                  The design received overwhelming approval from the
                  community - except, that is, for the Ojai State Bank.
                  The bank felt the park arches would block their
                  exposure from the main street and cause them to lose
                  business. The bank filed for, and received, an
                  injunction to prevent Libbey's plan. When it was
                  discovered that the park arches were not going to
                  extend as far east as the bank building, the
                  injunction was lifted and work began.
                  Libbey felt that the arches and pergola on the south
                  side of the street helped to balance the street and
                  the heavy appearance of the arcaded stores on the
                  north side. With the completion of the post office
                  tower, it was indeed a complete composition.
                  The park arches were to play many an important role
                  in the history of Ojai.
                  They served as guardians for the merchandise that was
                  moved across the street from the arcade stores that
                  were destroyed in the 1917 fire. They created a
                  beautiful backdrop for the annual street dances that
                  took place in the downtown block. They were featured
                  on postcards and were popular with camera-toting
                  tourists. The post office tower, the arcade and the
                  wisteria-covered pergola were a source of pride and
                  joy for the residents of the valley.
                  Over the years, the park faced many threatening
                  situations, one being the state highway department's
                  proposal for a freeway straight through the middle of
                  it.
                  Then came the spring of 1967, a time of year when the
                  Ojai Valley is a beautiful sight. The only difference
                  was a group of young people who had recently moved
                  into the valley and were particularly fond of the
                  Civic Center Park, now Libbey Park, and felt that it
                  was the perfect place to stage a "love picnic," more
                  commonly called a "love-in."
                  The first love-in was held without incident.  [Image]
                  The young people gathered, sang folk songs
                  and danced in colorful outfits. The long hair on the
                  men caused a few of the local residents to make
                  comments and a few snickers could be heard around
                  town.
                  Within a few weeks, another love-in was planned. The
                  second one became a concern for the local police. The
                  chief of police insisted that his men had nothing
                  against making love, however, they made arrests for
                  possession of marijuana.
                  The beautiful arches, wall and pergola were becoming
                  the canvas for the hippie drawings and slogans.
                  The third and last love-in would bring many of the
                  San Francisco hippies to the Ojai Valley and to the
                  Civic Center Park, where many were arrested for
                  narcotics and alcohol. With that, the Ojai Civic
                  Association, the park governing board, decided to put
                  a stop to the love-ins.
                  Tension was beginning to mount between the hippies
                  and the anti-hippies. The valley had lost its
                  serenity.
                  By the end of summer 1967, the Ojai Valley News
                  headlines were: "Fights of violence," "Ojai becomes
                  center of gang warfare" and "Fire bombs, weapons
                  discovered." Approximately 300 young people began
                  milling about on both sides of the street with
                  policemen constantly walking through the crowd.
                  Molotov cocktails were found hidden in the brush near
                  Aliso Street and Lion Street; an arson fire was
                  started at the corner of Ojai Avenue and Ca–ada
                  Street and another behind the Security Bank, now Bank
                  of America. Rocks were being thrown at passing
                  motorists and at the arcade stores. Fights erupted
                  against the dramatic backdrop of the graceful arches
                  and pergola, to the point of riots.
                  The helmeted police, night sticks at the ready, moved
                  through the crowds, enforcing their command to
                  disperse - the hippies on the park side and the
                  anti-hippies on the other. One man was arrested on
                  the roof of the arcade with two Molotov cocktails,
                  and a fire bomb was hurled at the back of the police
                  department.
                  This confrontation would continue for three nights.
                  The television news cameras and equipment created a
                  huge traffic jam when they were set up to film the
                  action in front of the arcade. The enforcement of a
                  10 p.m. curfew brought the violence to an end.
                  The year ended somewhat peacefully - some of the
                  hippies remained in the park, some had taken a
                  position on the Oaks Hotel wall, others had made
                  permanent housing out of tents and campers in Camp
                  Comfort.
                  The first day of 1968 would find the beautiful park
                  arches damaged by the first of two homemade bombs.
                  The Civic Center Association declared: "The park is
                  being used for the benefit of a minority for its
                  headquarters. There have been several arrests made in
                  the park for the use of marijuana and LSD, and for
                  those reasons we are closing the park until further
                  notice."
                  The Ojai Valley News editor wrote: "Public opinion
                  will tolerate this no longer; the citizens of the
                  Ojai Valley are indignant and angry at these outrages
                  against their heritage and legal steps are under way
                  to restrict the premises to those who will not abuse
                  its privileges."
                  In October of 1968, the second bombing of the park
                  arches caused the city to declare the structure
                  "condemned." For the following eight months, the
                  damaged arches stood as a constant reminder of an
                  earlier conflict.
                  The Ojai Planning Commission met with the Civic
                  Center Association and voted unanimously to rebuild
                  and strengthen the park arches, if the estimated
                  $6,000 the project would cost could be raised. The
                  city building inspector told the Planning Commission
                  that, in their present condition, the arches "might
                  collapse tomorrow, or might last 100 years - it's one
                  of those things you can't figure."
                  A year passed - "Keep the arches" or "tear them down"
                  was the constant discussion between the Planning
                  Commission, the City Council and the Civic Center
                  Association.
                  In November of 1969, the city fathers decided
                  unanimously to demolish the arches and leave only the
                  pergola with its heavy redwood beams remaining. But
                  by December, less than the $6,000 had been received,
                  so the Civic Center Association decided to set Dec.
                  31 as a deadline to come up with the final amount
                  needed or they would have to abide by the city
                  fathers' decision.
                  The fund-raising campaign chairman was Dr. Charles
                  Butler, who had been responsible for the creation of
                  the Ojai Art Center. He said, "If the people want the
                  arches, they'll have them."
                  By Jan. 14, 1970, the estimated costs had risen to
                  $9,000 and the campaign was $1,100 short of its goal.
                  The Civic Center Association extended the deadline to
                  Jan. 31, and the City Council was opposed to the
                  extension. The Civic Center Association spoke
                  publicly about the arches, saying they "favor them
                  for historical as well as aesthetic reasons."
                  By Jan. 25, $8,232.50 had been raised, but still the
                  Civic Center Association and the City Council could
                  not agree on repairing the damaged arches or removing
                  them. The mayor said that if the city did demolish,
                  he "wouldn't be in favor of a bits-and-pieces
                  demolition, but would want the entire structure taken
                  down."
                  February headlines in the local paper read: "9,000
                  goal reached." During this period, the City Council
                  had embarked on a downtown redevelopment plan and
                  they felt that the arches might or might not fit into
                  the scheme.
                  One member of the City Council said, "I would hate to
                  see anyone spend $9,000 to do one of two things: Have
                  the arches stand in the way of future development or
                  find ourselves in a position where the new arches
                  would have to be torn down."
                  In May, the whole reconstruction project was
                  canceled. The reason given was "insurmountable
                  difficulties with the plans, timing and costs." The
                  Civic Center Association decided to return all of the
                  money collected and try to figure out where they
                  would come up with the money to have the structure
                  demolished. The City Council said it would consider
                  doing the demolition of the arches as a hazard to
                  public safety, but only if they weren't to be
                  rebuilt.
                  The news spread fast throughout the valley,
                  protesters started arriving to march in front of the
                  doomed arches. The Civic Center Association felt that
                  this group was no longer representing the majority,
                  saying, "The great majority may at one time have
                  wanted to leave them up, but as time has gone on,
                  it's gone the other way."
                  The protests continued and more and more people
                  joined the group. Finally, with an estimated 250
                  people demanding that the arches be restored and not
                  removed, they convinced the Civic Center Association
                  to once more change its mind.
                  In the meantime, the $9,000 raised had been returned
                  to the donors. Each was to be contacted again to see
                  if they would re-pledge. Cheers were sounded at the
                  park when news of the association's decision was
                  given to the crowd. The demonstrations, which were
                  the culmination of about three weeks of protest
                  activities, continued anyway.
                  The crowd marched up one side of Ojai Avenue and down
                  the other. Traffic was congested and often stopped,
                  but there were no incidents. Protesters were in the
                  beginning stages of seeking a court injunction to
                  prevent the demolition, but since they had gained
                  what they wanted, the injunction was no longer
                  needed.
                  With the engineering report came the bad news - the
                  whole structure would have to be torn down and a new
                  one built. The arches had no footing. They were made
                  of hollow clay tiles, held together with mortar.
                  There was nothing to support them in case of an
                  earthquake.
                  The earlier plan to repair them was unfeasible. The
                  new costs would be $22,000 to rebuild and an
                  additional $5,000 more to demolish. Two years had
                  passed since the final bombing had taken place. The
                  arches would remain for another seven months.
                  Then, in the early morning on March 4, 1971, heavy
                  equipment moved slowly down Ojai Avenue, while most
                  residents were still sleeping, and struck the final
                  blow to the historical structure that had been
                  created by a man whose only thoughts at the time he
                  had them built were to create a thing of beauty.
                  The editor of the local newspaper chose to inform the
                  people that "this newspaper was as much surprised and
                  mystified as everybody else by the mayor's peremptory
                  action of pulling down the arches early Thursday
                  morning. Sad when a government doesn't trust its
                  citizens enough to tell them what's going on ."
                  In 1981, a proposal to have the arches and pergola
                  rebuilt was presented to the Ojai City Council and
                  was rejected. The memory of the old park entrance was
                  that of a structure which, for many years, stood
                  damaged and in disrepair. The idea of rebuilding was
                  unacceptable to the City Council.
                  With the change in attitudes toward historic
                  preservation sweeping across the nation in 1997, and
                  a newly elected City Council, the idea to restore the
                  arches and pergola was once more put into the
                  planning stages. A small group of local citizens
                  gathered together to accomplish the goal.
                  The first order of business was to obtain copies of
                  the original pergola blueprints from the San Diego
                  Historical Society. Then from that point, local
                  architect David Bury was able to transform those
                  original prints into working drawings.
                  The small committee then began the task of taking
                  what they called their "dog and pony show" before all
                  of the city commissions and, finally, the City
                  Council. They received unanimous approval from all of
                  the governing boards.
                  After months of raising funds, the goal of $150,000
                  was nearly reached and the committee started the
                  construction.
                  As the wooden forms went into place, the people of
                  the valley questioned the idea of rebuilding. The
                  forms appeared "too tall," "too wide" and "too
                  heavy." Had a mistake been made?
                  When the forms were finally removed and the end was
                  in sight, the structure began to resemble its old
                  self.
                  With the landscaping in place, the beautiful and
                  graceful arches, pergola and the Nordhoff fountain
                  once more sparkled with the beauty and charm that it
                  had when it was built in 1917. The original Spanish
                  courtyard effect that set the town of Ojai apart from
                  other small towns was once more complete.
                  This Sunday, July 4, from 2 to 5 p.m., the dedication
                  of the newly restored Libbey Park pergola will be
                  held in downtown Ojai. This event is free to the
                  public.

                  © 1999 The Ojai Valley News

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