From the Barbara Barnard Smith Executive Director
of the Museum of Ventura County
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Dear friends of the Museum,
We know that right now your attention and concern is almost entirely focused on COVID-19 and its impacts on your family, friends, and the global and local community.
We at MVC have been putting a lot of thought into how the museum can be of service to you and the community at this time. We are the repository of the history of our region. Lessons from the past can help us navigate the present and prepare for the future.
Our plan is to bring our region’s history directly to you. We will share stories that will shed light on what we are going through right now, and historical and cultural activities that you can use at home to entertain and educate your family. We will do that through this newsletter, on our website, and through social media.
This week, we are sharing a history that one of our valued volunteers, Andy Ludlum, researched and wrote, about the historic, and now gone, Ventura Bathhouse.
That might seem like an odd choice until you read further, and realize that the history of the bath house is intertwined with the topic that was on everyone’s mind at the time: the flu epidemic that infected one in four Americans in 1918 and 1919. Reading about that illness and Ventura’s response is fascinating – and in many ways it’s comforting to know that we have made it through something like this before.
In this week’s letter you will also find a “quizlet” about the flu and Ventura County, with articles and source materials from local papers in 1918 and 1919, as well as the first installation in a series about oral histories: with what can definitely be called a captive audience, now may be the time to sit down or FaceTime with your family and capture their stories.
You are receiving this message because you are a friend of the Museum, and your support has made our museum thrive. We hope that we can be a resource to you in this time of uncertainty.
Thank you, and stay safe.
—Elena
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Ventura County’s
$75,000 Pleasure Mansion
The Latest MVC Then Blog is Available Now!
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In times of uncertainty, we often look to the past to see how a community has dealt with crisis. In the early part of the 20th century, the world faced both a world war and a pandemic. The effects were global but also local. And just as we are doing today, the community pulled together to face the crisis.
In 1918 a luxurious bath house was finally set to open in Ventura on California Street after seventeen years of delays and setbacks. The $75,000 bath house, roughly $1.2 million today, was an all-included public gathering place with private baths and showers, over 400 dressing rooms, a hair salon, a sun parlor and “roof garden”, a movie theater, and much more. Then, in 1918 an influenza outbreak spread throughout the world. Within days of reaching Ventura, schools, churches and businesses closed in an effort to slow the spread. After several months of uncertainty, the influenza outbreak eased and plans to resume life were made.
The opening of the bath house was touted by local papers as one of “the most important celebrations in the history of Ventura.” Continue reading the latest MVC Then Blog here.
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A Project for EVERYONE from the
Research Library & Archives
Discover our community’s stories through your stories!
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Ventura County has a way of pulling together in the face of hardship. But what do we do when we can’t be together? We’ve all said before, “I should really ask grandpa about his life growing up” or “I should really write down my mom’s stories, recipes, bad jokes” or even “I’ve always wanted to write a memoir.” In this time of social distancing and staying close to home, why not tackle that story gathering? The Museum of Ventura County has developed a six-step project called the “Ventura County Family History Project.” We’ll release each step and give you tips and pointers for gathering family history. You can do one of them or three of them or all of them. At the end of the project, you’ll have a family story that you can share with the project or just with your family. After each step, there will be an opportunity to share your experience with the rest of the community.
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In this time of reduced face to face time, you can still Facetime! Speaking to our elders will be especially important in this time of social distancing. Your family members are a wealth of information and sharing stories is fun! We have all regretted not having enough time to really uncover old family stories. Join us as we reach out to our elders to share stories, remain close, and make new memories. What if you are the elder? Put those tech savvy teenagers or children of yours to work and have them ask you the questions. And you don’t have to have family to take an oral history, either. Friends can ask each other questions or you can go solo and just record yourself answering the questions.
For additional information on the Ventura County Family History Project and for more tips/tricks for
Share Your Stories: Share with MVC and your friends and family so we can all discover our communities’ stories! Tell us who you interviewed and share your favorite newly discovered story. Tag the museum and use the hashtags #askyourelders #quarantinestories #venturacountyfamilyhistoryproject on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!
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The Coronavirus (COVID-19) is creating quite a stir around the world. There are a lot of questions about it and everyone is concerned with how to stay safe. We got to thinking, is this the first time something like this has happened in Ventura County? If you’re curious too, join us on this scavenger hunt to learn more about what happened during a historic flu in Ventura County.
To take the English version of the quizlet,
To take the Spanish version of the quizlet,
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Ventura City Hall on the Northwestern corner of California St., with Ventura Court House at the top of California St., Circa 1915.
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Are you a member of the Museum of Ventura County? Even while the Museum is closed to the public, we are continuing to work to bring new impactful future programming, and reschedule what is being postponed.
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Become a member today to enjoy all of the benefits of membership, and to support the Museum during this time of international crisis. The need to support today is greater than ever so that we may effectively document current affairs for future generations.
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Stop 1:
MASP — Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand
in São Paulo, Brazil
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Museums from all over the world offer virtual tours of past and present exhibits. For the next few weeks, we will connect you with a museum somewhere in the world that you can explore from the comfort of your home.
This week, join us on a virtual trip to São Paulo, Brazil to visit MASP, or the Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assistantships Chateubriand! The Museu de Arte de São Paulo is a private, nonprofit museum founded by Brazilian businessman Assis Chateaubriand, in 1947, as Brazil’s first modern museum. Chateaubriand invited Italian art dealer and critic Pietro Maria Bardi to serve as MASP’s director, a position he held for nearly forty-five years. Acquired through donations from the local society, MASP’s first artworks were selected by Bardi and became the most important collection of European art in the Southern Hemisphere. Today, MASP’s collection contains more than 8.000 works, including paintings, sculptures, objects, photographs, and costumes from a wide range of periods, encompassing art from Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Besides the permanent exhibition of its collection, MASP organizes a comprehensive program of temporary exhibitions, courses, and talks, as well as musical, dance, and theater presentations.
View all of the virtual tours offered from The Museu de Arte de São Paulo here.
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Major funding for these programs is made possible by the City of
San Buenaventura, the County of Ventura and private and community donors.
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Museum of Ventura County • 100 East Main St. Ventura, CA 93001 • 805.653.0323
Agriculture Museum • 926 Railroad Ave. Santa Paula, CA 93060 • 805.525.3100
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