Ojai, California

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Downtown Ojai

Ojai (pronounced /ˈoʊhaɪ/) is a city in Ventura County, California, United States. The estimated population, in 2003, was 8,006 , making it one of the smaller towns in the county. The town of Ojai is situated in the Ojai Valley, (10 miles long by 3 miles wide, approximately) surrounded by hills and mountains.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Appearance in Film
4 Noted Residents
5 Demographics
6 Film, Music and Poetry
7 Recreation
8 Education
- 8.1 Public schools
- 8.2 Other schools
9 External links

[edit] History

Ojai Inn, built in 1876.

The valley was home to Chumash Indians before becoming one of many Spanish land grants along the California coast. It became a cattle ranch in 1837, when it was granted to Fernando Tico. In 1853 he sold it to prospectors searching for oil, without much success. By 1864, the area had been settled, and in 1874, the City of Nordhoff was founded.

The city was renamed Ojai — a Chumash word meaning 'the Nest' or 'Valley of the Moon' — when the name Nordhoff was deemed too German post-World War I.

The main turning point in the development of the city was the coming of Edward Drummond Libbey. He saw the valley and fell in love, thinking up many plans for expansion and beautification of the existing rustic town. He helped design, finance and build a more modern and fitting downtown, including a Spanish-style arcade, a bell-tower reminiscent of the famous campanile in Havana, and a pergola opposite the arcade. His buildings still exist today in exquisite condition as the symbols of the city and its valley. To thank Libbey for his gifts to the town, the citizens proposed a celebration to take place on March 2nd of each year. Libbey declined their offer to call it "Libbey Day," and instead suggested "Ojai Day." The celebration still takes place each year in October.

Today, Ojai is an active, though small, community. Libbey's pergola was destroyed in 1971 after being damaged in an explosion, and was recently rebuilt to complete the architectural continuity of the downtown area. The town completed a new park in 2002.

[edit] Geography

Ojai is located at 34°26′57″N, 119°14′48″W (34.449079, -119.246654)^GR1. The city is generally at 745 feet above sea level.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 11.5 km² (4.4 mi²). 11.5 km² (4.4 mi²) of it is land and 0.22% is water.

Ojai is situated in a small east-west valley, north of Ventura and east of Santa Barbara. It is approximately 15 miles inland from the Pacific coast.

Since Ojai is lined up with east-west mountain range, it is one of few towns in the world to have the Pink Moment [1] occur as the sun is setting. The fading sunlight creates a brilliant shade of pink on the Topatopa Bluffs that occur at the east end of the Ojai Valley, reaching over 6,000 feet above sea level. Nordhoff Ridge, the western extension of the Topatopa Mountains, tower over the north side of the town and valley at over 5,000 feet. Sulphur Mountain creates the southern ranges bounding the Ojai Valley, but only getting to a little under 3,000 feet. The Ventura River drains the valley, and was known for its Steelhead fishing before Matilija Dam and Lake Casitas were constructed, which severely degraded and eliminated habitat for this trout species.

The weather in Ojai is Mediterranean, characterized by hot summer highs ,sometimes exceeding 100 degrees Fahrenheit ,and cool winter lows (sometimes below freezing); but the climate is generally mild and temperate. As is typical for much of coastal southern California, most precipitation falls in the form of rain between the months of October and April, with dry summers in between.

[edit] Appearance in Film

Ojai is the television hometown of title characters Steve Austin (The Six Million Dollar Man) and Jaime Sommers (The Bionic Woman), with the shows sometimes set in Ojai.
Ojai is the location where Green Day's music video for their single "Wake Me Up When September Ends" was shot. The war scenes were shot elsewhere.
It is the home of the 101-year-old character Rose DeWitt Bukater (portrayed by Gloria Stuart) in the 1997 blockbuster movie Titanic (Cameron's homage to Ojai resident Beatrice Wood, upon whom Rose is partially based)
The Ojai Valley Inn was the location for the 1952 film, Pat and Mike, with Katharine Hepburn & Spencer Tracey.[2]
Ojai is thought to be one of the towns which provided the inspiration for the fictional town of 'Bristo Camino' in the Bruce Willis film Hostage.
Ojai is mentioned in the movie thirteen, when one of the main characters finds out she and her mother are moving to the town in the last scene so the main character "won't get in any more trouble."
A process shot of the Ojai Valley was used for the 1937 film Lost Horizon [3][4]
The film The Two Jakes was filmed at the Ojai Valley Inn and Spa
In the 1992 film Mom and Dad Save The World, the main characters get lost after taking a wrong turn onto a road leading to Ojai.
Ojai is the town Steven Seagal's character flees to in Hard to Kill
Academy Award winning documentary "Mighty Times: A Children's March" was filmed and produced in Ojai in 2004.

[edit] Noted Residents

Bo Bengston, Whippet Breeder, Bohem Whippets
Sergio Aragonés, cartoonist known for his work in MAD Magazine and his comic book Groo the Wanderer
Larry Hagman, actor in I Dream of Jeannie and Dallas
Jiddu Krishnamurti, philosopher
Howard Hughes, industrialist, attended The Thacher School
Lisa Marie Presley, Elvis Presley's daughter, was a student at a boarding school in Ojai
Beatrice Wood, artist, teacher at the Happy Valley School
Otto Heino, potter
Malcolm McDowell, actor in A Clockwork Orange
Ted Levine, actor in The Silence of the Lambs and TV's Monk
Scott Bakula, actor in Quantum Leap and Star Trek Enterprise
Ed Kowalczyk, singer in rock band Live
Maynard Ferguson, jazz musician, recorded the song "Topa Topa Woman"
Tim Burton, director of Beetlejuice and Batman
Julie Christie, Oscar-winning actress for Darling and star of Doctor Zhivago
John Diehl, director, actor in Stargate and Miami Vice
Jackie Lomax, Rock Musician
Bill Paxton, actor in Weird Science and Aliens
Daniel Ash, guitarist for Bauhaus and Love and Rockets
Nigel Dick, music video director
David Allen, productivity trainer, author
Steve Kanaly, actor in Dallas
Ted Danson, actor in Cheers
Mary Steenburgen, actress in Melvin and Howard and Back to the Future Part III
Rikki Lee Jones, singer-songwriter
Linda Kelsey, actress in Lou Grant
Johnny Cash, singer-songwriter
Peter Scolari, actor in Newhart and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show
Robert Emhardt, actor in Another World
June Allyson, actress in The Glenn Miller Story and Little Women
Loretta Young, actress in The Farmer's Daughter and TV host of The Loretta Young Show
Michael Ovitz, former super talent agent
Elmer Bernstein, film and television composer
Aldous Huxley, writer
Christopher Isherwood, novelist
Eileen Brennan, actress in Private Benjamin
Ed Begley Jr., environmentalist, actor in St. Elsewhere
Peter Strauss, actor in The Jericho Mile and Rich Man, Poor Man
Noah Lowry, starting pitcher for the San Francisco Giants
Mark Andes, bassist in rock group Heart
James Brolin, actor in Hotel and husband of Barbra Streisand
Harold Ramis, actor in Ghostbusters
David Zucker, director of Airplane!, Top Secret!, and The Naked Gun
Jan Smithers, actress in WKRP in Cincinnati
Zachary Levi, actor in Less Than Perfect
Larry Linville, actor in M*A*S*H
Richard LaPlante, novelist of "Mantis" and "Hog Fever"
William R. "Billy" Moses, actor in Falcon Crest
Ron Shelton, writer-director of Cobb and Bull Durham
Jerry Bruckheimer, film and television producer
Robben Ford, blues and jazz guitarist
Anne Kerry Ford, jazz singer, married to Robben Ford
Michael Arkush, sports journalist, author of The Last Seasonwith Laker coach Phil Jackson
Dave Mason, Rock Musician
Irene Bedard, Actress

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 7,862 people, 3,088 households, and 1,985 families residing in the city. The population density was 685.2/km² (1,773.0/mi²). There were 3,229 housing units at an average density of 281.4/km² (728.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 88.01% White, 0.60% African American, 0.50% Native American, 1.58% Asian, 0.17% Pacific Islander, 6.26% from other races, and 2.90% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 15.84% of the population. (A person can be Hispanic or Latino and of any race, accounting for the percentages adding up to over 100%)

There were 3,088 households out of which 31.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.0% were married couples living together, 11.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.7% were non-families. 29.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.06.

In the city the population was spread out with 24.9% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 23.9% from 25 to 44, 26.8% from 45 to 64, and 17.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 88.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.2 males.

The median income for households in the city was $44,593, and the median income for a family was $52,917. Males had a median income of $40,919 versus $30,821 for females. The per capita income for the city was $25,670. About 7.9% of families and 10.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.9% of those under age 18 and 9.3% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Film, Music and Poetry

Ojai is the home of the Ojai Film Festival[5], which showcases independent films from around the world.

There is only one movie theater in the town -- the Ojai Playhouse, located downtown. It houses only one screen.

The Ojai Music Festival, founded in 1947, is an annual festival of performances by some of the world's top musicians and composers, and occurs on the first weekend after Memorial Day. Notable appearances include Igor Stravinsky, Aaron Copland, Esa-Pekka Salonen and Pierre Boulez, who was festival director in 2003.

The Ojai Poetry Festival[6] began in 2003 as a biennial gathering of poets for two days of readings and discussions. It features poets of national repute such as Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Galway Kinnell, Jane Hirshfield, Robert Bly, Coleman Barks and Gary Snyder.

Ojai occasionally hosts a Classic Rock Festival, featuring cover acts of various rock groups.

The local public high school (Nordhoff High) also has a decorated music program. Its concert band held the California State Champion title in its division for three years in a row, until state budget cuts ended the festival, and performed in Carnegie Hall in April 2003, along with Nordhoff's award-winning choirs. The Nordhoff music department has also toured in San Francisco, New Orleans, Hawaii, Canada, Austria, Germany and will be returning to perform in Carnegie Hall on April 24th, 2007.

[edit] Recreation

The town of Ojai and its surrounding area is home to many unique recreational activities. Los Padres National Forest borders the town on the north, and many backcountry areas within the forest are accessible from Highway 33, which is the major highway through town south to north. To the west, the Lake Casitas Recreational Area offers camping, picnicking, and hiking as well.

The valley is home to the oldest continuously-held tennis tournament in the world, the Ojai Valley Tennis Tournament [7], and it has several public courts in the downtown Libbey Park. There are also two major golf courses: the Soule Park Golf Course, and the noted Ojai Valley Inn Golf Course.

Annually, in early April, the town host a bicycle race that draws the top professional and ameuter teams from around the country. The "Garrett Lemire Memorial Grand Prix" began in 2004 as a tribute to a 22 year old cyclist from Ojai who died racing his bicycle in Arizona the previous year. The race is held on a one-mile circuit that circumnavigates Libbey Bowl in the heart of downtown Ojai. Proceeds from event promote cycling safety as well as education in local schools.

In early June, often coinciding with the Music Festival, the Ojai Wine Festival is held at Lake Casitas. Over three thousand wine lovers come to sample the products of over thirty wineries. Proceeds to go charity.

[edit] Education

[edit] Public schools

Nordhoff High School is a California public school and a distinguished school nominee. Recently, like many schools in California, it has run into financial trouble; declining tax revenues coupled with declining attendance has forced the district to lay off some teachers and cut some elective classes out of the schedule.

Matilija Junior High School is a California public school.

[edit] Other schools

In addition to its public school system, the Ojai Valley is home to several private boarding schools:

The Thacher School
The Ojai Valley School [8]
Happy Valley School
Villanova Preparatory School
The Oak Grove School [9]
Monica Ros School (preschool through 3rd grade) [10]
The Brooks Institute of Photography's Ventura Campus is about 20 miles down California state route 33

The Ojai Valley is also home to the Montessori School of Ojai, a private day school; and Laurel Springs School [11], which specializes in distance education and home-schooling.

Also located at Ojai is the Summer Science Program, currently hosted at the Happy Valley School.