Wagon Wheel is a densely populated,

planned neighborhood Neighborhood planning is a form of urban planning through which professional Urban planner, urban planners and communities seek to shape new and existing neighborhoods. It can denote the process of creating a physical neighborhood plan, for example ...

Oxnard, California Oxnard () is a city in Ventura County, California, United States. On California's South Coast, it is the most populous city in Ventura County and the 22nd-most-populous city in California. Incorporated in 1903, Oxnard lies approximately west ...

at the intersection of

U.S. Route 101 U.S. Route 101, or U.S. Highway 101 (US 101), is a north–south United States Numbered Highway that runs through the states of California, Oregon, and Washington, on the West Coast of the United States. It is also known as (The Royal Roa ...

and Oxnard Boulevard. The neighborhood was originally developed as an office, motel, and restaurant complex named Wagon Wheel Junction with a convenient roadside location near the historic community of El Rio. The site in

Ventura County Ventura County () is a county in the southern part of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 843,843. The largest city is Oxnard, and the county seat is the city of Ventura. Ventura County comprises the Oxnar ...

became a popular stop for travelers between

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

and Santa Barbara, particularly during its heyday in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. The entire site was demolished in 2011 to begin the development of the community with 1,500 residential units.

History

Construction of Wagon Wheel Junction

Constructed in 1947, it was the first development by Oxnard developer Martin V. ("Bud") Smith. The Wagon Wheel Motel and Restaurant were part of a mid-century real estate development in north

called the Wagon Wheel Junction. Before Smith purchased the land in unincorporated

in 1945 situated four miles (6 km) north of Oxnard and six miles (10 km) south of Ventura, it was prone to flooding. After its completion, it became mid-century a

roadside attraction A roadside attraction is a feature along the side of a road meant to attract tourists. In general, these are places one might stop on the way to somewhere, rather than actually being a destination. They are frequently advertised with billboards. T ...

at the intersection of the 101

Ventura Freeway The Ventura Freeway is a freeway in southern California, United States, running from the Santa Barbara/Ventura county line to Pasadena in Los Angeles County. It is the principal east-west route (designated north-south) through Ventura County a ...

and Pacific Coast Highway. During excavation of the site, Smith uncovered branding irons from the Hobson Brothers' feedlot operations in the area in the 1920s, and he used this as the basis for his western theme. He began with the repurposing of surplus

Seabee United States Naval Construction Battalions, better known as the Navy Seabees, form the U.S. Naval Construction Force (NCF). The Seabee nickname is a heterograph of the initial letters "CB" from the words "Construction Battalion". Depending upon ...

barracks purchased at auction in

Port Hueneme Port Hueneme ( ; Chumash: ''Wene Me'') is a small beach city in Ventura County, California, surrounded by the city of Oxnard and the Santa Barbara Channel. Both the Port of Hueneme and Naval Base Ventura County lie within the city limits. Port ...

, which he relocated in the typical sweeping U shape of period motels. It was the pre-pool era so the rooms all faced a grassy play area with picnic tables. He transformed others into a restaurant and office with a western ranch style. He hired

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

set designer and carpenter Roy Beatty to design and create

wrought iron Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.08%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4%). It is a semi-fused mass of iron with fibrous slag Inclusion (mineral), inclusions (up to 2% by weight), which give it a ...

lamps from branding irons and spurs, and furnish the original rooms with rustic wood beds, chairs and lamps. The theme for the property was typical of the then popular cowboy movies, with windows made from wagon wheels, and cowhide chairs in the restaurant. Along the highway real wagon wheels were placed in the median next to a rustic wooden sign that read: WAGON WHEEL MOTEL
NEW AND MODERN
BREAKFAST SERVICE DAY AND NIGHT
SINGLE $3 DOUBLE $4
FAMILY SUITES Smith had to develop, and the area soon had a bowling alley, shopping center, roller skating rink, industrial units, and a row of restaurants. These were all located on streets with

wild west The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...

names like Winchester Dr., Petticoat Lane, Saddle Ave., and Buckaroo Dr. His restaurant row included the Wagon Wheel Steakhouse, the El Ranchito and the Trade Winds Polynesian restaurant. When Bud Smith shifted into semi-retirement in the mid 1990s, his company, Martin V. Smith and Associates was the biggest developer and landlord in Oxnard with some 4500 tenants and over 200 properties from Calabasas to Santa Maria. Rather than retire and vacate his office on the 21st story of the Financial Plaza tower, he divested himself of most of his properties, but he kept the Wagon Wheel. The demolition of the Colonial House, in 1988, left the Wagon Wheel as the only remaining early example of Bud Smith's vision. The Wagon Wheel Restaurant closed in 2005. The Wagon Wheel Motel was closed in November 2006.

Landmark status

The Wagon Wheel Junction was a part of a fast disappearing piece of Americana architecture. In 1910, the

Automobile Association of America American Automobile Association (AAA – commonly pronounced as "Triple A") is a federation of motor clubs throughout North America. AAA is a privately held not-for-profit national member association and service organization with over 60 m ...

planted the seeds of motel identification with its debut of the "Official Automobile Blue Book". In the 1950s, independent motel owners began competing with the cookie cutter Holiday Inns of the time with their gargantuan, green-and-yellow signage. Independents, such as the Wagon Wheel, developed the art of roadside showmanship through thematic architectural design and elaborate signage that employed porcelain-enameled panels of steel and used a myriad of lamps and neon. The thematic and imaginative sign of the Wagon Wheel and its "B" movie ranch architecture served not only as a style statement of a particular time in motel history, but has served as a visual place marker along Highway 101 for more than 50 years. On approaching the Wagon Wheel, the roadside traveler knew immediately "We are in Oxnard", as there was nothing like it anywhere else. In much the same way, the Madonna Inn and the Apple Farm notifies the traveler that one has nearly reached San Luis Obispo. These thematic roadside motels and hotels are the story of California's love of the automobile, written in their architecture and lending identity to the cities they occupy along the monotonous threads of numbing highway that string those cities and towns together throughout the state. The project proponent hired a consultant to do a historic resource assessment in November 2005 of the entire property, including the Wagon Wheel Motel, Restaurant and Bowling Alley and all other buildings on site. The results of this assessment concluded that these structures did not meet criteria for designation as a landmark. Since this first report found no significant resources, the

California Environmental Quality Act The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) is a California statute passed in 1970 and signed in to law by then-Governor Ronald Reagan, shortly after the United States federal government passed the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), t ...

(CEQA) would not compel mitigations, however for some reason the report still listed significant mitigations. The mitigations proposed a memorial to Martin V. Smith in a coffee kiosk on-site, prominently displaying the iconic features of the Wagon Wheel, the

neon sign In the signage industry, neon signs are electric signs lighted by long luminous gas-discharge tubes that contain rarefied neon or other gases. They are the most common use for neon lighting, which was first demonstrated in a modern form in Decem ...

, a photo-documentary of the architectural qualities of the structures, and the creation a video and two 30 minute TV programs about Wagon Wheel Junction and Martin V. Smith to be run on local cable channels. A Peer Review of the original historic assessment in the EIR concluded that the Wagon Wheel Motel did in fact meet criteria for landmark eligibility, so a second Peer Review was commissioned. Both the initial Peer Review by San Buenaventura Research Associates (of Santa Paula) and the second Peer Review by Applied Earthworks (of Fresno) contradicted the first assessment, and stated that the Wagon Wheel Motel, and Restaurant were eligible for landmark status, and in addition the El Ranchito restaurant and Wagon Wheel Bowling Alley may be eligible as well. On March 26, 2007, the Ventura County Cultural Heritage Board, acting as the Oxnard Cultural Heritage Board ruled on the Wagon Wheel. The Board concluded that the Wagon Wheel Motel, Restaurant, and El Ranchito Restaurant were historically significant on the local level because of their association with Martin V. ("Bud") Smith and as an example of themed roadside architecture of the 1940s and 1950s. By unanimous vote, the seven-member board forwarded a recommendation of landmark designation for the motel buildings, office, and restaurant buildings, to the Oxnard City Council. Then in June 2008 the board added the Wagon Wheel Bowling Alley to their recommended landmark recommendation. In June 2008 the City of Oxnard began circulation of a Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the proposed development. The Oxnard City Council, voted that the Motel and buildings not be listed as an Oxnard City Landmark. Preservationists and architects from the community and as far away as Los Angeles were on hand at Planning Commission and City Council Meetings. The San Buenaventura Conservancy, a local preservation organization, commented at all the public meetings, and then filed an appeal to the Planning Commission decision certifying the EIR; claiming that there was no cause for a Statement of Overriding conditions that would allow the demolition. The Oxnard City Council voted for EIR certification at the appeal. The City Council Vote approving the Project came on January 27, 2009. In January 2009, the EIR was certified and the Project was approved by the Oxnard City Council, demolition was scheduled to begin as soon as documentary mitigations were completed.

Lawsuit

On March 2, 2009 the San Buenaventura Conservancy, a local non-profit preservation advocacy group filed suit in Ventura County Superior Court against the City of Oxnard, claiming that the City's approval of the Oxnard Village Specific Plan project violated the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The project, as approved, requires the demolition of the Wagon Wheel Motel, restaurant, El Ranchito and bowling alley along with everything built on the site. The Conservancy case argues that the project can be feasibly accomplished without demolition of the Wagon Wheel, and CEQA therefore does not allow the Class 1 impact. The lawsuit requested issuance of a peremptory writ ordering the City to set aside its approval of the project pending compliance with CEQA. The original Ventura County Superior Court case was presented July 10, 2009. The Judge sided with the city of Oxnard. The San Buenaventura Conservancy appealed the ruling and received a stay of demolition until the outcome of the appeal case: San Buenaventura Conservancy v. City of Oxnard et al. (CEQA) (Case: B220512 2nd District, Division 6.) On Wednesday December 15, 2010 a three judge panel at the California 2nd district Court of Appeal in Ventura heard arguments. They rendered a decision finding the CEQA process sufficient and affirming the Superior court decision on March 17, 2011. Demolition of the Wagon Wheel began a week later, and was completed in May 2011. The Wagon Wheel neon sign will be integrated into a small interpretive display about Martin V. Smith in the project. In August 2009 FEMA released new flood maps for the Wagon Wheel Area, and it was noted that Wagon Wheel is directly across the street from a gap in the levee, and the new project would be in the flood zone.

Redevelopment

Redevelopment Redevelopment is any new construction on a site that has pre-existing uses. It represents a process of land development uses to revitalize the physical, economic and social fabric of urban space. Description Variations on redevelopment include: ...

of the neighborhood will include 1,500 housing units and 50,000 square feet of commercial space where 450,000 square feet of old industrial buildings were demolished. The developer plans to restore the Wagon Wheel neon sign and integrate it in the development such as at the transit center. The Wagon Wheel Family Apartments, a 120-unit complex managed by the Cabrillo Economic Development Corp., was the first new building on the site. The units were first offered to the residents of the Wagon Wheel Trailer Lodge. The demolition of the

trailer park A trailer park,caravan park, mobile home park, mobile home community or manufactured home community is a temporary or permanent area for mobile homes and travel trailers. Advantages include low cost compared to other housing, and quick and eas ...

waited until completion in 2014 of the first phase of the apartments that has five rent levels based on income and family size. Over 200 apartment units were finished in 2018. Five hundred condominium units were constructed next. By August 2022, 1,000 apartments, condominiums and townhouses had been completed. The completed project will have over 200 units set aside for families that earn up to 110% of the area median income besides the original family apartments.

Architecture

The Wagon Wheel

Motel A motel, also known as a motor hotel, motor inn or motor lodge, is a hotel designed for motorists, usually having each room entered directly from the parking area for motor vehicles rather than through a central lobby. Entering dictionaries ...

and Restaurant was an example of American roadside architecture from the mid-century. The ranch-style office,

motel A motel, also known as a motor hotel, motor inn or motor lodge, is a hotel designed for motorists, usually having each room entered directly from the parking area for motor vehicles rather than through a central lobby. Entering dictionaries ...

and restaurant were originally built on the side of Highway 101 and Highway 101A (Alternate) in 1947. The office/restaurant complex incorporated a variety of roof lines, primarily low to medium pitched gables covered with wood shingles and punctuated by several decorative cupolas with weather vanes, and neon lighting. A free-standing 12-unit, two-story motel addition was completed in 1953. One of the most recognizable features of the motel was the giant neon sign that included an animated stagecoach driver and galloping horses. The Wagon Wheel was alongside the 101 freeway at the northern edge of a site between the Santa Clara River and the

Esplanade Shopping Center The Esplanade Shopping Center is a power center in Oxnard, California. It replaced the Esplanade Mall which was Ventura County's first fully enclosed shopping center and was anchored by May Company California and Sears. Anchor stores include Home ...

. The site also included industrial buildings, a trailer park an ice skating rink, a former roller skating rink, a bowling alley and a shopping center, all of which were demolished for redevelopment as a development with retail, for sale residential, condos and two high-rise towers totaling 1500 residential units. The Wagon Wheel Bowling Alley was a 32-lane bowling alley built in the Wagon Wheel Junction across the street from the Wagon Wheel Motel in 1953. Designed by the

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Bev ...

architect,

Arthur Froehlich Arthur Froehlich (May 17, 1909 – October 3, 1985), of the firm Arthur Froehlich & Associates, was an architect in Beverly Hills, California, known for his mid-century commercial building designs, especially racetracks. Froehlich's firm ...

, known for his mid-century supermarkets and racetracks including the

Hollywood Park Racetrack Hollywood Park was a thoroughbred race course located in Inglewood, California, about 3 miles (5 km) from Los Angeles International Airport and adjacent to the Forum indoor arena. In 1994, the original Hollywood Park Casino was added to the ...

, and the

Hanna Barbera Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ) was an American animation studio and production company which was active from 1957 to 2001. It was founded on July 7, 1957, by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera following the decision of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to c ...

Studio in

1962. The building had planer wall surfaces, an over-scaled wing wall and plate glass windows; the bowling alley included a restaurant and banquet room and was an example of the type of reductive Modernism that enjoyed great popularity in the mid-century. The bowling alley was known as Hoberg's after its proprietor, Ed Hoberg. The building was in continuous operation as a bowling alley from 1953 until May 2015. Demolition of the building began in October, 2015 as part of the Wagon Wheel area redevelopment.

References

External links

Wagon Wheel Photos on Flickr

Wagon Wheel information on San Buenaventura Conservancy website
{{Oxnard, California Motels in the United States Buildings and structures in Oxnard, California Defunct hotels in California History of Ventura County, California Hotel buildings completed in 1947 Buildings and structures demolished in 2011 Demolished buildings and structures in California Roadside attractions in California Hotels established in 1947 1947 establishments in California 2011 disestablishments in California Neighborhoods in Ventura County, California