Foster Park Bowl
The Foster Park Bowl is an outdoor amphitheatre located between Ojai and Ventura, California. Built in 1928, it has a seating capacity of 1,000.
 Foster Park Bowl in disrepair, 25 July 2009 | |
| Address | 438 Casitas Vista Road Ventura, California 93001 |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 34.352336°N 119.310898°W |
| Owner | Ventura County Parks Department |
| Type | Amphitheatre |
| Capacity | 1,000 |
| Construction | |
| Built | 1928 |
History
Ventura County pioneer and philanthropist Eugene Preston Foster initiated the idea of a county park system[1] in 1904; the 205-acre (0.83 km2) Foster Park was established in 1908. The concrete amphitheatre began construction in the summer of 1928[2] and was dedicated on November 26, 1928.[3]
The bowl was used frequently into the 1960s, but in the 1970s it saw less use as people started to shift to Libbey Bowl in Ojai. The bowl was occasionally used after the 1970s but fell into disrepair. An attempt to renovate Foster Park Bowl was mounted in 1988 by the Ventura County Repertory Theatre.[4][5]
As of 2009, Teenagers for The Preservation of Historical Landmarks, a student group based at Foothill Technology High School, are working to get the necessary permits and release forms in order to go to the bowl and do an initial cleanup. The group is planning various fundraisers to pay for the stage to be reinforced, which a 2007 assessment stated would require $30,000 worth of work.
References
- HISTORY OF THE VENTURA COUNTY PARKS DEPARTMENT Archived November 1, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
- "Bowl will be started at Ventura". Los Angeles Times. 1928-07-09. p. A10.
- "Dedicate bowl near Ventura". Los Angeles Times. 1928-11-25. p. B8.
With the dedication of Foster Bowl tomorrow afternoon Ventura county will have taken another important cultural stride.
- Sullivan, Meg (1988-09-08). "Shakespeare, Sweat Revive Deteriorating Foster Bowl". Los Angeles Times.
The group, which has roamed from theater to theater in Ventura and Oxnard over its lifetime, hopes to persuade county officials to allow it to thoroughly renovate Foster Bowl as a permanent, year-round venue for children's theater and Broadway musicals.
- Pool, Bob (1990-03-30). "Bowl-Bound Amphitheater". Los Angeles Times. p. B1.
Ventura County parks officials have turned over the keys to the Foster Park Bowl to Elizabeth Harris in return for a promise that she will renovate and upgrade the open-air amphitheater that is tucked into the side of a hill between Ojai and Ventura.