heritage valley tourism bureau

• CLICK HERE TO DISCOVER THE HV Set against mountains, valleys, and citrus groves, the stretch of CA Highway 126 known as Heritage Valley offers a rural oasis in an idyllic spot: right between Los Angeles County and the beaches of Ventura.

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Piru – “This word is derived from the Indian term for a reed that grew along the creek banks, and was used in basket-making.”Piru is a quiet little community, a favorite location for all of the movie companies. One of the largest citrus packing houses is located here. Piru Lake, approved controlled by the United Water Conservation District, is a recreational area for water skiing, fishing, and camping. “Piru was once pronounced much like ‘peet hoo’ according to the old timers; and it gradually became ‘pee roo’, spelled Piru. According to Joe Paul after a time it became ‘pie roo’, except for the old timers and natives who knew better.

Piru, a part of the 14,ooo acres of the Piru Fruit Rancho, is situated near the base of the mountains where the Piru Creek and the Santa Clara River meet. It is in the upper end of the Santa Clara Valley, in the eastern section of Ventura County. The property, which was patented to the Temescal Land Grant, was purchased in 1887 from the Del Valle brothers by David C. Cook of Elgin, Illinois, the proprietor of the greatest publishing house in the United States. This was quickly followed by the founding of the town of Piru City, as it was once called, owned and controlled by Mr. Cook.

The Lake Piru Recreation Area, along the western shore, has about 60 acres with various recreational facilities for camping, boating, fishing, and picnicking. The 238 campsites have water and electric hookup along with a snack bar. There are 66 boat slips with a full-service marina.

Soon Piru became known as a flourishing horticulture center. This was due to Mr. Cook’s influence since he had come here not only for his health but to establish a community that would duplicate in its groves and orchards of fruits trees, those of the Holy Land in Biblical times. Piru City was often referred to as the Second Garden of Eden.

When David C. Cook bought the Piru Fruit Rancho in 1887, he acquired with the land a valuable water right, allowing him to appropriate the waters of the Piru Creek for irrigation purposes. The water system, consisting of 30 miles of pipe, flumes and canals, had been planned in order to properly irrigate the mammoth orchards extending from Piru City westward, a distance of one and a half miles, and up the Piru Canyon, a distance of six miles.

Besides being prominent as a horticulture center, Piru City enjoyed prosperity due to the immense freight business caused by the large orders of the Piru Fruit Rancho as well as by the numerous oil wells in the vicinity and on the Rancho.

In the winter of 1887-88, the large Methodist Church was erected and on June 1888, the post office was opened with four daily mails. The Piru Rancho Gold Mining Company, which was that portion of the Piru Rancho located in Los Angeles County and was included in the old Temescal Land Grant, was still being worked in 1899 having been extensively mined from 1810-1840 before the discovery of gold at Sutter’s Mill in 1848.

Daivd C. Cook, founder of Piru, developed his Second Garden of Eden for 15 years before regaining his health and returning to Elgin, Illinois to resume his position as head of the publishing house. Since Mr. Cook was a strict prohibitionist, he was disappointed with many of his employees who were supposed to abstain from swearing and liquor.

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Just an hour north of the busy urban world of Los Angeles, discover a more relaxed way of life. Welcome to the Central Coast’s Ventura Region, where ocean panoramas dominate and world-class surprises await.

Start The Original Road Trip in a region whose riches include Channel Islands National Park—known as the Galápagos of North America—and the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum.  From the beach cities of Oxnard and Ventura to the soulful Ojai Valley and the farmlands of Heritage Valley, you’ll find a refreshing mix of sophisticated urban destinations and small-town escapes.

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Heritage Valley Tourism Bureau

270 Central Ave, Fillmore , California 93015 USA

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Heritage Valley Tourism Bureau serves the communities of Piru, Filmore, and Santa Paula, including its regional partners along Highway 126 in Ventura County. Nestled along scenic Highway 126 between the City of Ventura and the Santa Clarita Valley are the cities of Fillmore, Santa Paula and rural Piru collectively known as the Heritage Valley. Heritage Valley is a region of fascinating agricultural and cultural history including the romance of a National Historic Landmark, historic train rides, aviation, hot air balloons and the discovery of California's Black Gold.

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Heritage Valley Tourism Bureau

Promoting local attractions and events, it plays a crucial role in boosting the region's economy and community growth.

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The Heritage Valley Tourism Bureau, located in Fillmore, CA, is an organization primarily focused on economic development. This bureau was established with the aim of promoting tourism and fostering economic growth within the region. Its foundation is rooted in the desire to enhance the local economy by attracting visitors and promoting the unique cultural and natural heritage of the area. The bureau's activities and initiatives have been instrumental in driving economic progress in Fillmore, CA.

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Alphabetical List of Museums

Welcome to our alphabetical list of museums. We hope you find it helpful. Tip: you can quickly search for museums with the search icon in the navigation bar. If we don’t have a museum within our site that you’d like to see added, let us know here .

Albinger Archaeological Museum

In the museum building you will find many of the artifacts discovered at this site such as milling stones, shell beads, arrowheads, bone whistles, crucifixes,medallions, bottles, buttons and pottery. Learn more or Visit website

Aviation Museum of Santa Paula

Antique, classic experimental planes, autos, race cars, motorcycles, radios, artifacts and much more in "chain of hangers". EAA offers free plane rides for youth ages 8-17. Learn more or Visit website .

California Oil Museum

Restored original Headquarters for Union Olil Company built in 1890. Petroleum exhibits plus rotating exhibits on Science and History year round. Gift shop, cable tool rig and gas pump collection. Learn More or Visit website

Camarillo Ranch House Museum & Historical Site

1892 Victorian Mansion, 1905 historic Red Barn, interpretive gardens, stable exhibit, Gift Shop & monthly community events. Wedding & corporate event venue. Learn More or Visit website

Channel Islands Maritime Museum

Five centuries of Art that Sails! Interactive displays and one of the finest collections of maritime paintings, ship models &interactive exhibits on the west coast. Learn More or Visit website

Channel Islands National Park

The visitor center in Ventura is free and offers information on the Channel Islands, including a film, exhibits, a native plant garden and a bookstore. Learn more or Visit website

Chumash Indian Museum

The Chumash Indian Museum is a historical site and living history center. Through exhibits, Gift Shop, events, nature hikes and educational programs the history of the Chumash people Is presented to the public. Learn more or Visit website

Commemorative Air Force Southern California Wing WWII Aviation Museum

Rare flyable WWII aircraft maintenance & restoration, exhibits, WWII history & aviation research library, gift shop, airplane rides, docent led tours, special events, memorial services, museum hanger rentals for events. Learn More or Visit website

Dudley House Museum

Fillmore historical museum.

Collection of Fillmore History since 1887. Railroad history (Fillmore related), photos, vintage clothing, 1905 restored Craftsman Bungalow, Condor exhibit & Rancho Sespe history & memorabilia. Learn More or Visit website

Heritage Square

Eleven Victorian Homes and a church have been moved to a single block and restored; Summer concerts, Weddings and live theater are on going events. Learn More or Visit website

Heritage Valley Tourism Bureau

Step back in time in the Heritage Valley (Santa Paula, Fillmore & Piru), with seven museums, world-class murals and the Rancho Camulos National Historic Landmark. Just a short drive from Ventura, Santa Clarita and L.A. Visit heritagevalley.net for more information, maps, itineraries, things to do, places to stay. Learn More or Visit website

KidSTREAM Children's Museum

kidSTREAM plans on restoring a former community hub, and creating over 30,000 square feet of exhibit space for the children of Ventura County and beyond. With exhibits highlighting Ventura County's vast resources and beautiful climate visitors to kidSTREAM will know they are in a place unlike any other. kidSTREAM will be Ventura County's Children's Museum. Learn more or Visit website

Leonis Adobe Museum

Historic House Museum and ranch representing the 1880s with period livestock, the Plummer House and the Calabasas Creek Park. Learn more or Visit website

Mullin Automotive Museum

Home to the finest historic French automobiles, with significant and representative decorative art from the 1920's and 1930's. Learn more or Visit website

Murphy Auto Museum

Diverse collection of American automobiles and Americana housed inside a 30,000 square foot warehouse. Large HO scale working model train (22 scale miles). Learn More or Visit website

Museum of Ventura County

Changing and permanent exhibits related to the cultural history and art of Ventura County and the Channel Islands. Rotating Collection of George Stuart Historical Figures, extensive research library. Learn More or Visit website

Museum of Ventura County Agriculture Museum

Located in historic 1887 Mill Building. Exhibits interpret the past, current and future of agriculture in Ventura County. Vintage tractors and farm equipment. Learn more or Visit website

Ojai Valley Museum

National Historic Landmark, 1919 "Mission Revival" building. Changing exhibits focused on the art, history and culture of Ojai and the Ojai valley. Learn more or Visit website

Olivas Adobe Historical Park

Original two story home of Don Raymundo Olivas. Built in 1847. Learn more or Visit website

Ortega Adobe

Ortega Adobe is the City’s “only remaining example of a ‘middle class’ home of the late 1800s.” At one time, much of Ventura’s Main Street was lined with adobe homes. Learn more or Visit website

Oxnard Convention and Visitors Bureau

The Oxnard Convention and Visitors Bureau is a non-profit organization promoting Oxnard as an ideal destination for visitors, meetings and conventions. Full service visitors' center. Learn more or Visit website

Oxnard Historical Farm Park

The 1870's Maulhardt Winery and Cottage House with small vineyard date back to 1880's. Two 1900 bean threshers, multiple antique tractors and farm setting for BBQ's and get togethers. Learn more or Visit website

Pleasant Valley Historical Museum & Botanical Garden

Historical exhibits of the Pleasant Valley area, including Camarillo, Somis, the Santa Rosa Valley and the Las Posas Valley. Learn More or Visit website

Port Hueneme Historical Society Museum

The Port Hueneme Historical Society Museum, established in 1973 and located at 220 N Market St., is known as the “Little Museum in the Friendly City by the Sea.” Visitors are invited to view the “History of Port Hueneme” film and either tour with a docent or just browse the storyboards lining the walls. Learn More or Visit website

Rancho Camulos Museum & National Historic Landmark

Ventura County's only National Historic Landmark. Original Mexican land grant rancho and setting for the novel "Ramona" and the 1910 movie. Historic adobe buildings, chapel, winery, schoolhouse and gardens. Learn More or Visit website

Reyes Adobe Historical Site

The Reyes Adobe Historical Site is an early California Rancho setting featuring a preserved adobe home. The barn serves as a unique museum. Learn more or Visit website

Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum

Walk onboard Air Force One 27000. Other exhibits include oval office replica, piece of the Berlin wall, and President Reagan's memorial site. Learn more or Visit website

Santa Clara River Valley Railroad Historical Society, Inc.

Are you, your children, or grandchildren, too young to remember freight trains with cabooses, but are still curious about this railroad icon which, for over 150 years, was an institution of American railroading? Learn more or Visit website

Santa Paula Art Museum

Rotating exhibits of art including the renowned Santa Paula Collection displayed in the historic Limoneira Building. Learn More or Visit website

Santa Paula Historical Societies

“To preserve, protect and perpetuate the history of Santa Paula and its environments.” Maintaining and operating the Archives, where historical materials donated to the Society are properly catalogued and stored for both research purposes and use in public exhibitions. Learn more or Visit website

Santa Susana Railroad Depot & Museum

Real 1903 Depot restored to its turn of the century authenticity. Spectacular HO model railroad & more. Learn more or Visit website

Scandinavian Center at California Lutheran University

Museum, Library, Genealogy Assistance, Activity Center for language classes, weekly Brown Bag Lunch Programs, occasional films. Operated by the Scandinavian American Cultural and Historical Foundation, Inc. Learn more or Visit website

Stagecoach Inn Museum Complex

The original Stagecoach Inn, called the Grand Union Hotel, was built in 1876 at the southwest corner of what is now Ventu Park Road and the Ventura Freeway. Learn More or Visit website

Strathearn Historical Park & Museum

Strathearn Historical Park and Museum is owned and maintained by the Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District. The Park is operated jointly by the Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District and the Simi Valley Historical Society. Learn More or Visit website

U.S. Navy Seabee Museum

The Navy's official museum dedicated to selecting, collecting, preserving and displaying historic material relating to the history of the Naval Construction Force, better known a the Seabees, and the U.S. Navy Civil Engineer Corps. Learn more or Visit website

Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology

The WFVZ, or “Bird Museum of Camarillo”, is both a natural history collection specializing in eggs and nests of birds from around the world, and a research and education institution dedicated to bird conservation. It has the world’s largest collection s of birds’ eggs, nests, and specimens. Public Tours are on last Friday of every month, from 3 to 4 pm and on the second Wednesday of every month from 3:30 to 4:30, except Nov & Dec. Reservation is required. Call at least 1 day in advance. Learn more or Visit website

Thanks for visting our

List of museums.

The Murphy Auto Museum, located in Oxnard, California, is a collection of over 90 beautiful vintage automobiles and americana housed inside a 30,000 square foot facility. Our unique collection spans from 1903 to present day. In addition to the automobiles, the museum has a large collection of vintage camping trailers, petroliana, vintage clothing displays and one of the largest working H/O scale train layouts, with over 26 miles of track. We have helpful docents available to answer questions or lead group tours and throughout the building are placards at each automobile or item of interest for a self-interpretive museum experience.

We have exciting new exhibits planned each quarter in our main showroom. During a weekend day of that quarter, the museum hosts a parking lot show for owners and collectors alike to display their cars for the public to enjoy. We hope you come visit us soon! April through December we are open Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 10am-4pm and Wednesday night from 6pm-10pm. January through March we are open Saturday and Sunday only, 10am-4pm.

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Community Programs & Projects

Community Programs and Projects

Lackawanna Valley's thriving industries were a magnet for immigration from 1880 to 1920. Dozens of ethnic groups made this Valley their home and their rich traditions still continue. Connecting the community to its cultural heritage is a vital part of the mission of the Lackawanna Heritage Valley Authority (LHVA). It sponsors a variety of community outreach initiatives.

Heritage Valley Roundtable

A unique collaborative venture led by LHV, the Heritage Valley Roundtable is a monthly breakfast meeting of regional heritage site managers and other partners to share ideas and best practices. It includes the Albright Memorial Library, Electric City Trolley Museum, The Everhart Museum of Natural History, Science, & Art, Lackawanna Coal Mine, Lackawanna County Convention and Visitors Bureau, Lackawanna Historical Society, PA Anthracite Heritage Museum, Scranton Cultural Center, Steamtown National Historic Site, Scranton Tomorrow, Lackawanna College, The University of Scranton, WVIA Public Media, and other key community organizations.

NEPA Trails Forum

The Northeastern Pennsylvania (NEPA) Trails Forum is a loose alliance of organizations, government entities, and individuals who are involved with trail development in the region. These include recreational, mountain biking, snowmobile, park, municipal, and water trails, on both public and private lands.

The Trails Forum focuses on addressing issues in the trail building community. Representatives from trail user groups, municipalities and government agencies, civic organizations, professional firms, trail managers, and interested individuals attended the events to meet fellow trail groups, learn more about projects in the region, and share ideas and best practices. The Trails Forum meets on a quarterly basis.

Ambassadors in Action

Ambassadors in Action is a wonderful way to use your talents, to develop skills, to meet new people, and to give back to the community.The Lackawanna Heritage Valley National and State Heritage Area (LHV) invite you to join “Ambassadors in Action,” the Heritage Valley's hands-on volunteer corps! Volunteers are needed to help with trail clean-ups, heritage events, office support, and more! There are opportunities for everyone. All tasks offer flexibility in scheduling and consideration of any physical limitations.

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Ventura County Government Center Hall of Administration Building, Fourth Floor 800 S. Victoria Ave. Ventura, CA 93009-1940

Piru is a small community in northeast Ventura County. It began as a small town in the late 1800’s that served as a citrus stop for the Southern Pacific Railroad. Paralleling El Camino Real (now known as Telegraph Road), the rail line was built from east to west – Los Angeles to Ventura. The town of Piru was laid out in 1888 by David C. Cook, a publisher of religious books from Illinois who had moved west for his health. Cooked planned to create a “Second Garden of Eden” and planted over 900 acres of oranges, apricots, walnuts, olives and other fruit and nut trees. Originally Highway 126 ran through the center of this town. A new bypass built in the 1980’s moved the highway one half mile south.

The community’s size and architectural character have changed very little since that time. Agriculture, forestry, and fishing are its important industries. For a more detailed history of Piru, visit the Heritage Valley website.

Visit the Heritage Valley Tourism Bureau website to learn about Southern California’s last pristine agricultural valley nestled along the banks of the Santa Clara River in Ventura County. The Heritage Valley incorporates the communities of Santa Paula, Fillmore, Piru and the national landmark of Rancho Camulos.

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Salinas Valley regional tourism plan touted at…

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Salinas valley regional tourism plan touted at heritage center event.

SALINAS — The Salinas Valley Tourism and Visitors Bureau showed some of the fruits of its labor while planting the seeds for the future at an event held at its new Heritage Center at the California Welcome Center near downtown Salinas.

“We have the opportunity to develop the Salinas Valley into one of the most exciting rural tourism places in the world,” said Sam Farr, a former Central Coast congressman who represented the region for more than two decades.

Farr was one of the guest speakers at the Salinas Valley Chamber of Commerce mixer on Thursday held at the Salinas Intermodal Transportation Center on the northwest corner of North Main and West Market streets in Salinas.

The Heritage Center at the California Welcome Center is located inside the former Southern Pacific Freight Depot No. 1A Station Place.

“We’re going to come together as a team and at least start to tell about our heritage and our story from the standpoint that basically California started in this area for all intents and purposes,” said Salinas Valley Tourism and Visitors Bureau Executive Director Craig Kaufman.

The Salinas Valley Tourism and Visitors Bureau was started by Kaufman in 2008. The bureau won the California Welcome Center distinction in 2010 for Salinas beating out Cannery Row in Monterey and the city of Gilroy. In 2011, the first visitors center was opened in Salinas and in 2015 it opened the Soledad Visitors and Gateway Center in Soledad capitalizing on the legislation under President Barack Obama that changes the designation of Pinnacles from a national monument to a national park.

The tourism and visitors bureau centers exist to educate and help locals and visitors discover the vast natural beauty and rich history of the region.

Business owner and Salinas Valley Tourism and Visitors Bureau President Don Chapin said the visitor center inside the rehabilitated Southern Pacific freight depot was more than three years in the making having been sidetracked by the pandemic.

Right now the combination visitor and heritage center is using about a third or 1,800 square feet of the approximately 5,100-square-foot building with the remaining 3,300 square feet to become additional heritage center display space and eventually making it part of a heritage park as part of the Salinas Intermodal Transportation Center site, said Chapin.

The former freight depot building is itself significant in that it is the oldest surviving commercial building in Salinas, said Kaufman. It also was the site of the first connected phone call in the city in 1878 connecting it to the Cominos Hotel, which once stood at the current site of the Taylor Farms headquarters building in the 100 block of Main Street.

The building is leased from the city of Salinas for about $1,900 per month. Future plans for the depot building will include exhibits and information about the Mexican, Spanish and first people’s experience in the area with an emphasis on telling the story of Spanish Lt. Colonel Juan Bautista de Anza who led more than 240 men, women, and children of varying ethnicities some 1,800 miles from Mexico to establish a settlement at San Francisco Bay. The Anza expedition came through the Salinas Valley and is part of the history of Salinas.

“It’s an international story that can be told,” said Kaufman. “I think we have a lot of great stories to tell.”

Plans for the future Historic Park would include using existing structures at the site including incorporating the first mayor’s house, the Friends of the Salinas Public Libraries, the Monterey and Salinas Valley Railroad Group, and reaching over into Chinatown to the Asian Cultural Experience group, which is working to rehabilitate structures in the district to preserve, promote and enrich the history and multicultural identity of Salinas’ Chinatown.

The existing Amtrak train depot is federally owned and is not under city control but has been repaired, cleaned and painted recently. The Salinas depot was built in 1942 by the Southern Pacific Railroad and is the third depot to serve the community at that location.

Farr said this is where California began, and with agriculture being the backbone and Monterey County’s No. 1 economic engine, “we tell the world that by sustaining agriculture, we can make an economic viable living, and we can also keep the land in open space … doing our fair share and more in fighting global warming.”

But everyone has to come together to figure out ways to weave things together and the heritage center is the first step in that direction, said Kaufman.

“You have the future in your hands,” said Farr to the crowd at the chamber mixer. “Seize it!”

The ribbon cutting for the Heritage Center at the California Welcome Center Salinas will take place on Sept. 3, the actual 150-year anniversary of the groundbreaking for the former Southern Pacific Freight Depot building.

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Wrapped in history, serendipity, artwork acquired by Salinas Valley Tourism and Visitors Bureau

S ALINAS – An artist whose work is on display around the globe and whose life has serendipitous ties to the history of Monterey County, will now have two of his pieces on display at the California Welcome Center and regional heritage museum in Salinas.

Guillermo Wagner Granizo was an American artist who was born in San Francisco in 1923. He is best known locally for his 11- by 45-foot tile mural depicting scenes from Monterey’s history on an exterior wall at the Monterey Conference Center’s corner on Pacific Street and Del Monte Avenue.

Granizo died in 1997 at the age of 72, but his artwork lives on.

“Most people have seen the incredible Monterey mural by Granizo on Pacific Street on the back wall of the Conference Center, but if you do research on the artist, you will see he has major art murals throughout the world,” said Denise Estrada, Salinas Valley Tourism and Visitors Bureau advisory council member.

Two ceramic tile murals by Granizo are now the property of the Salinas Valley Tourism and Visitors Bureau and will be on permanent display at its regional heritage center in the historic Southern Pacific freight depot building which houses the California Welcome Center.

The Salinas Valley Tourism and Visitors Bureau promotes economic development through regional heritage tourism at the California Welcome Center inside the historic freight building – the oldest surviving commercial building in Salinas. There are other structures and exhibits that make up the heritage park that tell part of Salinas’ history. These components are portion of the Intermodal Transportation Center complex in Salinas which sits on the National De Anza Historic Trail.

In 1776, around the time of the American Revolution, Spanish Lieutenant Colonel Juan Bautista de Anza, leading a contingent of more than 240 men, women, and children for more than 1,800 miles, arrived to establish a settlement at San Francisco Bay. That expedition came through Alta California in what is now Monterey County including Mission San Antonio de Padua established in 1771, the Salinas Valley along the Salinas River, over to Monterey and the Carmel Mission – then only about 6 years old – through what is now the city of Salinas and on to the San Juan Bautista area 21 years before its mission was built.

The two ceramic tile murals, tell the story of Granizo’s association with historic figure Juan Bautista De Anza. To celebrate and share the story of how the Tourism and Visitors Bureau came to acquire the murals that are now housed in the California Welcome Center’s heritage museum and how that acquisition linked two families to their heritage stories, an event was held in late February.

The celebration called, “Stonelight Tile and Serendipity,” linked Granizo’s unique artistry and huge volume of work, said Estrada.

Stonelight Tile of San Jose was the source of the tile the artist created his work on, and Serendipity is the art of finding something of good fortune, accidentally.

“With the series of links from the start of the relationship of Granizo to Stonelight Tile, to me connecting with Granizo’s son to purchase the art, to the De Anza murals being exhibited in a building that I helped to save, to the reunion of families who had never met, truly seemed serendipitous,” said Estrada. “I do not believe in coincidences. I feel like at times, it seems like there are strings being pulled from above by a historic figure who has passed on and possibly the artist who admired him so much.”

Estrada helped lead a group of like-minded community members to save the Southern Pacific Freight Depot building from the wrecking ball.

One of Granizo’s sons, Ron Wagner, and his family attended the event and brought with them another Granizo piece called “Stonelight Tile.” Architect Peter Kasavan and his family of “Stonelight Tile” heritage, were also in attendance and helped to tell the story of the strange connections that have occurred over time through acts of serendipity that came to unite two families and brought the murals to be displayed at the Welcome Center.

“I purchased them a year ago from Ron Wagner, the son of Guillermo Wagner Granizo through his Granizo Studio where he has a number of Granizo’s works for sale,” said Estrada. “The combined donations from Peter Kasavan’s family and my matching donation, made the purchase possible.”

The two tile murals Estrada bought were part of an autobiographical selection of times that Granizo produced to tell the stories of his life. Granizo was a great admirer of De Anza and captured this in his art. Granizo also went to Arizpe Sonora Mexico and was able to place Anza’s remains in a new marble sarcophagus that he helped to design.

Estrada met late Salinas Architect Jerome Kasavan in the 1980s, working with him on local building project when she was a city employee. She would later work with his son Peter Kasavan when he took over his father’s business. When she was with the city she was asked to do an environmental assessment of the Southern Pacific Freight Depot and found it to be in a dangerous environmental condition though the building’s bones were sound. The city directed it to be demolished, but her research and collaboration with historian Kent Seavy and preservation activist Ruth Andersen, found the building was a significant landmark property and needed to be preserved. A successful public campaign and grant-funding effort helped save and rehabilitate the building.

By 2022, the California Welcome Center had moved into part of the building and now houses the regional heritage museum.

Estrada met Craig Kaufman, primary contact at the Welcome Center and executive director of the Salinas Valley Tourism and Visitors Bureau, and told him that his work had far exceeded any vision that the original team had foreseen, and volunteered to work with him.

Kaufman began developing preliminary projects around the National Juan Bautista De Anza Historic Trail. When Estrada became aware of Granizo’s association with Anza and the work he produced, both Estrada and Kaufman felt it was appropriate to see if the tile murals were available.

By then, Estrada had become friends with Granizo’s son, Ron Wagner as she had made art purchases from Granzino Art and he agreed that his father would have loved to see his work on Anza be exhibited at the Salinas site of the trail.

After the tile murals were mounted, Estrada invited Peter Kasavan over to show off the art work. He astonished Estrada when he said that Granizo was the resident artist at Stonelight Tiles in San Jose and that his uncle, David Kasavan was the business owner and a friend of Granizo at the time they were produced.

“It turns out that the Wagner family and the Kasavans were linked by their ancestors’ production of beautiful tile art work but the families had never met,” said Estrada. “The event brought the two families together in what I will call a joyous reunion. Bob Kasavan called it a reunion of friends, never met. Both families brought their adult children and many grandchildren. They were told that this story was part of their legacy as it had been a completed circle.”

To view a video of the Stonelight Tile and Serendipity event, visit https://tinyurl.com/2hxmh7xb .

©2024 MediaNews Group, Inc. Visit at montereyherald.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Harrisonburg Tourism receives state award for Harrisonburg-Rockingham Trail Guide

HARRISONBURG, Va. (WHSV) - The Hardesty-Higgins Visitor Center and the staff of Harrisonburg Tourism were recently honored for their work and creativity by the Virginia Tourism Corporation.

The Virginia Tourism Corporation Trailblazer Award recognized the team’s work on the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Trail Guide. The award is given to one state-certified visitor center each year, recognizing centers for their work in tourism marketing and promotion and the development of innovative marketing promotion programs and activities.

The guide was developed through a VTC grant and showcases 15 trails to bike, hike, and ride around the Shenandoah Valley. Tourism manager Jennifer Bell said it came to be amid the pandemic, as a resource for those who wanted to get outside but might not know which trails were the best fit for them.

“So there are trails to the west, trails to the east, and trails in Harrisonburg itself. So that there’d be a good variety for tourists depending on how much time they had, how difficult an excursion how difficult of an excursion they wanted to make,” Bell said.

Bell and her staff worked with local trail guide creator David Landis and graphic designer Jon Styer to create the guide, which was then printed by Rockingham County. Visitor center staff also studied information on each of the trails so they could share details with interested visitors.

Bell said the trail guide has connected Harrisonburg tourism with local school groups and nonprofits like the Shenandoah Valley Bicycle Coalition. The tourism team and SVBC along with Harrisonburg Parks and Recreation are now working on a grant-funded project which will expand and enhance the Rocktown Trail system at Hillandale Park.

“It’s really been rewarding to see how one little grant, one little project has had a ripple effect and we’re hoping it will continue to grow,” Bell said.

Most recently, Harrisonburg Tourism worked with the Community Gear Library to translate the guide into Spanish. The Gear Library makes hiking and camping gear available to residents through Massanutten Regional Library.

“We want everyone to enjoy the trails and language should not be a barrier,” Bell said.

You can view the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Trail Guide by visiting the tourism website here. You can also get paper copies by visiting the Hardesty-Higgins Visitor Center located at 212 S. Main St., the center is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day.

Copyright 2024 WHSV. All rights reserved.

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