A Ventura County community is celebrating its 122nd birthday this week in a special way. It’s having a celebration which includes commemorating the gift of a building which is even older than the city.
In January, Chevron donated a building which is a big part of the community’s history to the City of Santa Paula, along with a grant to maintain it. This weekend, a ceremony will be held to commemorate the city’s birthday, as well as the gift of the Union Oil Building.
Chevron acquired Union Oil in 2005 and got the downtown Santa Paula building as part of the deal. For decades, the building was leased to the City of Santa Paula for use as a museum. But, financial issues led to its permanent closure during the pandemic.
Chevron donated the building, a small adjacent structure, a parking lot, and some historical artifacts to the city. The company topped it off with a $2 million grant to maintain the 133-year-old building.
The ceremony will take place at 12:30 Saturday afternoon at the building on the 1000 block of East Main Street.
