Thousand Oaks is the second-largest city in Ventura County, California, located in the northwestern part of Greater Los Angeles. Approximately 15 miles (24 km) from the city of Los Angeles and 40 miles (64 km) from Downtown Los Angeles, it is named after the many oak trees present in the area.
Westlake Village is a city in Los Angeles County, California on its western border with Ventura County. It incorporated in 1981 becoming the 82nd municipality of Los Angeles County. The population of the city was 8,029 at the 2020 census, down from 8,270 at the 2010 census.
The Conejo Valley is a region spanning both southeastern Ventura County and northwestern Los Angeles County in Southern California, United States. It is located in the northwestern part of the Greater Los Angeles Area.
Newbury Park is a populated place and town in Ventura County, California, United States. Most of it lies within the western Thousand Oaks city limits, while unincorporated areas include Casa Conejo and Ventu Park. The town is located in Southern California around 8 miles (13 km) from the Pacific Ocean and has a mild year-round climate, scenic mountains, and environmental preservation. About 28,000 residents of Thousand Oaks reside in Newbury Park.
The Stagecoach Inn Museum in Newbury Park, California, originally known as the Grand Union Hotel, was used as a resting area for people who traveled from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara. Besides a hotel and stagecoach stop, it has also been used as a post office, church, restaurant and military school. It is California Historical Landmark No. 659 and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. It played a major role in the development of the stage line transportation network in California. The hotel was also the first business venture in the Conejo Valley.
The Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza is a performing arts center and city hall for the city of Thousand Oaks, California. Across Thousand Oaks Boulevard from Gardens of the World, the site is considered the downtown core of the city. City hall includes Planning and Building Department, Public Works and other city departments. A park within the site is named for Richard Carpenter and his wife Mary.
The Oaks is a two-level indoor/outdoor, regional shopping mall located in Thousand Oaks, California. It is owned and managed by Macerich. Accessible from US Highway 101 midway between downtown Los Angeles and Santa Barbara, it is the largest shopping center in Ventura County. Over five million visit the mall each year. The mall features JCPenney, Macy's, Macy's Men's and Home Store, Nordstrom, in addition to a 14-screen dine-in AMC Theatres.
The Grant R. Brimhall Library serves as the main library for the city of Thousand Oaks, California. It is controlled by the Thousand Oaks Library System, which also controls the Newbury Park Branch Library. The Grant R. Brimhall Building is located on Janss Rd. near State Route 23. There are 81,000 square feet (7,500 m2) in the main building and 3,000 square feet (280 m2) in the adjacent Special Collections Storage building. It serves Thousand Oaks, including Newbury Park and Westlake Village. It is the largest library in Ventura County, the largest library in the region, and one of the largest in Southern California.
Rancho El Conejo was a 48,572-acre (196.56 km2) Spanish land grant in California given in 1803 to Jose Polanco and Ygnacio Rodriguez that encompassed the area now known as the Conejo Valley in southeastern Ventura and northwestern Los Angeles Counties. El Conejo is Spanish for "The Rabbit", and refers to the many rabbits common to the region. The east-west grant boundaries approximately went from the border of Westlake Village near Lindero Canyon Road in the east to the Conejo Grade in the west. The north-south borders extended from the top of the Simi Hills at the end of Moorpark Road in the north to Hidden Valley in the Santa Monica Mountains in the south. The rancho is the site of the communities of Newbury Park, Thousand Oaks, and Westlake Village.
Lake Eleanor, also known as Banning Dam, is an 8-acre (3.2 ha) freshwater lake near Westlake Village in Thousand Oaks, California. The lake lies within the 513-acre (208 ha) Lake Eleanor Open Space and was Ventura County Historic Landmark No. 120 in 1988. It is also designated City of Thousand Oaks Historical Landmark No. 9. Under ownership of Conejo Open Space Conservation Agency (COSCA), the lake sits in a gorge with sheer cliffs and drops of 40–50 ft (12–15 m). An artificial lake, it was first constructed in 1889, and may be the first concrete arched dam built in California.
The Norwegian Grade is a 2 miles (3.2 km) section of Moorpark Road from the Santa Rosa Valley up into the Simi Hills and the city of Thousand Oaks, within Ventura County, California. Completed in 1911, it may be one of the Norwegian Colony's most notable contributions to the city. Until the construction of California State Route 23 Freeway, this was the most direct route between Moorpark and Thousand Oaks.
Conejo Valley Art Museum is a museum located at Janss Marketplace in Thousand Oaks, California. Established in 1978, the museum showcases fine art, modern art, abstracts, textiles and sculptures. Displays are changing periodically and often include artwork featured on national tours. The museum has hosted art collections from artists such as Howard Brodie, David Rose and Elizabeth Williams. It was previously located in an old library on W. Wilbur Road, but was moved to the Janss Mall in 1990. .
Reba Marie Hays Jeffries was one of the founders of Newbury Park Chamber of Commerce and later its first female president. She was a prominent supporter of Newbury Park cityhood and opposed the annexation by neighboring Thousand Oaks. She was also an outspoken supporter of preserving Stagecoach Inn and the Newbury Park Post Office when it was proposed that they be demolished.
Norwegian Colony was a Norwegian community in Thousand Oaks, California, in the 1890s and early 20th century. They were among the first pioneers to settle in the Conejo Valley, and was perhaps the most successful colony in Ventura County at the time. The group of Norwegians had emigrated from Norway due to lack of land and widespread starvation, and had first settled in Santa Barbara in 1885. After being told about the cheap land in the Conejo Valley, they relocated to what became the Norwegian Colony in 1890-91. The colony consisted of five families: the Olsen, Andersen (Anderson), Pedersen (Pederson), Nilsen and Hansen families.
Janss Marketplace is an outdoor shopping mall in Thousand Oaks, California. Previously known as Janss Mall, it opened in September 1961 as Village Lane. It was the first mall established in the city, and Thousand Oaks' only shopping center until The Oaks was built in 1978. 39 businesses are located here as of 2024. Conejo Valley Art Museum is also located here. It is home to well-known anchoring stores - Nordstrom Rack, and Old Navy. - along with specialty shops and fast food establishments. It has a nine-screen movie theater and is surrounded by neighborhood restaurants.
Thousand Oaks Community Gallery is a public art gallery located adjacent to Newbury Park Library in Newbury Park, California. The gallery was established in February 1991, and features a variety of workshops, visual arts exhibitions, photographies, paintings, artist presentations and events. The 3,000 sq. ft. gallery is one of Conejo Valley’s primary visual arts facilities. It was established by City of Thousand Oaks in corporation with local art organizations and dedicated residents. Besides showcasing the work of acclaimed and professional artists, the gallery also presents locally based artists and art contests.
Timber School was the first school in Newbury Park, California when established in 1889. and the current 1924 reconstructed Timber School is the oldest remaining school in the City of Thousand Oaks. It is also the oldest remaining public building in the Conejo Valley.
Newbury Road is the main street in Newbury Park, California, and runs parallel to the U.S. Route 101. The road is named for the town’s founder, Egbert Starr Newbury. The historic Newbury Park Post Office has had several locations on Newbury Road, including at the Stagecoach Plaza, a shopping complex with a name that implies the stagecoach heritage of the area. Stagecoach Plaza houses 14 restaurants and shops, and it is adjacent to additional shops on both sides.
The Newbury Park Post Office was the first post office in the Conejo Valley, established on July 16, 1875, by the valley's first postmaster, Egbert Starr Newbury.
