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California: Spanish Colonial Revival Styles of Wallace Neff & CarlEton Winslow In Ojai

Honoring our past by bringing it forward into today builds a future which includes as many of us as possible.

Great architecture in large and small ways has done this in California for over 200 years. In the late 1920’s, two incredibly talented architects were brought together by Edward Libbey in the Ojai Valley to create some of the most classic examples of Spanish Colonial Revival architecture still in wide public use today and they are literally down the street from each other.

Edward Libbey, of the famous glass family, fell in love with the Ojai Valley, which was later used as the model for the 1930’s popular book, Shangri La, and brought both architects to the Valley to produce the outstanding Ojai Library in Carleton Winslow’s case, and what became the Ojai Valley Inn in the case of Wallace Neff.

The Ojai Library is a central part of the Ventura County Library system and is architecture at its best, fitting into its surrounding neighborhood and environment while uplifting the daily experience of everyone who interacts with the building. Completed in 1928, the building respects the tranquility of the surroundings while being central enough to continually serve an active downtown where bikes, pedestrians, and commerce support dozens of shops, stand out restaurants, and employers.

Wallace Neff’s masterpiece arcade and surrounding buildings form the backbone of what started as the Ojai Country Club and quickly grew into the California classic five-star Ojai Valley Inn. Using regional materials and classic building techniques, the light yet traditional Spanish Colonial Revival property has hosted world leaders, countless famous guests, and throughout World War II provided a training grounds for troops before their final assignments.

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