Shadows and Form at the Arts Plaza

Shadows from late afternoon light and a silhouetted form entering the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza make for a unique scene as the summer season began earlier in the week. Constructed in 1994 the immediate areas surrounding Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza was among the first populated parts of the Conejo Valley. The site, which was previously home to the Jungleland USA theme park, was home to some of the valley’s first settlements in the 19th century. Prior to the settlers, the area was inhabited by the Chumash Native-Americans. The 210,000 sq. ft. building is ornamented with Indian sandstone. At its highest, the building towers ten stories; at its lowest, 22 feet under ground where it is anchored in volcanic rock.[7] The site was home to a Chumash summer camp in pre-colonial times, known as Ipuc. In the 19th century, the site was land which belonged to Egbert Starr Newbury where he established the Conejo Valley’s first post office.