Thousand Oaks urn dedication ceremony

Saturday, 10 September, 3 to 5 pm
Great Stone Face Park

BAHA members are invited to celebrate the installation of two new urns, which are the latest street ornaments in the Thousand Oaks neighborhood.
 
A ceremonial dedication will be performed at Great Stone Face Park (Yosemite Road and San Fernando Ave.), followed by a party in the nearby garden of the historic Mark Daniels House, featuring a historical exhibit, music, and refreshments. There is no charge.
 
For those who wish to tour the area earlier that afternoon, Keith Skinner of the Berkeley Path Wanderers Association is planning a walk focusing on the urn sites and neighborhood history. The walk begins at 1 pm at Great Stone Face Park. See additional information here.
 
Thousand Oaks, the focus of BAHA house tours in 1997 and 2007, is a residential tract subdivided in 1909. Large monumental urns, in the style of Maxfield Parrish, were placed by the developers to mark streets and walking paths. This sort of civic art, like the pillars of Northbrae and Claremont, the Marin Circle fountain, and the gates of Claremont Court, was popular in the first decade of the last century and gave a distinct identity to each area. 
 
Originally there were twenty or more urns around Thousand Oaks, but only one urn, at Indian Trail and The Alameda, remains today.
 
The installation of the new urns and the restoration of the existing urn is the culmination of eight years of effort by residents of the area. The project was awarded a 2009 UC Chancellor’s Community Partnership Fund grant that included professional support from UC landscape architect Jim Horner. BAHA is a Community Partner of this historic restoration project.
 
Trish Hawthorne, a veteran BAHA member, and Elizabeth Sklut, former president of the Thousand Oaks Neighborhood Association, are the project coordinators.