Oxnard Joins Bidding for Southwest Museum

Oxnard has entered a crowded field of communities trying to lure the Southwest Museum, and its potential 300,000 visitors a year, from Los Angeles.

Council members on Tuesday signed a letter asking the museum’s directors to consider moving to the Oxnard Town Center, arguing that the center’s location near the junction of the Ventura Freeway and the Pacific Coast Highway made it a particularly attractive site.

“Because of its accessibility, visibility, opportunity for linkage with other visitor magnets, and prestige surroundings, we believe the Oxnard Town Center merits strong consideration from your perspective,” the letter says.

“We would consider it an honor for the Southwest Museum to call Oxnard its home.”

Museum officials, who solicited applications from four counties in Southern California, said they have received a strong response from about two dozen cities, including four in Ventura County. In addition to Oxnard, Thousand Oaks, Camarillo and Ventura have expressed an interest in drawing the museum.

The Southwest Museum’s world-class collection of Indian artifacts has outgrown its present building in downtown Los Angeles, and the museum’s director said available space would play a major role in choosing a new site.

“We need a place that can accommodate both our collection and parking for 300,000 visitors a year,” said Thomas Wilson, the museum’s director.

Oxnard officials said they believe they can satisfy the museum’s requirements.