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That was definitely a classic. A testament to the golden age of aerospace.
There was a Northrop facility on the far north end of Rancho Conejo. I think they made something to do with the lunar module parachute system or something because I remember seeing photos on the wall of this in the TO library. I think those Northrop jobs went to Pico Rivera in the 1990s. Don't think it is a Northrop anymore; maybe it is part of the sprawling Amgen facility...not sure.
There was a Northrop facility on the far north end of Rancho Conejo. I think they made something to do with the lunar module parachute system or something because I remember seeing photos on the wall of this in the TO library. I think those Northrop jobs went to Pico Rivera in the 1990s. Don't think it is a Northrop anymore; maybe it is part of the sprawling Amgen facility...not sure.
Two whom I know who were at Amgen during the 90s and early 00s both "took early retirement" and have been out of work since.
There was a Northrop facility on the far north end of Rancho Conejo. I think they made something to do with the lunar module parachute system or something because I remember seeing photos on the wall of this in the TO library. I think those Northrop jobs went to Pico Rivera in the 1990s. Don't think it is a Northrop anymore; maybe it is part of the sprawling Amgen facility...not sure.
Yeah, Northrop left in the early 90s. That bldg was vacant for years... Now they've built up a new 'industrial center' all around there. There is a RV storage place, MB2 raceway, Direct Buy, and other things that I can't remember... Across the street from where Northrop was, they've built a bunch of apartments.
Nice to read all these posts about Ventura County. Man, what memories a lot of you brought back for me.
As for what I remember growing up, I remember the best hamburger place was TOPS in Oxnard. DAMN! Now and then I get a taste for those hamburgers. The place was replaced with Pioneer Chicken which in turn was changed into some God-awful chinese fast food place.
I remember the 4th of July Fireworks show at the old Oxnard High School. There would be a big celebration at the local Plaza Park and then at dusk, everyone would head on over to the high school for the show.
Last but not least, who else goes to Neptune's Net in Malibu? Thankfully that place is still around.
I remember walking out on a large water runoff pipe that was elevated about four feet above the sand and emptied out right at the edge of the surf at the end of Seaward Ave. I would stand on the pipe and watch the waves rush in right underneath. The motion of the water made it seem as if I was moving forward very quickly and was quite a rush for a little boy.
There was also a large tank a little further up the coast but in the same general area. The tank had a concrete skirt around it and one could walk all around as the water came up all around the tank.
My grandparents lived on Pierpont Blvd near Cornwall Lane. In back of their house was a wooden gate that led down a small incline to the grounds of the Ventura Airpark (Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields: California - Ventura area)
I used to go out to the taxiway and play on the wind tee which was a rotating metal device that resembled a small plane.
Further down the coast, about where the Ventura Marina is now located was a dump where I could explore and come back with all sorts of treasures.
Next to the dump, was a quarter midget race track. In those days, Pierpont Blvd was considered the other side of the tracks and city lots were sold for $500.
To get to my grandparents house from the San Fernando Valley, we took the old 101 past the empty Conejo Valley with just open fields, oak trees, and small creeks visible. It was always fun to see the Jungleland sign with the cartoonish Elephant along the road then look down the hill and see the facility. A few miles further east, we took a windy drive down the Conejo Grade on to the flat land of the Oxnard Plain. Coming through Camarillo, we would pass through the eucalyptus trees just past Camarillo High School and watch the blinking light show as we alternated between bright sun and the shade of those trees on both sides of highway 101.
On the west side of Camarillo, south of the highway we would sometimes see military jets come in for a landing at the Oxnard Air Force Base and slow down by deploying a colorful parachute.
After continuing through the crop lands of Oxnard, the highway became Main St. in Ventura. Passing Loop's restaurant was a cue that we were getting close to the upcoming turn at Seaward Ave. On the corner of Seaward and Main St was a huge Coca-Cola bottle on top of a building with a rounded glass front that displayed the bottling machinery where hundreds of bottles of Coke whizzed by as we made our turn. (The last time I checked, that building with the rounded front is now used to sell futons.)
Continuing down Seaward Ave, we had to zig-zag down the hill and turn at Pierpont Blvd, where a statue of a harbor seal, the symbol of the local gas station, greeted us with a smile. We then drove past the several "lanes" ending at my grandparent's house where we parked in the dirt divider that used to divide Pierpont Blvd.
I would go to the beach quite often when I came to Ventura. I would just cross Pierpont Blvd and walk down one of the aforementioned "lanes." The lanes were narrow paved roads lined with little cottages on either side. In between the lanes, at the rear of each home, was a sidewalk that contained street lights and could be used to walk down to the beach. Even in those days, the sidewalks were slowly being usurped by the homeowners as they started to remodel their homes. Today, there is virtually no sign of those sidewalks between the lanes off of Pierpont Blvd.
This was an interesting post. Perhaps you could time stamp it a bit by mentioning the approximate years of these experiences.
Here's a photo from Caltrans (not protected by copyright) showing the Conejo Grade looking west, in the 1950s. The expressway is visible but so is the old serpentine alignment
This was an interesting post. Perhaps you could time stamp it a bit by mentioning the approximate years of these experiences.
Here's a photo from Caltrans (not protected by copyright) showing the Conejo Grade looking west, in the 1950s. The expressway is visible but so is the old serpentine alignment
There was a Northrop facility on the far north end of Rancho Conejo. I think they made something to do with the lunar module parachute system or something because I remember seeing photos on the wall of this in the TO library. I think those Northrop jobs went to Pico Rivera in the 1990s. Don't think it is a Northrop anymore; maybe it is part of the sprawling Amgen facility...not sure.
I worked at the Northrop Ventura Division from 1976 to 1980 when I left to work for Rocketdyne. The Ventura Division was best known for making target drones such as the MQM74C and the earlier Chukar when it was known as Radioplane and located in Van Nuys. They also made large subassemblies for the Boeing 747. My days at Rocketdyne ended in 1995, a casuality of the massive layoffs at that time. I probably could have transferred to Huntsville a little earlier and saved my aerospace career. Like you said in an earlier post, most of the engineering jobs in the San Fernando Valley and Ventura County have moved elsewhere.
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Thankfully that place is still around.
