It was the home of one of our county supervisors, Benjamin Wells Dudley, and as a justice of the peace he held court right in the parlor. It was also one of the first Ventura homes to have electricity and a telephone.

At one time the family owned 200 acres. A lively group, the Dudleys and their decendents lived there until the 1970s while Ventura grew up around them. It was the last working farm of a pioneer family from the 1890s located within the city limits.

Hoping to see the 1892 farmhouse survive after the family donated it to the city in 1978, a small band of neighbors formed a group to take on the project. It wouldn't be until 1993 that the house would again be open to the public. The transformation the house has undergone in just the last 15 years has been truly amazing. It's now a full-fledged lovingly restored museum outfitted with turn-of-the century charm. And there is a community meeting room with a working kitchen in the basement.

I serve as a docent for children's tours there and my own children have grown up exploring every corner of that house. Dressing up in my silly 1890s dress and teaching my young tour participants what life was like pre-plumbing, pre-electricity, pre-TV and pre-Nintendo is always great fun. We take a peek in the outhouse, learn about the charms of chamber pots and take a trip through the home's "secret passageway." I always end with a ghost story in the attic.

EVERY YEAR JUST BEFORE THE HOLIDAYS, the house is cleared of its Victorian knickknacks and outfitted for the annual Victorian Holiday Boutique, a major fundraiser for the project. It opens once again today. I always get a lot of my holiday shopping done there and the prices are right. I encourage everyone to go.

When you're done shopping, go down in the basement, grab a cookie and a cup of hot apple cider and say hi to Sheri Oelschlager. She was the group's first president 30 years ago and she's still plugging away.

Ventura volunteers are the best.

The Historic Dudley House is located at the corner of N. Ashwood and Loma Vista in Ventura. The Victorian Holiday Boutique is open Nov. 28, 29, 30; Dec. 5, 6, 7; and Dec. 12, 13, 14 from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Admission is free, but donations are gladly accepted. The house is open for tours again after the boutique is over on the first Sunday of every month from 1-4 p.m. and by special appointment. Call 642-7664 or 654-8381 for more information.

IN THE ANNALS OF Ventura history, there is likely nothing odder than the back-story of Cemetery Park on Main Street Downtown. Established in 1862, the cemetery once sat on the very edge of town before the city sprawled eastward. The site is the final resting place of more than 2,000 people.

You'd never know that by looking at it today. It now functions as a public park with only occasional small, flat markers indicating it was ever a proper cemetery. It's become a gathering space for families and lots of Frisbee-tossing dog owners. I often drive visitors by the spot and point out that while the headstones are gone, the bodies still remain in the ground, a tidbit which nearly always elicits a look of disbelief.

How the resting place of some of Ventura's founding fathers and mothers got to this stage probably ranks as one of the city's more controversial decisions. The church-owned cemetery, filled to capacity in the 1940s, began falling into disrepair over the years, much to the dismay of nearby property owners. A large hedge, planted to cover up the spectacle, did little to appease neighbors.

Years of vandalism took its toll until 1963 when the city, by now the owner of the property, decided -- with only a bit of public outcry -- to convert it to a public park. Bodies resting in mausoleums were moved underground, relatives who could be located were give the option of moving their deceased ancestors and/or collecting the headstones. Flat markers were placed at the request of some family members.

The monuments were unceremoniously moved to a city storage yard and arranged in alphabetical order for relatives to collect. But over the years it became a popular high school prank to steal the headstones and cart them off as grim trophies. Now, many years later, they still pop up from time to time in odd places.

Finally, the unclaimed stones were ground up and used to fill a levee near the Olivas Park Golf Course.

GIVEN THIS CHECKERED history, it is no wonder local residents have clamored for a respectable ending to this resting place for people who have Ventura streets named after them. Finally a plan has emerged that may appeal to everyone, but paying for it in these tight financial times is the difficult part. The city is hoping for help in the form of grants and private donations, Mayor Christy Weir said.

"Since most grant funding will only pay construction costs -- and not design fees -- the city has taken the initial steps necessary to become eligible for available funding by designing a plan for improvements to the park," she said.

But neighbors, who now enjoy the open, restful spot, have complained about the addition of perhaps 2,000 flat brass markers to the site and wonder how recreation and memorials can co-exist. Others in the community say it never should have been made into a public park in the first place and should be fenced off and restored as a cemetery. A map to the gravesites with names still exists.

The new plan also includes refurbished landscaping and repairs to the historic WPA cobblestone retaining wall, a veterans' memorial path and flagpole, original headstones inset into a memorial wall and a memorial garden, which will make it a more pleasant public space.

"The plan is to gather whatever headstones still exist to use them in the memorial wall," Weir said. "We're trying to restore the history and dignity that was lost when the park conversion took place."

The city is hoping to get more public input on the plan on Wednesday, Nov. 19 at 5:30 p.m. at Community Presbyterian Church, 1555 Poli St. The proposed plans are posted at the park, and are also online at the city's Web site.

THE CHOICEST PIECE of prime property in Ventura is getting a remake.

Long a spot for weddings, picnics and tourist photos, Serra Cross Park in Ventura's Grant Park is scheduled for a major beautification effort.

That is, if we can raise the money.

In 2003, a group of us, led by now-Mayor Christy Weir and former Historic Preservation Committee Chair Tracy Long, launched an effort to buy the property from the city after it was put up for sale. The city was forced to divest itself of the cross and one acre of land surrounding it because of a pending lawsuit charging that the principle of separation of church and state was being violated by city ownership and maintenance of a cross.

We raised $104,000 and had the winning bid for the property. Our group, the Serra Cross Conservancy, a non-profit 501 (c) (3) organization, has been managing the property ever since.

Taking care of a popular public park hasn't always been easy. As it is with any public area, there is a certain element who visits and likes to be destructive. Even the Cross itself has been subject to vandalism - and subsequent repairs - over the years. Site maintenance is financed through donations for use of the property for weddings and events.

IT HAS LONG BEEN OUR DREAM, however, to do something more for the people who love visiting this scenic spot. So we enlisted the aid of a wonderful local design firm, Ted Temple and Associates, to design something really special. We are excited by the firm's plans. For an idea of what it will look like, see the watercolor painting above by local artist Norman Kirk.

The upper circular parking area will be turned into a scenic walking and strolling area with a fountain, benches, native plants, sycamores and two levels of trails. The parking lot will be relocated to an adjacent area. The cross platform and cross itself will remain intact, but will be spiffed up. We've already put in new plantings and hope to put in boulders around the base and a new walkway.

"Ventura's Grant Park is one of the most spectacular locations in the county," Weir said. "The goal of the Serra Cross Conservancy is to maintain the historic cross and surrounding one-acre park and enhance the landscaping to make this gem even more beautiful and usable. We depend on donations, so this will be possible only through the generosity of our community."

Weir is doing her part to generate those donations. She was recently asked to participate in the "Salsa with our Local Stars Dance Contest & Charity Fundraiser" at the Oxnard Salsa Festival on Sunday, July 27. So she's working on her dance steps and will donate the proceeds from the fundraiser to the Cross beautification efforts.

With the city's Grant Park Master Plan on hold, this privately funded effort may be the only chance we have for many years of doing something better for this underutilized but beautiful public space.

For more about the dance contest go here. If you would like to learn more about donating to the Serra Cross Conservancy, go here.

THE HISTORIC Elks Lodge on N. Ash Street has seen better days; its once tidy exterior has fallen into disrepair since the Elks set up shop elsewhere in Ventura. Likewise, the upper two levels of the parking structure at the end of California Street are rarely used by anyone except for the occasional seagull. But both structures have been given new life by local movers and shakers who are busy creating vibrant new spaces.

For David Armstrong and Stephen "Schaf" Schafer, it's about finding new space for the arts. Armstrong coaxed Elks Lodge owners Jeff Becker and Vim Jonker into letting them use the space in exchange for cleaning it up. Becker and Jonker plan to build condos nearby.

"Our vision is to make this a dynamic center for the arts with three to four resident companies and cost-effective rentals for occasional users," Schafer said.

The three-story structure, built in 1928, has a 300-seat theater. Events scheduled for the facility this summer include children's theater classes and various activities associated with the Rubicon International Theatre Festival.

It's all part of a grander vision for Downtown called Project Encore. Next up are revitalization projects for the abandoned and current E.P. Foster libraries "to become a dynamic community space where people discover art, music, language and history," Schafer said.

"The building blocks for a unique cultural district are in place -- it is up to us to make it a reality," he added.

A FEW BLOCKS AWAY, Rod Houck has his own magic cooking. He received a permit to tent the top of the city-owned parking structure and turn it into the Ocean View Beach Club for events. And while it will be a for-profit venue, his first big event is a fund-raiser on June 21 for Angel Project, which benefits several charities, including the Ventura County AIDS Partnership.

"I love to do a couple of events for charity a year," Houck said. The energetic local entrepreneur already manages the popular Eucalyptus Lane off Victoria Ave., which is in heavy use for weddings and charity events year round. Over the years, Houck has helped raised thousands of dollars for non-profit groups like the Boys and Girls Clubs and Casa Pacifica.

The upper deck of the parking garage is used occasionally by the city for events, but languishes most of the year, said Dori Boyer of the city's Economic Development Department. It is only opened for parking for large events Downtown like the County Fair.

Houck plans to stage weddings on the nearby beach and hold receptions in the new Beach Club.

These creative uses of abandoned spaces help keep the local economy pumping and make Ventura an even livelier place.

A clean-up day for the Elks Lodge, 11 S. Ash St., is planned for Saturday, June 14 at 9 a.m. Volunteers are asked to bring work gloves, mops, paint, cleaning materials, water and snacks. For more details and a full list of needed items, visit www.downtownventura.org

Angel Project's "The Second Annual Evening Under the Stars" will be Saturday, June 21 6:30-11 p.m. at the new Ocean View Beach Club, on top of the parking garage at 500 W. Harbor Blvd. Tickets are $50 in advance and $65 at the door. For more information, go to www.angel-project.org