Your call: Ventura or San Buenaventura?

This blog voted thumbs-down on the ultimately failed attempt to change the name of El Porto to, um, something else. (It's still El Porto here, thus it was a failed attempt.)

This is a slightly different issue, and I seek your input: If you're visiting the coastal city in Ventura County that's home to the San Buenaventura Mission, are you visiting:

The city of Ventura?
Or...
The city of San Buenaventura?

And which name would you prefer?

Here's coverage from the Sunday Real Estate section of the L.A. Times: "Ventura is in the process of reinventing itself with a major downtown makeover, combined with moves to brand the city as a center for the arts. ... As part of its new image, more use is being made of the city's original, official and more romantic name, San Buenaventura, especially to describe the central downtown area. That's also home to the San Buenaventura Mission, the ninth of California's 21 missions, founded in 1782 and completed 27 years later."

Your thoughts? Comments? E-mail story tips to peter.viles@latimes.com
Photo Credit: A 2,500-square-foot farmhouse on Main Street in San Buenaventura, with a smaller home also on the lot, listed for $1.475 million. By Anne Cusack, L.A. Times

Comments

[apennysaved]

A rose by any other name is still a rose.

Keep the name Ventura.

[Dale]

I grew up in Ventura! I was always aware that the city's official name was San Buenaventura and I'd be happy to see the city use it more. I vote for San Buenaventura and, as one who spent his formative years there, clearly, my vote carries much more weight than others! :)

[frankly dear]

Ventura will always be "Bakersfield by the Sea" -- this is throwing good money down the drain.

[RadioManTodd]

Legally, Ventura is "the City of San Buenaventura" per the City Charter (http://www.ci.ventura.ca.us/depts/city_clerk/
resources/citycharter.PDF)

Whats funny is that there are dozens of citys that are like that too... but go by "common names" like Paso Robles, which is technically "El Paso De Robles"

[homer simpson]

"Bakersfield by the Sea"

Hilarious!

it's funny cause it's true.

[BottomFisher]

Ace Ventura is my choice.

[Mike Johnson]

Well, it should be one or the other, not both. It's confusing to people who aren't from around here, and has been for years. Why my city would go out of its way to confuse the very tourists we're hoping to draw is beyond me.

A couple years ago, my sister saw a job posting for a crime analyst, and called me to ask if I knew where San Buenaventura was. Why would you post a city job opening and not use the word "Ventura"? Is our reputation really that bad?

Both names have legitimate, historical claims. I have elderly neighbors who have lived here all their lives, and they'll use San Buenaventura when writing their address. Likewise, the city has long used the names interchangeably. I wish they'd simply strike one or the other completely from every city document and website.

I'd even be happy with Bakersfield-by-the-Sea. Fantastic weather, nice beaches, good schools, little traffic, and a bustling downtown? And it's affordable too? You can give it whatever name you want, but I'll always call it home.

[LeftLA]

Mike wrote:"Fantastic weather, nice beaches, good schools, little traffic, and a bustling downtown? And it's affordable too? You can give it whatever name you want, but I'll always call it home."

We call that "my city in north Florida."

[sandiegan]

I vote for Ventura to change it's name to...

" El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de los Angeles de Porciuncula de San Buenaventura"

And, for short, we can call it...Ventura.

[David]

The name San Buenaventura is the Spanish name for Saint Bonaventure. So calling San Buenaventura "Ventura" is kinda like calling San Bernardino (Saint Bernardine) "Bernard" or Santa Barbara, "Barb". Not sure how they decided on "Ventura". That's a good trivia question.

I grew up in Ventura too. I had family from Orange county that always compared Ventura to that vampire town from that 80's movie "The Lost Boys".