Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza
Sunday, March 4, 2012 at 05:23PM The Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza is the largest performing arts center between Los Angeles and San Francisco at over 200,000 square feet.
The City of Thousand Oaks Cultural Affairs Department oversees theatre productions for the Civic Arts Plaza, which encompasses two theatres – the 1,800-seat Fred Kavli Theatre and the 394-seat Janet and Ray Scherr Forum Theatre. The Plaza originally opened in 1994.
The performing arts center combines outstanding arts and entertainment with state-of-the-art technology and acoustics. Over 250,000 patrons and 50,000 children attend more than 400 performances annually. The Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza is funded through a unique public/private partnership between the City of Thousand Oaks and the Alliance for the Arts.
There is something for everyone at this venue....musicals, cabaret, Broadway musicals, dance, concerts, big bands, the New West Symphony, ballet, plays, well known speakers and events for the kids. In front of the plaza is the Mary and Richard Carpenter plaza park.
Next door to the Plaza is The Lakes of Thousand Oaks, another great place to take the kids.
Between 1926 and 1968 the Plaza location housed the 170 acre Goebel's Lion Farm (later called Jungleland), where many of the famous wild animals in Hollywood pictures lived. There were elephants, lions, tigers, hippos, you name it. Leo, the MGM lion, Mr. Ed the Talking Horse, and Getta, Tarzan's chimpanzee all lived there at some point. Jungleland was a major draw in its day that played a large role in making Thousand Oaks what it is today.
The Civic Arts Plaza is located at 2100 E. Thousand Oaks Boulevard (take the 101 East, left on Rancho exit, right on T.O. Blvd, and turn right into parking structure at Dallas Drive. Visit www.civicartsplaza.com for more information or call 805.449.2787.
It takes good luck and timing for a novice photographer like me to capture the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza while driving south on the 101 freeway.
Reader Comments (1)
Thanks for sharing this. Will be checking out their website to see schedules of recent shows.