VENTURA : Fund Established to Save Peirano Building

History and arts activists have established a fund to save the 116-year-old Peirano building from being razed by a development company.

Ventura Realty Co. is proposing to buy the historic Peirano building across from San Buenaventura Mission and demolish it to highlight an old Spanish laundry, dating to the 1700s, underneath it.

Realty company officials said it would be too expensive to upgrade the aging structure and instead would build a re-creation of the building’s facade. They proposed making the lavenderia, discovered under the building two years ago, the main focus of a courtyard surrounded by a restaurant, shops and offices.

The proposal has drawn criticism from activists who want to save the building and showcase the lavenderia as well.

“You can have both by turning it into an arts complex,” said Richard Peterson, an arts instructor at Ventura College and a member of the city’s Historic Preservation Commission.

Peterson is heading the group to save the Peirano building and turn it into an art gallery to help showcase the lavenderia. Besides soliciting donations from residents, Peterson will suggest applying for grants with the National Endowment for the Arts to help pay for the expensive rehabilitation of the building.

“With grants and stuff, it’s totally do-able,” Peterson said. “It isn’t a pipe dream.”

For more information about the fund, call Peterson at 648-7089. Checks can be mailed to 60 W. Center St., Ventura 93001.