{"product_id":"the-oaks-at-ojai-1950s","title":"The Oaks in Ojai, 1950s","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis stylish illustration of an oak tree with its single acorn is a lovely example of mid-century menu design. It was created for the Oaks hotel and restaurant in Ojai, a scenic small city in Ventura County, California, located 80 miles northwest of Los Angeles and twelve miles inland from the Pacific Ocean.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIts history begins as a quiet little Spanish-style inn called El Roblar that opened for business in 1919. Over decades, it came to be known as the Oaks, an upmarket gathering places where visitors included Hollywood celebrities of the era and the American mobster Bugsy Siegel (1906-1947).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn 1952, the hotel was bought by businessman Frank Keenan and run by his brother Bill. Cottages were built around the pool, and it remained a sought-after place to stay. When the Keenan brothers were jailed for tax evasion back in their home state of Illinois, ownership was transferred to a Chicago heiress with the wonderful name of Lolita Armour.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe next owner in the 1960s was Vernon Johnson, from Santa Barbara. Described in an account recorded by the Ojai Valley Museum, he was ‘a big, bluff, bearded extrovert who worked as a telephone company lineman-foreman. Johnson had come into an inheritance and had always wanted to run a hotel.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSeveral years prior, he had gained a measure of fame when he toured around the world, including through Siberia, in a converted Greyhound bus with his wife and nine children. He bought the mortgage from Lolita Armour for $295,000 — making a $50,000 cash payment.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJohnson lasted a year before filing for bankruptcy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe manager of the hotel Keith Lloyd, left, manager of the Oaks, created El Roblar Corp, a community enterprise with 300 shareholders which bought the financially-plagued hotel at auction in 1965 for $230,000 and revived it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLater it became The Oaks at Ojai, a much-loved but no-frills wellness retreat that operated for decades before closing after a fire in 2017.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNow the history of the Oaks has come full circle. Following a multi-year restoration, the historic Ojai property has once again become the El Roblar and is a 50-room luxury retreat.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis menu is from the 1950s. Thanks to \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.ojaivalleymuseum.org\/\" title=\"Ojai Valley Museum\"\u003ehttps:\/\/www.ojaivalleymuseum.org\/\u003c\/a\u003e for some of this information.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cspan\u003eGallery quality Giclée print on natural white, matte, 100% cotton rag, acid and lignin free archival paper using Epson Ultrachrome HD archival inks. Custom printed with border for matting and framing.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb style=\"line-height: 1.2;\"\u003eEach order includes a print of the interior menu.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb style=\"line-height: 1.2;\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eAll printed in USA.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Vintage Menu Art","offers":[{"title":"8.5x11\" Archival Print (Unframed) $25.00","offer_id":67737029116006,"sku":"8.5x11\"","price":25.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"11x14 Archival Print (Unframed) $30.00","offer_id":67737029148774,"sku":"11x14 U","price":30.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"13x19 Archival Print (Unframed) $40.00","offer_id":67737029181542,"sku":"13x19 U","price":40.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"16x20 Archival Print (Unframed) $55.00","offer_id":67737029214310,"sku":"16x20 U","price":55.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"20x24 Archival Print (Unframed) $85.00","offer_id":67737029247078,"sku":"20x24 U","price":85.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"24x36 Archival Print (Unframed) $135.00","offer_id":67737029279846,"sku":"24x36 U","price":135.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0131\/3352\/files\/the-oaks-in-ojai-1950s-posters-prints-visual-artwork-535.webp?v=1792258687","url":"https:\/\/vintagemenuart.com\/products\/the-oaks-at-ojai-1950s","provider":"Vintage Menu Art","version":"1.0","type":"link"}