Tortilla Flats Stories on a Wall

A couple of weeks ago when we were in the coastal town of Ventura, California, I noticed a collection of murals on the wall of a building in the downtown area. They looked very interesting and purposeful and I had to try to find out what they were all about. Soon I happened upon some Tortilla Flats stories.

Now, Tortilla Flats — I understand — was a neighborhood that once existed in this part of California in the 1050s. That was before the US 101 began running up and down the West Coast of the United States. When the freeway came to this coastal area, Tortilla Flats was one of the neighborhoods that got displaced.

These murals on Ventura Avenue tell stories of the people who had to leave their homes and make way for the freeway project. These stories were apparently put together by artist MB Hanrahan and Moses Mora, who is the project coordinator for the series of paintings. Moses Mora himself has ties to Tortilla Flats. He lived there and had to move away for the freeway to be built in the western part of this town.

The duo went about meeting with residents of the former neighborhood collecting pictures and stories for this art project. And these collections have been translated into a collection of historical stories of the people and businesses of the Flats, for present generations of the town and for visitors to Ventura.

The first of the Tortilla Flat stories I have here is that of Las Palmas Chilli Factory. When I zoomed into the mural I found this written on it:

Las Palmas Chile Factory

The roots of Las Palmas reach back to a Mexican housewife named Rosa Ramirez in the 1920s, in Ventura, CA. Working out of her home, she began selling enchilada sauce made from a family recipe to friends and neighbors and eventually, opened the Ramirez and Feraud Chile Company. In 1923 Las Palmas was established and began to offer a number of canned Mexican foods and sauces. Ramirez and Feraud Chile Company, located at 108 N. Garden employed many westside Ventura workers for many years.

More Tortilla Flats Stories: Apricot and Walnut workers

These are other murals I managed to photograph. The first one is that of Apricot Harvesters. The second one seems to be a picture of Apricot sorters. And the last one, a mural of a hand-picking walnuts, all Tortilla Flat stories. They all have stories written on them both in English and Spanish.

There were more murals on that historical building on the corner of Ventura Avenue and Main Street. I read its called the Feraud Building and that it dates back to 1930. The building itself seems to have had ties with Tortilla Flats, housing businesses that the residents often visited.

Unfortunately, these are the only murals I managed to photograph. They were some quick shots as we drove by. Hopes of photographing a few more on my way back after that lunch trip we were making, were dashed when we were directed to another route. I might be going that side again. And when I do, I will try to bring back more of these pictorial stories.

Added Later:
Some information I got on a comment on this post. This one is from Carmen Gonzales. 🙂 (Your comment was a beautiful find, Carmen. Thank you for sharing this.)

More on these murals here and here.

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