The colorful history of Thousand Oaks, complete with African elephants galloping down Thousand Oaks Boulevard, was not for the timid and can hardly be forgotten.

From the moment in 1927 when Louis Goebel opened his doors, his wild-animal attraction on the current site of the Civic Arts Plaza was a big part of the Thousand Oaks area. It started as an animal training center for Hollywood. Years later, it opened as Jungleland, an amusement park for visitors from all over Southern California.

However, due to the popularity of amusement parks like Knott's Berry Farm and Disneyland, Jungleland became a part of local history in May 1968.

Facts About the Civic Arts Plaza
Size of the entire Civic Arts Plaza Complex: 208,000 sq. ft.
Size of Government Center: 87,000 sq. ft.

The Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza consists of the Fred Kavli Theatre for the Performing Arts and the Janet and Ray Scherr Forum Theatre.

Size of the Fred Kavli Theatre for the Performing Arts: 99,000 sq. ft.
Size of Janet & Ray Scherr Forum: 22,000 sq. ft.
Cost of the Civic Arts Plaza: $63.8 million

The Fred Kavli Theatre for the Performing Arts: The auditorium is designed with 1,800 seats in four tiers and side boxes; the square footage identified above includes the main plaza and three outdoor areas.

Janet and Ray Scherr Forum Theatre: A dual purpose facility, the Scherr Forum has several different seating configurations; seating capacity ranges from 278 for City Council meetings up to 394 for theatrical productions.

Mary and Richard Carpenter Plaza Park: A 4-acre park in front of the Civic Arts Plaza, which includes the Anthony J. Tesoro Courtyard of the Oaks.

Public Open Area Space: The complex’s open space areas include a three-acre park and 10,000 sq. ft. of outdoor plazas.

Parking Capacity: 730 vehicles can be accommodated in the 6-level parking garage with an additional 50 outdoor parking spaces.

Construction Features
Exterior construction: The buildings are steel structures, with beige steel-troweled stucco, architectural concrete, a zinc roof and columns, and a sandstone wall finish.

Interior construction: The Fred Kavli Theatre flooring is Italian granite; walls are Ipir wood paneling.

Special Features
Pictograph Wall: Designed by architect Antoine Predock to celebrate early arts of the Conejo Valley, the pictograph wall features more than 1,800 lucite rods to form a constellation; windows represent the form of a condor wing and snakes.

Copper Curtain: 2,016 individual copper pieces on the exterior of the Fred Kavli Theatre flytower symbolize the raising of the curtain for a regional quality performing arts center.

Construction Personnel
Architects: Antoine Predock, Dworsky Associates
Construction Management: Lehrer McGovern Bovis
Interiors Consultants: Behr Browers Architects, The Kulwiec Group
Theater Consultant: Knudson Benson Associates
Audio Visual Consultant: Robert M. Morris

More than 2 million huge blocks form the pyramid of Cheops. Some 40,000 watchtowers once dotted the Great Wall of China. And 2,300 tons of steel are buried within the walls of the Civic Arts Plaza. While the plaza can't quite qualify as a wonder of the world, it's still a wonder of the region. And its size, style and versatility are reflected in some wondrous statistics:

The entire structure, not including the garage, is 210,000 square feet—the equivalent of 140 1,500 square foot homes.

It contains 30,000 cubic yards of concrete, requiring more than 3,000 cement mixer deliveries.

At its highest point, the Civic Arts Plaza towers 104 feet—about 10 stories—above Thousand Oaks.

At its lowest point, the building is 22 feet below ground, anchored into a super-hard, dark, volcanic rock known as basalt.

About 38,000 square feet of Indian sandstone ornament the exterior walls of the Janet and Ray Scherr Forum Theater and a stair tower between the theater and the Fred Kavli Theatre.

There are 365 rooms—including city offices, conference rooms, a mirror-lined warm-up room for dancers, dressing rooms, theater administrative offices, and a room for private receptions.

The Fred Kavli Theatre has 1,800 seats. The distance from the front lip of the stage to the last row of the balcony is 118 feet—just 28 feet more than the distance between home plate and first base in a major league ballpark.

There are 394 seats in the Janet and Ray Scherr Forum, but during City Council and Planning Commission meetings, 120 of them can be lowered to the basement at the flip of a switch.

About 237 miles of electrical wire snake inside the walls. There are 1,000 outlets and switches, and 2,500 light fixtures.

There are two industrial sized washing machines and three dryers, all in the costume maintenance area.

There are two viewing rooms in the theatre. Without disturbing the audience, teachers can discuss a performance with students and inconsolable children can cry their eyes out.

The floors are covered with 100,000 square feet of carpet--enough to cover nearly two football fields. On average, 110 construction workers were on site every day.

The courtyard contains about 8,000 bricks — more than a mile's worth laid end to end.

A simple optical illusion makes the Fred Kavli Theatre's main stairway to the balcony—the Janss Steps--look longer than it is. It's narrower at the top to create an impression of many more than its 68 steps.

The fly tower—a huge structure above the stage for storing scenery--is large enough to hold two hot air balloons, side by side.

To soften the edges and add some green, 249 trees and 9,260 shrubs were planted on the site. Seventy bougainvilleas in 15-gallon pots provide color on the terrace levels facing Thousand Oaks Boulevard. Other trees were relocated, including a 28-ton oak maneuvered by a 75-ton crane.

A 10-foot-deep, partially covered pit from Jungleland days was inadvertently discovered during excavation when it almost swallowed a grader.

The west wall contains 1,800 acrylic rods, arranged in patterns reflecting aspects of Chumash lore.

The east wall contains 2,016 moveable copper panels.

The smallest donation entitling one to name recognition is $60 for a brick in the courtyard. In lieu of name recognition, some donors prefer to use their brick to make a statement. Some examples: "T. Oaks is Cool," "Thanks Vietnam Vets," World's Best Mom," "Most Loved Twinkie," "Ms. Dragon Bait" and also "Mr. Woodpecker."