Montalvo is a neighborhood in Ventura, California, United States. Founded about 1887 as an unincorporated community in Ventura County, it was annexed into the city in 2012. Montalvo is located in the southern portion of the city on the northern bank of the Santa Clara River at the edge of the Oxnard Plain. It is bounded by Victoria Avenue to the west, Ralston Street to the north, Johnson Drive to the east, and the Ventura Freeway to the south.
History
J. G. Hill, credited with being the founder of Montalvo, laid out plans for the town site in 1886. Some accounts indicate that the community was named after Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo, the Spanish author who first described the Island of California in the 1510 novel Las Sergas de Esplandián. In 1887, the Southern Pacific Railroad built the railroad line from Los Angeles through the Santa Clara River Valley northerly through the area.
In its early days, Montalvo was served by the Washington Street railroad depot. The community also became a center for growing and processing apricots. In the 19th century, the community had a newspaper called the Montalvo Courier or the Evening Monitor.
In 1967, the Ventura Freeway was constructed through Montalvo, resulting in significant financial losses to local merchants.
Annexation
In the 1970s and 1980s, the city of Ventura expanded eastward and residents debated proposals to accept annexation of Montalvo into the city of Ventura.
Annexation of areas around Montalvo stimulated new construction including 35 apartment buildings on three Montalvo streets south of the Bristol Shopping Center. By 1990, unincorporated Montalvo had a population of 4,630 and a median household income of $46,602. In the 1990s, the area began to experience increased blight and crime, including fights, drug dealing and tagging, as two gangs claimed the apartment area as their territory. In 1994, the Ventura Police Department opened a storefront substation in the Montalvo area to attempt to fight the increased crime. The Ventura–East station, a Metrolink passenger train station opened for regular service in November 2002. Montalvo was annexed into the city of Ventura in September 2012. The city added a community sign and sidewalks in 2023.
Landmarks
Notable landmarks in Montalvo included Sam Korb's Trading Post, Loop's Restaurant, Little Heidelberg Restaurant, and The White Spot.