The College Area of the City of Ventura covers the area north of the 126 Freeway from the Pacific View Mall to Victoria Avenue. It is the educational center of the city and includes Ventura College, two high schools, and the UCSB Ventura Center. It is served by several local and inter-city buses to the mall and the college.

The College Area contains some of the most important cultural and recreational facilities in the city. On the cultural front, Ventura College has music, drama, arts and lectures at its theater, galleries and the recently completed library throughout the year. The soon to be completed Applied Sciences Building will have an auditorium for conferences and an IMAX theater. Immediately to the west of the college, the historic 1892 Dudley House contains a living history museum with extensive displays of the Dudley furniture.

On the recreational front, Ventura College and Buena High School are home to various sporting events and other activities, including the weekend college swap meet. The Dudley House lavender garden offers over 100 varieties of lavender in the spring, the largest collection of its kind in a public location in the country. In addition to the grounds of the college and the Dudley House, the College Area boasts two regional parks, Camino Real and Arroyo Verde that offer a wide range of activities from sports to picnicking and hiking. The College Area offers the most diverse range of activities of any community in the city.

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