Jungleland

Jungleland. Louis Goebel. On this site Louis Goebel opened one of Southern California’s most popular tourists attractions. In 1925, Goebel purchased five lots for $50 along old Ventura Boulevard, which later became Thousand Oaks Boulevard. This land had formerly belonged to the Newbury and Crowley Families. A year later he established Goebel’s Lion Farm with seven lions and a few smaller animals. He rented the animals out to the movie studios. When Goebel noticed that travelers along the highway began to stop and look at the lions, he saw an opportunity to create a tourist attraction and soon added other exotic animals to his farm. With the help of well-known animal trainers such as Mabel Stark, the world’s only woman tiger trainer, Goebel began presenting shows for visitors. Leo the Lion, famous for his roar at the beginning of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer movies and other productions, was a special attraction. Later, Goebel added a restaurant and his business became a popular place to go in Southern California. In 1945, Goebel sold his profitable amusement park. Under new ownership, the name was changed to the World Jungle Compound. Several years later, again with a different owner, the property was named Jungleland. No one else had Goebel’s touch for operating the business, however, and eventually he repurchased it in 1961. Movie stars such as Clark Gable, Johnny Weismuller, and Harold Lloyd came to have their pictures taken with chimps and elephants. People flocked to Jungleland to take pictures of their children with the animals, see the trained animal shows on The Great White Stage, and ride the Jungle Flyer, a miniature steam train. Louis Goebel was a leader in the small community of Thousand Oaks. He was a member of the first Chamber of Commerce, staged a show to raise money to build the first church, furnished all the water for the construction of the Ventura Freeway through the Conejo Valley, and built the first fire station. Goebel’s property was the first to receive natural gas in the Conejo Valley. In the late 1960’s, the popularity of Jungleland began to decline because the new Ventura Freeway routed travelers around, instead of directly past the animal compound. In 1969, after a 43-year history as one of the world’s top animal training center, zoo, and amusement park, Jungleland closed its gates for good and the 1,800 animals were sold at an auction. This site is a Ventura County and City of Thousand Oaks landmark. . This historical marker is in Thousand Oaks in Ventura County California