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. In 1994, on the former site of Jungleland, the plaza was built at a cost of $63.8 million.