The building has been praised as one of Southern California's most beautiful government buildings. In 1926, the "Ventura Star" wrote: "She stands majestically upon the hill, this courthouse of ours, with her national colors fluttering in the harbor breezes, for all the world like a beautiful woman in a Paris gown." In 1991, the "Los Angeles Times" said of the landmark structure: "Probably no local structure is more visually and symbolically dramatic, or as steeped in local legend. Perched like a lordly, lavish manor at the juncture of California and Poli streets, it overlooks the old town and the blue Pacific beyond – a constant reminder of the past."