The South Coast: An Historical Overview

NOTICIAS Quarterly Magazine Of The Santa Barbara Historical Museums Vol. XL. N0.2

Summer 1994

South Coast: An Historical Overview

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In Jvlay of this year pilot/photographer William B. Dcioey and NO'TICIAS editor Michael B<tdmon joumeyed aloft to take a series ofaerial photogj-aphsfrom Qoleta to Carpintena. We havejuxtaposed these photos with aerial views ofthis areafrom the 1930s and ig^os to create a "then andnou>”lool{at the South Coast.

Captions have been keptfairly short to alloiv room Jor more photographs. We hope the vintage photographs will conjure up memoriesfor many of our readers and that everyone will be able to picl{out their own points ofinterest.

Our thanl^s to Bill Deiueyfor his generous donation of time, both in the air and in the lab. All "today"photos are his worl{. All other photographs arefrom the collections ofthe Santa Barbara biistoncal MiLseums. The John D. Qonn photographs comefrom the Museums'Walker A. Tompkins Collection. Thejront cover photograph of State Street was takpi in igjy.

Michael Redmon, Editor of NOTICIAS Judy Sutcliffe, Designer

® The Santa Barbara Historical Society 136 E. Dc la Guerra Street, Santa Barbara, California 93101 Single copies $5,00 ISSN 0581-5916

The South Coast; An Historical Overview

GOLETA AIRPORT 1938 (above): Two years before this photo was taken, the inaufural of area.

United Airlines service Aero clinched Golcta’s position as the primary airfield arbara General Western Corp. built the two hangers seen at the headinofthe theSanta run way in 1931. TODAY (left): Santa Barbara Municipal Airport receives daily flights from severai commercial carriers and is home to a number of aerospace industries. The beautiful SpanishColonial style terminal, built in 1942 for United Airlines, was the last project for the architectu ral team of William Edwards and Joseph Plunkett, designers of the Arlington Hieatre.

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U.S. MARINE CORPS AIR STATION, 1942 (above): In June 1942 the federal government leased almost 600 acres of Goleta air crty for aviaaon trauiing base. Barracks and recreational and support facilities sproutcd UD on the bluffs over ooking the Pa cific. In the foreground is sparsely settled Isla Vista, first subdivided in 1925 TODAY (left); UCSB student population today is 18.000. WWII wooden buildings are still used. n

THE SAMARKAND NEIGHBORHOOD, 1940 (above); The oval grounds of chc Sa markand Hotel form the centerpiece of this photo. Originally a boys' school built by Prynce Hopkins, the complex is now a retirement facility. In right background is the former site of Earle Ovington’s Casa Loma Airfield. It closed in 1931, largely due to concerns over its proximity to a residential area. (John D. Gorin photo.) TODAY (below): Burgeoning development now makes it diffucult to discern the Samarkand grounds. Note Earl Warren Showgrounds near intersection of Las Positas Road and Hi 101. The Santa Barbara Municipal Coif Course occupies the II. the Army’s Hoff General Hospital was located here. old Casa Loma site. During

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ARGONNE CIRCLE, 1940 (above): Stephen Rutherford named this distinctive feature of Santa Barbara's San Roque neighborhood after the World War I battle in which he lost a son.

The U-shaped San Roque School is easily identifiable just north of Argonne Circle. Hollister Avenue angles out towards Goleta in left background- (John D. Gorin photo.)

; TODAY (left): j This photo shows ! how Santa Barbara earned its designa tion as a "Tree

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City. U.S.A." community. Tlie San Roque Church stands next to San Roque School This stretch of Hollister became part of State Street in 1951. Across from Loreto Plaza is the Army Re serve Center, built in the mid-1950s.

The baseball dia mond is part of MacKenzie Park, named for former city parks director Finlay MacKenzie.

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THE SANTA BARBARA GIRLS SCHOOL, ca. 1930 (above): Successor to Gam ble's School for Girls, it was founded in 1914 and moved to this campus at the intersection of Constance Avc. and Anacapa St. in 1920. Shrinking revenues and declining enrollments brought on by the Great Depression forced closure in 1938. TODAY (below): A residential development surrounding a cul-de-sac, Constance Lane, occupies the school site. In right foreground is the First Presbyterian Church's parking lot. Need for parking was a key factor in the congregation's move here from East Anapamu St. in 1973. The large, white-walled house beyond Constance Lane (both photographs) was built for realtor Louis Dreyfus in 1925.

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THE MESA, 1940 (above); This neighborhood was sparsely populated until after World War II- Derricks from the Mesa’s oil "boom” arc in the right foreground. Production was pretty much played out by 1940, although the last well did not shut down until 1971. (John D. Gorin photo.)

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TODAY (above): The Mesa is now a popular residential area. Construction of Shoreline Drive, which runs along the bluff, began in 1950 in conjunction with the opening of the Marine Terrace subdivision. Ac left center, Meigs Road snakes its way up the hill cowards midcown. Note the city reservoir at the top of the hill at right center.

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THE WATERFRONT, ca. 1935 (above): In 1935 the waterfront was not yet highly developed. Cabrillo Blvd. ended at the Plaza del Mar bathhouse, torn down in 1938. Santa Bar bara State College owned the bluffs behind the bathhouse but had yet to build on the site. Note unimproved area in left background. It was the former home of the Agricultural Pavilion and racetrack in the 1880s and '90s, and was prone to flooding. The Santa Barbara Yacht Club sits at the end of Stearns Wharf. TODAY (below): Santa Barbara City College sits upon the bluffs today. Cabrillo Blvd, was extended to what is now Loma Alta Rd. in 1948, Note sand buildup, due to construction of the harbor breakwater.

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CARRILLO AND DE LA VINA STREETS, ca. 1930 (above): The Knights of Co lumbus Hall, formerly Sc. Vincent’s Orphanage, may be seen at left. In the foreground is the Ho tel Carrillo Garage. The De Roze Super Service Station cakes up much of the next block and be yond that may seen the mission cower of the Knights of Pythias Hall, home to 16 clubs and fraternal organizations, including the Nomads of Anrudaka and the Pocahontas Lodge Ladies of the Red Men. TODAY (left): St. Vincent's building and former Knights of Pythias Hall, now The Office Marc, are still prominent land marks. The former Hotel Carrillo Garage is now a retail tire outlet. Radio

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Square, center, earned its name by housing sta. cion KDB.The 3M square was recencly rcdc\ signed and christened ‘ Carrillo Plaza.

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THE ARLINGTON HOTEL, 1300 BLOCK, STATE STREET, ca. 1924 (left): Architect Arthur Benton magnificently rendered the second Arlington Hotel in Mission Revival style. Across State St., at the corner of Arlington Ave., stood the stone Unitarian Church, and one block up were the Gothic spires of the First Congregational Church. The Arlington and the Unitarian Church were victims of the 1925 earthquake. The Congregational Church burned in 1928. TODAY (above): The Arlington Theatre is fronted by mixed Mediterranean style build ings and by the Arlington silk oak tree. The upper Hawley Building, at the southwest corner of State and Victoria streets, was redesigned in the Spanish-Colonial style after the 1925 earthquake, The Edgerly Hotel, designed by Arthur Benton in 1913, sits at the southwest corner of Chapala and Sola. The cupola further up Chapala identifies the 1872 Mortimer Cook house.

DOWNTOWN SANTA BARBARA, ca. 1931 (above); Note the message to passin; aviators on roof of the Granada Bldg. A half-block down from the Granada, corner of State an< Anapamu, is the U.S. Post Office, designed by Francis Wilson. Across Anapamu and to the east

SOUTH COAST OVERVIEW

is chc Presbyterian Church, built in 19i8. On Anacapa, across from the courthouse, stands the Grace Lutheran Church, originally the First Congregational. Next door, to chc north of chc church, is the Kellogg Apartments. TODAY (above); The old post office now forms the core of the Santa Barbara Museum of Art. The Lutheran Church made way for parking space in 1960. In 1966, the four-story county administration building, across Anapamu ot. from the courthouse, opened its doors. Our Lady of Sorrows Church may be seen at upper left.

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EAST BEACH, ca. 1933 (above leW: The srand opening of che Vista Mar Monte Hotel in 1931 attracted a number of celebrities from Hollywood. Along with the Biltmore and Miramar hotels, it was considered one of the prime beachfront hotels in the area. In 1925 former Ford Mo tor Company executive David Gray gave to the city $100,000 cowards construction of an oceanfront pavilion, which was completed two years later. The pool to che right of Cabrillo Pavi lion (drained in this photo) was completed in 1927 with funds donated by Mrs. Frederick Forrest

Peabody.

TODAY (below left); Note the accumulation of sand on che beach. The pavilion pool was re placed in che early 1980s. Behind che former Mar Monte, now che Radisson Hotel, may be seen Dwight Murphy Field. Although established in 1925, it was not until che Depression chat the site was developed. Numerous sports groups use che facility today.

THE CLARK ESTATE AND ANDREE CLARK BIRD REFUGE, ca. 1935 (be low): William A. Clark purchased this estate from Mrs. William Miller Graham in 1923 for $250,000. In the early 1930s, Clark's widow, Anna, spent another $1,000,000 to tear down che house and build che home pictured here. The formal rose garden was said to contain some 1200 bushes. Ac rear left may be seen the estate of Mr. and Mrs. John Child. The estate had been built

by Mrs. Child's first husband, John Beale. In the 1840s, George Nidever had an adobe on che site.

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THE CLARK ESTATE, TODAY (above): The Clark cscace appears much as ic did in the 1930s. Daughter Huguette Clark owns the property. It was she who donated the money for the development of the Andree Clark Bird Refuge in honor of a deceased sister in 1928. The Santa Barbara Zoo, which opened in 1963, now sits upon the Child’s estate site. The golf links of the Montccito Country Club is at rear right.

MONTECITO, ca. 1933 (above right): A local group formed the Montccito Company in 1928 and opened the Montccito Inn at tnc intersection of the Coast Highway and Olive Mill Road.

At the cop of the photograph is the Bartlett Polo Field, named after William H. Bartlett. The grounds opened in 1916. Francis T. Underhill helped design the complex. The field was heavily used during the 1920s, but was abandoned during the economic downturn of the following decade.

TODAY (below right): The Montccito Inn nestles between Coast Village Road and Highway 101. Tliis stretch of the freeway was completed in the lace 1950s. Coast Village Road is one of two of Montccito’s primary retail areas.

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CARPINTERIA, ca. 1932 (above); The completion of the Mission Revival-style Carpintcria Union School, seen on the right, in 1913, consolidated three of the valley’s four school dis tricts under one roof. By 1920, all four elementary school districts plus the high school held classes in the building. Growing enrollment necessitated the building of a new high school in 1930, seen at left. TODAY (below); Carpinteria Middle School occupies the 1930 building.

The old Carpinteria Union School was torn down in 1936. To the right of the school may be seen the Carpinteria community pool, built at a cost of $1.1 million. It opened in 1989.

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EASTERN CARPINTERIA, ca. 1930 (above); Two aviators, Jack Chadbourne of Moncecico and Santa Barbaran Earl Donze, established the Carpinteria airport fronting on Carpintcria Avenue in 1928. For a decade it rivaled the Goleta airfield in popularity among aviators. It was the scene of numerous air shows, and Charles Lindbergh used the field when visiting the South Coast. Ac far right is the home of the P. C. Higgins family. Arriving in 1883, he was one of the first to commercially grow lemons in the valley. TODAY: The original airport hanger now houses an industrial concern. Fronting the beach is the Chevron oil processing plant which services a number of the company’s offshore oil platforms. The bare expanse, left, is the western end of the Carpinteria Bluffs, development of which has stirred controversy for over a decade.

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SANTA BARBARA HISTORICAL SOCIETY BOARD OF TRUSTEES Richard Glenn Jo Bech Van Gelderen Lani Meanley Collins Jean Goodrich Warren Miller

President . - First Vice President Second Vice President Secretary Treasurer

Foster Campbell Barbara Cleveland

C. Seybert Kinscll Thad MacMillan

George E. Frakes

Jane Mueller John Pitman Ruth Scollin

Neal Graffy Lawrence Hammett John W. Hunt

Susan Simpson Mary Thorson George M. Anderjack, Executive Director LIFE MEMBERS

Mr. Stephen A. Acronico Mr. and Mrs. William B. Azbell Mr. and Mrs. J.W. Beaver Mr. and Mrs. Danily Bell Mr. Marvin J. Branch Dr. and Mrs. Ashlcigh Brilliant Mr. H. R. de la Cuesta Burkhart Mrs. Virginia Castagnola-Hunter Mr. and Mrs. Pierre P. Claeyssens Mr. and Mrs. Charles Cleek Mrs. Florence Corder-Witter Mr. J. V. Crawford Mr. Richard G. Croft. Jr. Marla Daily Mrs. R. E. Danielson, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Oswald J. Da Ros Mrs. Albert de LArbre Mr. and Mrs. Gordon Fish Mrs. Helen W. Foyer Master John Galvin Mr. Michael Galvin Miss Sally Gane Mr. and Mrs. Keith Gledhill

Mrs. Natalie B. Clark-Harpham Mrs. Georgette Higginson Mrs. Glenn D. Hillebrand Mr. Eric P. Hvolb0ll Dr. C. Seybert Kinsell Mr. and Mrs. William F. Luton, Jr. Mrs. Jane Rich Mueller Mr. Spencer L. Murfey, Jr. Mr. William W. Murfey Mr. David F. Myrick Mr. and Mrs. Godwin J. Pelissero Miss Frederica D. Poett Mrs. Rena Redmon Mr. and Mrs. Paul Ridley-Tree Mrs. Alma R. Ritchie Mr. and Mrs. Wade Rubottom Mrs. Melville Sahyun Mr. and Mrs. Peter J. Samuclson Mrs. Nina Sandrich Mr. and Mrs. J. Terry Schwartz Mrs. David Shoudy Mr. Walter G. Silva

Mr. and Mrs. Burke H. Simpson Mr. Ivano Paolo Vit Mr. Richard C. Harpham Mr. and Mrs. John C. Woodward BENEFACTORS: Santa Cruz Island Foundation, Northern Trust of California

Categories of membership: Life/Benefactor, $5,000 or more; Museum Circle, $i,ooo; Patron, $500; Associate, $250; Business/Professional, $250; Sustaining, $125; Supporting, $75; Dual/Family, $45; Individual, $35. Contributions to the Society are tax-exempt to the extent of the law.

Museum & Library: 136 East De la Guerra St.. Santa Barbara, CA 93101 ● Telephone: 805/966-1601

Non-Profit Organization U.o. Postage PAID Santa Barbara California Permit No.534

NOTICIAS Quarterly Magazine of the Santa Barbara Historical Society P.O. Box 578 Santa Barbara, California 93102-0578

contents Pg.25: Aerial Views of the South Coast, Then and Now