Celebrating History

Detail from hand carved antique chair in the Carrillo’s sala

Tom Parker discusses the Local Heroes display with Mason Matthews, staff member of the Santa Barbara Historical Museum (courtesy photo by David Bazemore)

20 – 27 February 2020 MONTECITO JOURNAL48 “Read as you taste fruit or savor wine, or enjoy friendship, love or life.” – George Herbert T homas C. Parker, president and director of Hutton Parker Foundation, really knows how to celebrate history, and he is willing to share. The Foundation has recently completed a multimillion-dollar restoration of the historic Hill-Carrillo Adobe and is offering the beautifully appointed building to non-profit groups for meeting space – for free! In addition, one wing of the building has several offices, which lease at reduced cost to philanthropic organizations. Hutton Parker Foundation supports community-based non-profits throughout Santa Barbara County in dozens of ways, ranging from organizational assistance to rental discounts in Hutton Parker owned buildings. The Foundation purchased the Carrillo Adobe in 2014 from the Santa Barbara Foundation, which had headquartered there for 83 years after Max Fleischmann purchased it as a home for the new charitable consortium, of which he was also a founder.

Though well-maintained and on the National Register of Historic Places, the Hill-Carrillo Adobe was feeling its years, and Parker saw an opportunity to restore and preserve the old historic landmark as well as create a space that supported local philanthropic efforts. The Hill-Carrillo is not Parker’s first rodeo in renovation of commercial buildings, but with the others, he says, when the job was complete, he was done. “The Carrillo felt different,” he says. “It stayed with me and I feel embraced by its history and vested with a sense of belonging.”

It is a feeling well-earned, for what has been recreated here is truly laudable. Understated luxury, great attention to detail, a commitment to historical accuracy, and a commitment to sharing, not just the space but also the history of the venerable adobe, are all elements to be applauded.

The Foundation called upon the Santa Barbara Historical Museum to create historical displays for the Adobe. When Dacia Harwood, Deputy Director, agreed, her crew set to work and responded admirably. Using photographs and artwork from the Museum’s collection, the Hill-Carrillo Adobe now functions as a small history museum as well as a meeting room. Historian Michael Redmon, for many years author of History 101 for the Independent, says he’s become a wall writer. Redmon’s “graffiti” expertly reveals the history behind the exhibits.

In the grand sala with its beautiful fireplace and 18 th

century furnishings, the rich aromas of oiled wood and burnished leather prevail. A painting by Daniel Sayre Groesbeck, artist of the Mural Room at the Santa Barbara County Courthouse, depicts a missionary scene, and several etchings, drawings and paintings of local adobes illuminate Adobe Days in Santa Barbara. Esther Hammond of Bonnymeade Estate in Montecito purchased the adobe in 1917-18 as part of a growing movement to save the adobes. Besides restoring it, she added a wing designed to look like a Spanish chapel, complete with choir loft and altar space. It is here that a meeting room has been furnished with beautiful dark wood tables and comfortable chairs, and lighted by impressive metal “wagon wheel” lamps. Along the walls, Hutton Parker Foundation pays homage to historical Santa Barbara philanthropists and Local Heroes through framed portraits from the collection of the Gledhill Library of the Santa Barbara Historical Museum. Though they’re unlikely to do so, Tom and the other principals of Hutton Parker Foundation should add their visages to the display. Their incredible generosity in assisting others to do important work for our community and their commitment to preserve one of our few remaining adobes in such a beautiful and loving fashion deserves acknowledgment and bounteous thanks.

The Hill-Carrillo Boardroom and Sala may be reserved free of charge for meetings, lectures, and educational opportunities exclusively for nonprofit organizations. Interested groups may contact Ingrid Biancone, Office Manager, at ibiancone@huttonfoundation.org. The restored adobe with its historic memorabilia is open to the public for visitation during business hours.

(For a look at the Hill-Carrillo Adobe’s fascinating past, see “The Way It Was: The Hill Carrillo Adobe.”) •MJ The renovated sala has become a beautiful and inviting space filled with historical displays (courtesy photo by David Bazemore) Esther Hammond’s Chapel Room has been refitted with sculptural detailing and a beautiful expanse of tables, perfect for meetings of local nonprofit organizations (author photo)

Two dappled grays pull a dapperly dressed driver and his pet pug past the Cabrillo Adobe when it was being used by a Horticultural group in Santa Barbara

and Juli Askew. Many guests wore red, an auspicious and popular color in the Chinese culture symbolizing luck, happiness and joy, while eatery chef Peter Chen served a traditional ten-course dinner that included chicken pot stickers, Asian-style honey roasted spiced crispy duck, steamed fish with ginger and scallion sauce, orange peel chicken, spicy ginger beef, and shrimp with pecans.

All washed down with Foley 2016 Santa Rita Hills chardonnay and Firestone 2016 Chairman Series merlot.

German conductor Christian Reif, 30, showed off his talents with the Santa Barbara Symphony at the Granada.

Reif, who studied at Juilliard in New York and the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria, was on the top of his form, having just completed a three-year post as resident conductor of the San Francisco Symphony.

The entertaining program featured Pulitzer Prize finalist Michael Gilbertson’s Graffiti, charismatic Cuban-American cellist Thomas Mesa in Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme, Mozart’s Overture to La Clemens di Tito, and, for the finale, the Viennese master’s timeless and captivating Symphony No. 39 in E-flat major.

A delightful evening, with Gilbertson appearing onstage explaining his work. Conductor Christian Reif impresses

Chinese New Year Celebration Gung Hay Fat Choy – Wishing You Prosperity and Health – was the motto during the Arthritis Foundation Central Coast’s Chinese New Year dinner at the China Pavilion.

The event is the official kick-off for the organization’s popular Taste of

Arthritis Foundation event co-chair Timothy Spiegel with Anne Towbes (photo by Bonnie Carroll)

Arthritis Foundation event co-chair Amye Leong with chef Peter Chen of China Pavilion (photo by Bonnie Carroll)

the Town on the Riviera being held on September 13, with the Connoisseur’s Circle dinner at the Hilton two days before.

Co-chairs for the dinner included Timothy Spiegel, Mary Ellen Kullman, William and Karen Gallivan, Amye Leong, Bob Price,

Sibling Revelry There were many strings attached with CAMA’s Masterseries Valentine’s Day concert at the Lobero with Sergio and Odair Assad guitar playing brothers from Sao Paulo, Brazil.

The dynamic duo began playing Brazilian folk melodies, transitioning to classical guitar in their teens.

The impressive program featured works by Albeniz, Piazzolla, Giuliani, Rodrigo, Jobim, Gismonti, VillaLobos, and Sergio.

Gimme Five The three-event Lobero Theatre Chamber Music Project wrapped up with its final concert at the historic venue with the talented quintet of pianist Louis Schwizgebel, violinists Benjamin Beilman and Ida Kavatian, cellist Clive Greensmith, and violist Heiichiro Ohyama, former conductor of the now defunct Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra.

The works included Beethoven’s sonata for violin and piano no. 2 in A major, Kodaly’s duo for violin and cello, and Brahms quintet for piano and strings in F minor.

It is planned to make the event an annual one...

Keston MAX Twelve outstanding Music Academy of the West musicians have been selected by auditions to wing their way to London in April for ten days of intensive training with the London Symphony Orchestra and its director, Sir Simon Rattle, as part of the second year of the Michael and Linda Keston exchange with the world-class 116-year-old orchestra.

The winners, all full-scholarship participants, are violinists Shenae Anderson and Njioma Chinyere Grevious, cellist Ha sun Song, double bassist Jonathan Yeoh, percussionists Christine Comer and Maddi Shake, flutist James Dion Blanchard, oboist Victoria Chung, clarinetist Sara Han, bassoonist Bianca Marian Chambul, horn player Gabrielle Pho, and trumpeter Alex Mayon. Marilyn Horne Song Competition winners Sun-Ly Pierce and Chien-Lin Lu will also take part in the scheme,

High Honors for Hotels Beanie Baby billionaire Ty Warner must be beaming!

Both of his Santa Barbara hostelries, the 206 accommodations Four Season Biltmore and the San Ysidro Ranch, have garnered five stars in the new Forbes Travel Guide, the 93-year-old 22-acre Butterfly Beach hotel for the first time.

“When you get down to it, it’s all about the people running the hotel,” says British manager Karen Earp. “Instilling passion for service, for ‘wowing’ the guest – to me, that’s the core of being a great hotel.

“With every year, we aim to get better and this recognition is a celebration of our beautiful resort, iconic private club, and dedication to the highest level of service.”

Not on the List Santa Barbara warbler Katy Perry won’t be inviting her American Idol co-workers, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan, to her much anticipated nuptials to her British actor fiancé Orlando Bloom. The former Dos Pueblos High student, 35, awkwardly admitted her fellow judges on the popular ABC show aren’t on the guest list when the tony triumvirate appeared on the network’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! Explaining the decision, Katy joked: “I can’t afford them!” Stay tuned...

All That Jazz The World War II years of the ‘40s was wonderfully evoked when Montecito resident Christie Jenkins organized the Mercury Ballroom Supper Club for a six-day run at the Rockwood Woman’s Club to “bring happiness to the community.”

Elegantly garbed guests were welcomed with Bee’s Knees cocktails, a heady mix of gin and honey, and other retro drinks before watching the entertaining floor show starring Nathan Madden in white tie and tails, who starred in Chicago on Broadway and has recently returned fromFrance where he was, appropriately enough, in An American in Paris. The half-hour show, orchestrated by Christie around radio commercials of the era – KEYT-TV senior reporter John Palminteri featured in the opening broadcast – also included other dancers and singers, and a Andrews Sisters tribute.

After a delightful dinner of East