Tag archives: history

In 1854, Pope Pius IX consecrated Thaddeus Amat y Brusi as bishop of Monterey. The reluctant prelate (he had tried to ditch the papal appointment) moved the headquarters of the diocese to Santa Barbara where he planned to build a cathedral for the relics of the newly beatified Saint Viviana. Arriving in December 1855, the […]

“Black History is World History” We read and hear this, but are we listening? Are we showing up to support the Black/African community we share this town with, to learn and heal, to ensure they feel safe and free to be who they are to live and thrive here? To begin our important work in […]

Montecito animal activist Gretchen Lieff, founder and president of the Lutah Maria Riggs Society, has been appointed a member of the county’s Historic Landmarks Advisory Commission. The organization was created in 1965 to promote the preservation of historic buildings and structures. “The county has such a rich history of architectural protection and preservation,” says Gretchen. […]

One of my favorite places to walk is the Santa Barbara Cemetery. It’s green with gorgeous views and lots of history. It’s the “The Best Last Place” according to David Petry, who wrote an everything you want to know book about the Santa Barbara Cemetery. Many prominent folks and movie stars think so too. Even […]

Fifteen years ago, gripped by the idea of initiating a dig into my peoples’ past, I flew straight to the very big and famous (in genealogical circles) Family History Library in Salt Lake City. My plan was to spend a few days immersed in productive research and come away with a nicely-plumped-out family tree full […]

Unfortunately, pipes are taking the water from hot springs in Montecito. The pipes are maintained by the Montecito Creek Water Company, a private company that has water rights in Hot Springs Canyon. The pools of hot water that the Chumash used to enjoy are no more. The hot water is taken from above the east […]

Laura Bridley comes by her affinity for Casa del Herrero honestly. A native of Montecito, Bridley has a lot of memories of connection with the land and structures in the community that channeled into a career in city planning that has included positions with the Architectural Board of Review, the Historic Landmarks Commission, the City […]

In 1886, the Santa Barbara waterfront was connected to three, often odiferous, esteros and littered with dilapidated shacks and the detritus of the hide and tallow industry. Despite the fact that there were several crude wooden bathhouses, the area was generally a “wild waste of sand, tin cans, and dead animals,” according to historian C.W. […]

The Santa Barbara Historical Museum (SBHM) held a member appreciation soiree over the holidays. The courtyard looked so festive with all the tables decked out in sparkly gold tablecloths. The tapa table people were busy making tacos and pizza and we were busy eating them. There was a band playing and no COVID worries since […]

It may have slipped by you with everything else that’s been going on lately — the new variant and two national murder cases — that this year was our country’s 400th Thanksgiving! And all was going well at my family’s annual Turkey Day celebration at my sister’s home in Los Angeles. Until my sister made […]

Plans are being laid out for Old Spanish Days to have a full and safe Fiesta in 2022. La Presidenta Maria Cabrera will lead the organization into its 98th year. She has been a community volunteer for many years.  “As we come out of restrictions and a new changing community, we look forward to meeting […]

Above the riparian corridor of Arroyo Hondo, a bleak Daliesque landscape reveals the aftermath of October’s Alisal Fire. Chaparral that hadn’t burned in too many years fed the wind-driven fire into the canyon from the east. Despite the grazing program of sheep and cattle on the hills flanking both sides of the lower canyon, the […]

The “dinosaurs” had been put to bed and it was grown up time at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History (SBMNH). The soirée kicked off an art show in Fleischmann Auditorium with fine wines and a signature cocktail. Outside was an array of tables set beautifully with a small painting at each place done […]

Social gridlock reigned at the Santa Barbara Historical Museum when it launched its latest publication, the 320-page book Edward Borein: Etched by the West written by Byron Price, a West Point graduate and former director of the Cowboy Hall of Fame, to which Borein was posthumously inducted in 1971. The book, handsomely illustrated with 400 […]

For all you Irishmen and women out there, the American Irish Historical Society would be of interest. They recently held their first get together since the pandemic and are right now the only working chapter in the United States. But it is an international society. The meeting was held at President Frank McGinity’s unique home. […]

A congenial and festive crowd gathered in the lovely courtyard of the Santa Barbara Historical Museum to celebrate the opening of guest curator Marlene Miller’s exhibit, Borein and His Circle of Friends on Thursday, September 22. The balmy warmth of the evening was matched by the warmth of the response to the exhibit and the […]

The Santa Barbara Historical Museum (SBHM) is a happening place these days with all sorts of events going on. Remember admission is free if you want to come and check it out instead of coming to a special gathering. There is a new exhibition, “Borein and His Circle of Friends,” curated by Marlene R. Miller, […]

Social gridlock reigned at the Santa Barbara Historical Museum when it opened its latest exhibition “Borein and His Circle of Friends,” which runs through January 22. More than 50 works by Borein, who died in our Eden by the Beach in 1945, are on display over three galleries, including 25 watercolors loaned anonymously by a […]

Keith Moore could probably write a family saga, but instead he gave a celebration soirée in honor of his long lineage in California since 1840. The Santa Barbara Club was all decked out in Fiesta fashion when about 50 of his close friends gathered for margaritas and dinner on the lawn. It all began with […]

Erroneously translated as “little mountain,” the name El Montecito is an archaic use of the Spanish word meaning woodland or countryside. It was being used to designate the eastern part of the Pueblo Lands of Santa Barbara as early as the 1780s. Considered a wilderness, it only became populated when retiring soldiers of the Presidio, […]