Annual Report
Read about our great work and how we make it happen with your support.
Peruse a past issue of our journal and learn more about the history of the Santa Barbara Yacht Club and Harbor.
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Michael Redmon answers your local history questions in the
SB Independent.
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First Thursday
December 5, 5-8pm
Members drop in for holiday music, art, and complimentary wine.
 December 8, 5pm
Eat, Drink & Be Merry at the Museum!
Exhibition Lecture: Lockwood de Forest
January 16, 5:30 pm
By Frank Goss
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Give the gift of history this season.
For more information about your membership click here. |
Available now!
Regular price: $28
Member price $25
More great gifts, new books and more. For our recommended list click here.
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FUN FACT
At one time Castle Rock was Santa Barbara's best-known natural landmark. Located about where the breakwater of Santa Barbara Harbor now connects with the shore, it dominated the city's coastline. In 1881 a local newspaper called upon "ladies, gentlemen, and children to come and bring their own lunches and also picks, shovels, crowbars, and sledges" to build a carriage path behind Castle Rock to open access to the beaches below the Mesa. Castle Rock was damaged in the 1925 earthquake and was dynamited in 1927 to make way for the breakwater.
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Host your next event at the Museum!
For more information contact Erica Reynolds, Rentals Coordinator at [email protected].
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Image Credits:
A Gift For Santa Barbara:
La Purisma Concepcion, Edwin Deakin (1838 - 1923).
Collections:
Santa Barbara Seascape at Sunrise, Lockwood de Forest, N.A. (1850-1932)
Gift of Joan Chapin Robertson, in memory of Rear Admiral and Mrs. Nealy A. Chapin.
de Forest Lecture:
California Sunset, Santa Barbara, 1923 Lockwood de Forest, N.A. (1850 - 1932) Promised gift of Oswald J. Da Ros.
A New Aviation Exhibit:
1) Loughead Model G Taxiing to the Ramp at West Beach Santa Barbara, Gift of Walker Tompkins 2) Delco LRV Test Vehicle on Track. Courtesy Ferenc Pavlics.
Adobes:
Adobe Courtyard, Courtesy of MacDuff Everton.
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As we approach the holiday season, we want to thank you for your interest and generosity in, and enthusiasm for, Santa Barbara and our history.
We want to invite you, as members and friends of the Museum, to take advantage of our new online newsletter. We hope you will enjoy discovering more about our exhibitions, programs and the Museum's important work to preserve our city's story.
Happy reading!
Warren Miller,
Interim Executive Director
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The Museum is pleased to announce a generous gift to the collection, the sole watercolor suite of California mission paintings by artist historian Edwin Deakin (1838 - 1923). One of the earliest artists to record all 21 California missions in color, between 1897 and 1899, Deakin visited each Mission and made these field watercolor sketches, from which he later created two sets in oil for publication, the collection contains hand illuminated titles, an illustrated map, and has never been exhibited in a museum or published.
The purchase of this collection was made possible through the generosity of David Packard, Bernadette Castor, and Winifred Vedder, and Museum trustees John C. Woodward and Sally & David Martin. The Museum also wishes to thank local gallery owner Frank Goss, who facilitated the acquisition. "When I first viewed these watercolors it struck me how important they were in California's history," says Woodward of the gift. "Deakin documented the missions in the late 1800s as they were falling into ruin. His work had a profound impact on efforts to save them before they disappeared forever. The paintings had to be preserved and the Museum was the best repository for them."
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By Daniel Calderon, Chief Curator
 Lockwood de Forest is a name that springs up all over Santa Barbara. Many local residents are familiar with his art, yet he is often confused with his son, Lockwood de Forest Jr., the landscape architect whose name graces the Santa Barbara Museum of Art and Botanic Garden. So who was this person? What were his contributions to our history? Read more...
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| MUSEUM WELCOMES NEW TRUSTEES |
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The Museum recently appointed new trustees and elected a new slate of officers. In keeping with their motto, "Building a future worth remembering," the new trustees are long time supporters, historically minded and dedicated to the community. Read more...
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By Daniel Calderon, Chief Curator
Earlier this year, the Santa Barbara Historical Museum reached another public milestone with the installation of an exhibit at the freshly restored historic Ovington Terminal, located adjacent to the new Santa Barbara Airport Terminal. The exhibition, commissioned by Airport Director Karen Ramsdell and the City of Santa Barbara, focuses on the history of the airport and aviation within our community. Beginning with Earle Ovington, the daring pioneer aviator and America's first airmail pilot, the exhibition unfolds through the story of the Loughead Brothers of Lockheed Aircraft fame whose shop was located on lower State Street, and their employee Jack Northrop, the visionary aeronautical engineering genius who attended Santa Barbara High School.
In addition, the Santa Barbara Airport's role and growth during the Second World War is traced along with a selection of our local "Fallen Aviators." The Santa Barbara Road Races are presented, a major event held at the airport where James Dean raced his final event. The story of the Lunar Rover, a craft designed and built at GM on Hollister Avenue against surprising odds, is also here along with the Super Guppy transport series of aircraft, constructed at the airport and still working today. And the terminal itself is subject to interpretation, in its influential Spanish-Colonial architectural style designed by the famed duo Edwards & Plunkett. The exhibition is free to the public, and highly recommended to both travelers and those looking for a bit of history.
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By Michael Redmon, Director of Research
For over ten years, Erma Jean Cook has come into the Gledhill Library three mornings a week to enter into the library archives the obituaries from the local newspapers. Obituaries can yield a tremendous amount of biographical and genealogical information and the library's archive of clippings dating back to 1950 are a treasure trove for researchers.
Erma was born and raised in Santa Barbara. After marrying her high school sweetheart, Ralph, the family lived for a time in Australia and Hawaii before returning to Santa Barbara. They then opened a clothing store, Captain Cook's Locker, which was a fixture in La Arcada Court for a number of years. Moves to Astoria, Oregon, then Redding, California, finally brought them back here to stay. In addition to her mornings at the Gledhill, Erma likes to spend time with family which includes weekend breakfast outings down to the Santa Barbara Harbor. Thank you, Erma, for all you do for the The Museum.
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RESTORATION OF OUR ADOBES
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By Matt Hendren, Director of Operations
The Casa Covarrubias and the Historic Adobe are two treasures of the Santa Barbara Historical Museum. They were originally constructed circa 1817 and 1831, respectively, and have been through much in the last centuries. The Casa Covarrubias was constructed by Domingo Carrillo in its present location and remains one of Santa Barbara's oldest buildings. The Historic Adobe, originally located near the intersection of today's East Carrillo and Anacapa streets, was relocated in 1922 to its present location. Both structures survived the great earthquake of 1925 though both have seen the weathering of time as the heavy tile roof loads have pushed the adobe walls out and wall cracking has occurred from settling on the site. Read more...
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