Putnam patriot., 1925-02-20

Berkeley as one Of the most extra0r- dinary structures architecturally that we have ever seen.
 The California Newport
 After luncheon. ehaperoned by To- auacions but excellently informed chauffeur. we went for two hour motor drive about Santa Barbara and down Co Montecito. First we ascend ed the steep heights of the Mission Ridge and passed the tiny villas which we had seen in the distance. Nothing successfully defes the arehi- tect and builder in California. Let a man pick out the steepest of hillsides and say: Tt is here that l will build my home" and that is the place that he has it The result will be a charm ! ing little house with many windows and a garden, with the entrance on one level and the various floors descending | the hill like q staircase.
 The view from Mission Ridge is un- 1 forRettable. Below. way below, lies the city, mapped out in it's yerdant val ley Then there is the sea with the mountainous Santa Clara Islands a shadowy spectacle in the distance These islands are the delight of the movie producers, and if is here that some eof the widest tales of celluloid adventure find their scene. Captain Blood and "The Sea Hawk" are two of the more recent film successes which were taken with the islands as locale.
 Then from the Ridge one may look inland and see what manner of coun- try it IS that lies behind the coastline. There are deep valleys covered with brush and few trees, and behind rise the mountains. now brown. now gray. and towering away to where one hosry headed old baldtop has put on white winter cap of snow.
 By road that should bring terror t0 the hearts of amateur drivers, we wind back again into the valley and are of to Montecito. Montecito might possibly be described as the New ! port of California" Here Is town given over to great estates, to a fa- nous golf course, and to a beach that is known the country over. Our guide Is familiar with the most intimate de- tails of the lives of the owners of 1 these vast houses set in their gorgeous gardens. We are shown the great pink stueco residence of certain Eastern opulent who, having spent some mil
 
 he did not like the place, and with a whimsicality in which only the rich can indulge, set up housekeeping in a ! tiny cottage down by the sea. We are taken to another estate. owned by Mir. Gillespie of New York. and de- eide that 1t is certainly one of the most beautiful private residences in all the world No visitor to Santa 4kyhn gardens are generously opened to the public throughout the year. Set high
 on a steep hill. it Is one story high and of white stucco. There is marble terrace at the front which looks out over the Pacific. and from this terrace q iong fiight of stairs, reminiscent Of the Villa d'Este. descends to tiny 'coilonaded temple of love" below Black cyprus trees recall Italy, and lthere is a loveiiness about 1t all that makes one wonder how the owner could ever leave 50 beautiful spot and venture into less lovely and picturesque world.
 On our way back we pass the fa- nous golf club. with it's mission-like clubhouse, designed by our own Bert ram Goodhue. himself born in Pom fret.
 Our necessarily informative driver tells us much of Santa Barbara, of how the winter is the season for East crners but the summer IS the season for the Californians and they flock down from the north. from San Fran cisco and the Washington and Oregon cities and crowd the hotels near the bathing beach. One realizes how dis tinct and how separate from the East is all this fife of the Pacific Coast, a part of America but an entity all it's own.
 1t was on the way home from Mon tecito that we learned something about ] the California climate. The day had been perfect. warm and full of sun shine. Walking we had not needed a coat. But towards four o'clock as the sun was sinking into the Pacific. there came . chill in the air and it was q real chill. cold. penetrating sensation that made one long for muffler, pull the motor robe closer. and think of a wood fire. We were to learn in the ldays that followed. that deserted by lits sunshine. California is unrelated to the .orrid rone. We were glad to be back at the Mirasol. back to steam
 heat and to dinner of such delicious flare as Co be long remembered,
 I T.sts.,.4 NlaaIA