Evening star., 1925-07-11
SANTA BARBARA
MECCA IN WINTER
Wonderful Climate and
Beauty of Surroundings
Have Lured the Wealthy.

, Have Lured the Wealthy.
ITO most Americans who have not
seen California, but who have pic
tured the States interesting spots in
their imaginations, Santa Barbara
would come close to meeting speCifica-
tions." says a bulletin from the Wash
ington headquarters Of the National
Geographic Society in regard to the
California city recently damaged by
an earthquake.
| "On and near the site of Santa Bar
bara is "a medley of meadows teeming
with wild flowers. rolling country dot
ted with groves of noble live oaks like
| a well kept park. mountains. canyons,
fOuriShing citrus and olive groves,
/ walnut orchards, and the blue Pacific
! with its sandy beaches and rocky
headlandS TO this wealth Of raw
material the hand Of man has added
much. on a hill at the head of
plain sloping gently TO the sea the old
Franciscan Fathers planted Santa
Barbara Mission. probably the best
known Of those famous religious edi-
fees that were strung along the
Canine Real in Spanish days. on
the two-mile slope between the mis-
sion and the ocean the city grew up
a sleepy Indian and Mexican village
at first, then an American town of
| typical Californians.
Blessed by Mountain Barrier.
Thanks to the barrier OF the Santa
Ynez Mountains. which rise to
height of several thousand feet imme-
diateIy behind the city, Santa Bar
bara is sheltered from northern winds
and has an almost ideal Winter eli
mate Because of this and the large
Winter colony that has been drawn
there the city has come 10 be called
the American Mentone. after the well
known Winter resort on Frances
sunny Mediterranean coast.
With the city's growth in popu-
larity the hand of man added still
more TO its charms. People of wealth
moved to Santa Barbara from all
parts of the United States to build
handsome residences and develop ex-
tensive estates, until now Santa Bar
bara has one of the largest million
aire colonies on the west coast. The
center of this development, with its
adluncts Of country clubs and polo
fields. is in the suburb of Montecito.
in the coastal hills several miles east
of Santa Barbara.
Built to Withstand Earthquakes.
The most famous building in Santa
Barbara-and more famous than any
of the natural features of the region
is the Santa Barbara Mission, the
only twin lowered mission in Cali
fornia. The earthquake history of
this mission is interesting in the light
of the recent destructive quake. Built
in 1886. the original mission was de-
stroyed by an earthquake early in
the nineteenth century. When it was
rebuilt, between 1915 and 1920, the
J Franciscan Fathers deliberately made
it especially massive in the hope 1t
would withstand future quakes. Its
walls are of stone and mortar six
feet thick, and are strengthened out
side by massive buttresses nine feet
| square at the base. This heavy con-
struction has withstood the minor
| disturbances Of more than a century,
but so powerful were the vibrations
of the recent earthquake that the
towers were shaken down and the
front wall was toppled over.
AT the present time the mission
is conducted as a Franciscan college
for monks, and is a center of Catholic
! learning in California. One of its
more notable features is a wonderful
arcade facing the sea, from which
tourists delight to watch the sunsets
over the Pacific.
Has "Seagoing" Highways.
THE city of Santa Barbara extends
from the edge of the Pacific up the
foothills Of the Santa YneZ Mountains.
Many of the business buildings are on
relatively low ground not far from the
Pacific. Residences have been built
up the mountain slopes to the north,
| east and west
I Because of it's mountain barrier
Santa Barbara's railways enter the
city along the ocean and afford trav-
, elers for many miles east and west OF
the city some Of the most interesting
ocean views to be found on the west
coast. At places the rails are only a
few feet above the high-water mark
and if large tidal waves had swept
inland doubtless much of the track
: would have been demolished.
1.-The main highways which connect
: Santa Barbara with the remainder of
the State also parallel the coast. So
close do the hills approach the ocean
east of the city that at places it has
been necessary to drive piles into the
beach and construct the road on them
around the cliffs. The motorist driv-
ing over these 'seagoing stretches of
highway often hears the breakers
laundering Immediately beneath him.
Channel Is Yachtsman's Paradise.
Santa Barbara is situated on the
only extensive section of the coast of
California WhlCn lies almost directly
east and west. 1t is about $50 miles
down the coast from San Francisco
= and not more than rs miles from the
ports of Los Angeles. Its situation
has made it famous as a place for
water sports. About 25 miles off
shore lies a string of partly sub
$ merged mountains, the Santa Bar
3 bara Islands, which make Santa Bar
l bara Channel between them and the
l mainland a Yacht tSman'S paradise In
? the Santa Barbara Channel, almost as
placid as a lake, the United States
/ Naval vessels built on the Pacific
coast are given their speed tests.
1T is in Winter that Santa Barbara
: draws its greatest throng of tourists
The city has dozens of hotels. In the
. green foothills are several of the best
: country clubs and golf courses to be
found in the State"