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across its course, only extended 300 feet into the ocean, making that
stretch of sand and surf rather unappealing.
In the early 1920s, many citizens began complaining about the
low-class installations at West Beach. Barbecue stands, tent cities,
dance halls, open-air bathhouses, and limited toilet facilities led to
conflict between those residents who wanted a “city beautiful” and
merchants who wanted to attract out-of-towners to increase their
revenues.
CHENEY & OLMSTED
I
n 1923, the newly formed City Planning Commission hired Charles
H. Cheney, a planning consultant, and the Olmsted Brothers,
landscape architects, to design a traffic, boulevard, and park system
for the city. The resultant plan, which they noted would take years to
implement, was adopted by city council the following year.
The planning commission and park board decided that the first
priority was to be the improvement of East Boulevard. This area was
being eyed by out-of-town developers who wanted to establish a
Coney Island-style strip of tacky tourist shops and amusement stands
on both sides of the boulevard. Many civic-minded, wealthy local
citizens thought the area should be a public park for the people of
Santa Barbara.
Recognizing the need to move forward quickly, Frederick
Forrest Peabody and an executive committee that included
Bernhard Hoffmann and George Owen Knapp created the East
MOGULS
&
MANSIONS
(top) Ralph T. Stevens’s 1925 design for a waterfront park; (middle) 1927
Cabrillo Pavilion postcard; (bottom) No bare-chested men allowed at the
Pavilion in 1928 (Courtesy City of Santa Barbara Parks and Recreation;
SBHM; John Fritsche)