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56
winter
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spr ing
BACK ON TRACK
E
arly in 1926, the city purchased the lands acquired by the East
Beach Improvement Association, which promptly dissolved.
J.L. Barker’s Shore Acres, however, still stood in the way of moving
East Cabrillo Boulevard farther from the tides and wrath of the
ocean. David Gray, therefore, formed the Gray Trust with eight other
subscribers, including Max Fleischmann, Mrs. Bernhard Hoffman, and
George Batchelder, who raised $31,000 to purchase Barker’s land and
other beach lots farther east.
In May 1926, the city banned itinerant food peddlers from
Cabrillo Boulevard as a first step in cleaning up the entire beachfront
in preparation for creating the waterfront park. Complaints against the
peddlers maintained that the foods they were selling – popcorn, hot
dogs, peanuts and candy – were not fit for consumption. They were
unhealthy for children, announced the public health officer, and no
licenses were to be issued.
That same month, county and city officials joined dozens of
school children and representatives from many organizations in town
on a small rise west of Sycamore Creek, the extension of Alisos Street
(today’s Corona del Mar). David Gray turned the first shovelful of dirt
initiating the construction of the new beach pavilion. Mayor H.A.
Adrian poured seawater into the hole, symbolizing the “wedding of
ocean and land.” (This marriage would soon prove disastrous.)
The Cabrillo Pavilion was completed in May 1927. David Gray
MOGULS
&
MANSIONS
years until the city could take it over.
After the public preview on May 2, which was
attended by some 7,000 people, city councilman
T.R. Finley said, “People have no idea of the
magnitude of Mr. Gray’s gift until they have
inspected it.... It is a magnificent gift; one that the
people appreciate and always will remember.”
It was magnificent, indeed. The lower floor
had 1,260 lockers in two locker rooms, a laundry,
soda fountain, lunch stand, and souvenir booth. A
spacious promenade overlooked the ocean on the
upper floor, which also contained a dance floor,
soda fountain, tea room counter, lounging room,
(top) Kathleen Burke Peabody at the ceremony dedicating the stoa and
wading pool donated by the late Frederick Forrest Peabody. Mayor T.R.
Finley stands beside her, and park commissioner Dwight Murphy stands
against the wall. (middle) Wolfcubs gather at the new pool. (bottom)
Santa Barbara Lumber Yard published an architectural rendering for an
amusement park in the local paper. (Courtesy SBHM)
had not only paid to have it built, but generously furnished it and
placed his architect, Roland Sauter, in charge of its operation for five