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63
When the harbor was completed, the beaches to the east were
no longer replenished with sand, and the sea began making inroads
upon the land, just as predicted. Once again, the seawalls disintegrated
against the onslaught of the ocean.
In an effort to preserve the new parkland created between the
beach and the boulevard, contractors were hired to dump heavy stones
along East Beach. A wall of rock from the foot of Milpas Street east for
200 feet was almost completed by October 1930. The seaward edge of
the wall was composed of boulders weighing in some cases 10 to 12
tons or more. Erosion caused by the waves behind the old wall was to
be filled with asphalt three-feet thick. Boulders transported on flatcars
by the Southern Pacific Railroad were switched across the boulevard
onto a temporary track laid along the beach behind the seawall. A huge
crane on a flat car lifted them and dropped them into place.
While this small section was being fortified, the sea turned its
attentions farther east. On November 10, 1930, high surf pounded
the parking space west of the Pavilion and ate away a number of
yards of sand below the outer edges. As the winter ran on, the beach
east of the rip-rap seawall was severely damaged and plans were
discussed for its protection.
By the summer of 1931, the situation had reached crisis stage.
No one could agree on what approach to take, but all agreed that
the municipal budget for 1931-32 couldn’t cover it. The “economic
downturn” was about to become a full-blown Depression yet an angry
sea stood poised to take the Pavilion, making a mockery of previous
efforts at fortification.
At an emergency meeting to discuss the situation in August
1931, architect Roland Sauter explained that the bathhouse rested
entirely upon the sand, its foundation not extending more than
36 inches below the existing grade. Engineer Brown said that solid
ground was 16 feet below the surface of the sand. Immediate steps
needed to be taken.
In September, heavy seas wrecked portions of a temporary plank
bulkhead and scattered it over the beach where the boards rode
the surging waves. Heavy wind and violent surge gouged out huge
holes under the asphalt sidewalk in front of the Pavilion and cut
through within 100 feet of the boulevard. The Wolf Cub wading pool
disintegrated.
Mayor Harvey T. Nielson announced, “The city has a very
serious problem on its hands in the protection of East Beach from
further damage by our winter storms. The loss by high tides on
Thursday night indicate in a small way what we might expect in a
real storm.… The machinery for raising money by a municipality is
so slow and legally involved, and the work to be done is so urgent,
MOGULS
&
MANSIONS
(top) 1932 aerial shows the rock revetment in front of the
pilings driven to protect the Cabrillo Pavilion and the
reconstructed wading pool; (bottom) beach erosion in 1930
undermined the wading pool, and beach-goers waded in
the ocean six feet below the stoa (Courtesy Santa Barbara
Historical Museum; John Fritsche)