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A HILLTOP ESTATE
T
hey were known as the “Hilltop Barons” and the half-dozen men built their Xanadus on the hills overlooking Montecito and the Pacific
Ocean. Among them were David Gray, an early funder of the Ford Motor Company and later major stockholder in General Motors, who
built Graholm, and Frederick Forrest Peabody of the Arrow Shirt Company, who created
Solana
(Spanish for “sunny place”). Upon discovering
Santa Barbara in the early 1900s, Peabody hired architect Francis Underhill, whose polo clubhouse on Middle Road is among his contributions to
Montecito and the surrounding area, to build his mansion on some 79 acres. It was completed in 1914, with seven bedrooms, 12 full baths, 8 partial
baths, and nearly 23,000 sq ft of interior space
Eleven of those original acres remain and come with this two-story architectural jewel. In 1959, Solana became the home of a prominent
American think tank, The Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions. During this chapter, Solana hosted many notable figures, such as
President John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., and Antonin Scalia. Returning to a private residence in the late 1970s, Solana fell into a state of
disrepair before recently undergoing a substantial restoration, courtesy of architect Don Nulty, builder Rick Heimberg, and designer Joan Behnke.
Listed by Riskin Partners at $39 million
REAL ESTATES
photos by Jim Bartsch
