Basic HTML Version
40
summer
|
fal l
The Golden Coast
We are now at Butterfly Beach (which got its name, by the way,
for the tens of thousands of Monarch butterflies that once called it
home). The first house past Ty Warner’s that we can spot was owned
and inhabited for many years by actor Robert Preston and his wife,
Catherine Craig. Preston was the original Harold Hill in the Broadway
production of “The Music Man” and starred in the film version. Nearby
is luxury retailer Fred Segal’s former oceanfront hideaway, nearly
adjacent to the Arco Conference Center, now owned by Ty Warner.
Warner also owns the Reginald Johnson-designed Biltmore and Coral
Casino (with its nearly Olympic-sized pool), a one-time playground of
Hollywood’s rich and famous in the 1950s and ‘60s.
From here, we pass Bonnymede, Montecito Shores, Edgecliff, and
Sea Meadows – a 22-acre development of some 16 French Country
homes, one of which is owned by Warren Buffet partner Charles
Munger. Directly in front is Hammonds Meadow, close to the home of
STP and Indy 500 legend Andy Granatelli and his wife, Dolly, along
with the longtime oceanfront estate of Milt and Arlene Larsen, now
under new ownership. Milt is founder of Hollywood’s Magic Castle.
Saturday Night Alumni Brad Hall and Julia Louis-Dreyfus also have a
home nearby, as does John Cleese (Fawlty Towers, Monty Python).
We cross the Miramar steps and come upon an amalgam of small
two- and three-story oceanfront homes tucked cheek by jowl into the
observat ions
sand, followed by the decaying remains of the Miramar, once the chosen
meeting place for nearly all of Montecito’s families. It was open right up
until the end of the twentieth century (2000) and dates back to before
the turn of the previous century. Purchased in 1998 by Ian Schrager
(of New York’s Studio 54 fame), it was sold to Ty Warner a couple of
years later. Mr. Warner turned around and sold it to Rick Caruso (The
Grove, in L.A.), who continues to own it and is rumored to have plans
to rebuild and reopen the faded resort.
After the Miramar – whose beach remains the most celebrated – we
pass rocky tide pools where crabs, starfish, mussels, barnacles, algae,
even the odd octopus find succor. If you are here just after a full or new
moon, check for high tide times (Montecito Journal, the weekly, lists
them in every issue) and join the grunion, which swim onto the shore by
the thousands to lay their eggs in the sand. It is a sight to behold and be
part of. Bring the kids.
The eastern edge of Montecito is bordered by Fernald Point, where
Montecito’s most expensive seafront properties lie, and Sharks’ Cove,
named by the hide and tallow manufacturers who set up shop here in
the early 20th century. They butchered cows and left their entrails on
the beach for the tide to take out; it was a regular event that aroused the
curiosity – and hunger – of a goodly number of sharks.
And, that’s it. You have just traversed the entire Montecito Coast.
You can either walk back to East Beach or call your friend, spouse, mate,
or a taxi to take you home and rest those weary feet.
Before leaving, however, let’s take a look at what we can’t see from
the surface.