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housands of people are dying to live in Montecito.
For many, it’s a life-long pursuit to obtain even
a tiny piece of property in one of the most desirable
areas in the world. Of course, not everyone aims for the formal abodes
of gleaming white marble, with stately columns and classical pediments
over the doorway. Around here, it’s just as important to find a home in
the right section, with some, if not all of the features that fill real estate
advertisements: winding roads flanked by hand-hewn sandstone curbs that
meander through charming historic districts, driveway entrances graced
with wrought-iron gates and sparkling fountains, ocean-bluff settings
with island views to the south and mountain views to the north, mature
gardens with specimen trees, quiet neighbors with no screaming children
or barking dogs. But the irony is that for most people, all of these desirable
factors only coalesce in their permanent home – that is, if they end up at
the Santa Barbara Cemetery.
landmarks
Location is everything, and if the Santa Barbara Cemetery were being
established today, it would never be placed in such a desirable spot. The
ocean bluffs would by no means be “sacrificed” for a burying ground,
as the cemetery’s parcel of more than fifty acres is considered prime real
estate by anyone’s standards. But that wasn’t the case back in 1867, when
the board of the newly established Santa Barbara Cemetery Association set
out to find suitable land for their endeavor. They didn’t need much, they
figured – maybe just five to ten acres, as long as it was fairly accessible to
town and had a water supply. Back then, nobody dreamed that the land
they chose would ever be desirable to the living, as it sat on the far side of
a salty lagoon, next to a stage road, and was a mile from town. The bluffs