Share

Cristal's Blog

SANTA BARBARA’S ARLINGTON THEATER

September 30, 2022

Back to Articles
 

Santa Barbara’s Arlington Theater has a rich history dating back to the 1870s. While the Theater as we know it today opened on May 22, 1931, the red-tiled building stands as a perfect example of the Mission Revival and Spanish Colonial Revival styles that have remained popular in Santa Barbara.

Large portico of Santa Barbara's Arlington Theater, with its Saltillo tile floor, fountain and multiple arches
Photo credit: Jasperdo courtesy of Flickr

Santa Barbara's Principal Performing Arts Venue

Featuring a covered courtyard with a fountain and an old-fashioned free-standing ticket booth, the Arlington was originally built to make theatergoers feel like they were sitting outside in the plaza of a Spanish colonial town. You might say the Arlington evokes a Spanish village sensation, complete with a night canopy of the starry sky above. Whatever you call it, the Theater is known by architectural enthusiasts as Santa Barbara’s heirloom of the grander days of theater palaces. Each wall features unique houses, staircases, and balconies that are not painted on but actually built out. The ceilings of the lobbies are heavily beamed and painted, too. And the auditorium itself seats 2,018 on the main floor and balcony.

Designed by local architects William Edwards and Joseph Plunkett, the Arlington Theater is our principal performing arts venue. The annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival is held there, along with popular and critically acclaimed movies, comedy shows, and live theater performances. But what some who visit might not know about is The Arlington has a fascinating and tragic history.

Front of Santa Barbara Arlington Theater showing its large marquee
Photo credit: Jasperdo courtesy of Flickr

The Tragic History of The Arlington Hotels

The place where today’s Arlington Theater currently stands was originally the site of the luxury Arlington Hotel. The lavish 90-room hotel, located downtown on State Street, was the centerpiece of Santa Barbara’s elite in the 1870s. During its heyday, the property, situated between Sola Street and Victoria Street, played host to presidents, kings, and queens.

But all that pomp and circumstance ended on a Sunday night in August of 1909 when a fire broke out. Luckily, most visitors were at dinner at the time, and no fatalities were reported. Still, the fire burned throughout the night, and by daybreak, the first-class Arlington Hotel was completely burnt to the ground with only the chimneys left standing.

Postcard of the Santa Barbara Arlington Hotel, circa 1911

In 1911, the Arlington Hotel was rebuilt, this time covering an entire city block. Los Angeles architect Arthur B. Benton designed the new building at the cost of $1.5 million, featuring a stunning arrangement of bell towers around the five-story-high central structure. It was meant to honor and surpass its lavish predecessor. In addition, Benton determined that a fire would never destroy The Arlington again, and he incorporated state-of-the-art safety elements, such as concrete, brick, and steel, into the 250-room complex.

Even with those precautions, the second Arlington Hotel, like the first, was the victim of a natural disaster. In fact, the entire town was ravaged when on June 29, 1925, the residents of Santa Barbara woke up to a massive magnitude 6.8 earthquake. Local heroes saved the day by shutting off the town’s gas and electricity preventing a catastrophic fire. Still, thirteen people died.

While most homes survived the earthquake in relatively good condition, nearly every chimney in the city crumbled, and most of the buildings in Santa Barbara’s downtown were completely destroyed. The business district back then covered about 36 blocks, and structures like The Arlington Hotel had to be demolished and rebuilt. Even the facade of Mission Santa Barbara received severe damage, along with the Potter Theater, the courthouse, jail, library, schools, hotels, and offices.

Santa Barbara’s Rebirth and Redesign

Since most of downtown Santa Barbara suffered irreparable damage, a large-scale construction effort followed. During 1925 and 1926, city and private resources focused on removing and repairing damaged structures like the Arlington. The entire area was busy with new construction, changing the city's character from Moorish Revival to Spanish Colonial Revival style. We have the Santa Barbara Community Arts Association, which was founded at the beginning of the 1920s, to thank. This vital charity, which is still in business today, turned the tragedy into an opportunity to unify our architectural style.

Exterior of a Spanish colonial style home in Santa Barbara, showing stairs flanked by landscaping

Today’s Arlington Theater is just one of the beautiful architectural wonders of Santa Barbara. Many of the homes in the county are also rich with history, like the coastal retreat pictured above. I recently sold this stunning example of Spanish Revival architecture that boasts unfiltered luxury at every turn, an ambiance of relaxed sophistication and seamless indoor/outdoor living.


I have more amazing homes for sale in the area that you can find listed on my comprehensive website. If you are considering a move, please call me at (805) 886-9378 or email me at Cristal@montecito-estate.com. We can discuss Santa Barbara’s rich history, including the Arlington Theater, and toast to your new home!



More resources:




Back to Articles

Client Reviews

“It was an emotional experience selling our mother’s home in Montecito that we all loved so much but Cristal made the process easier on our whole family by guiding us through the transaction every step of the way. She knows the market so well and everything she recommended was on point including the asking price, painting, and staging the home, which looked beautiful and helped the buyer envision her new home. We sold it the first day it hit the market with an offer above asking! Cristal did an incredible job communicating with us and the buyer to ensure that the transaction would run smoothly. We highly recommend using Cristal, she was a pleasure to work with! ”

- J & A

“Cristal is a pleasure to work with! Her knowledge of the local real estate market coupled with her amazing listening skills resulted in her showing us an array of homes that were all excellent choices. Her low-pressure patient attitude made us feel extremely comfortable with the whole process. I cannot recommend her highly enough.”

- M.F.

“Cristal Clarke is #1 in her field - and you don't become #1 by luck. Cristal works harder, and longer, and with more charm and patience than any real estate agent I have ever worked with in the past; her calendar has no weekend, her days have no clocks, her only concern is selling your property as soon as possible and for the best price on the market. Am I a fan? You bet!”

- P.B.

“We have used Cristal now several times and cannot express how grateful we are for her expertise, dedication, and unwavering support throughout the entire home-buying process. Cristal is knowledgeable, patient and attentive. Her attention to detail is remarkable, and she consistently went above and beyond to provide us with all the information and resources we needed to make informed decisions. Cristal is a skillful negotiator and advocate. She can navigate complex negotiations with professionalism and grace and felt like a true partner to us in the home-buying process. Cristal has a genuine passion for real estate and a deep commitment to her clients' satisfaction. I cannot speak highly enough of Cristal and her exceptional service. She is a true expert in her field and her dedication to excellence, combined with unwavering support is the reason we choose to work with her for all our real estate buying needs.”

- T.C.

“Cristal is a top-notch realtor who sold my home before it ever went on the market. I had two competing offers that enabled me to get top dollar for my home. Not only is Cristal superb but her team is extraordinary. I cannot say enough about Cristal and her team. They are simply phenomenal, the consummate professionals, who took care of every possible detail, making the sale and transition period, smooth from our end. They are also lovely, caring people, who knew all the right professionals, to get the job done. Thank you, everyone!”

- D.R.

“I could list lots of cool adjectives to describe Cristal. All good by the way. But, that is not why I or anyone should hire Cristal. My reason for hiring her, which proved to be correct, is very simple. She got the job done. And, she does it time and time again and with zero issues. And, that is why she is one of the top agents in the country. End of subject. ”

- M.A.

“Working with Cristal was a complete pleasure. Cristal was extremely patient with us as we evaluated nearly 2 dozen homes over a span of 2 years. Her knowledge of the market is unmatched. Cristal provided us with exceptional counsel as we evaluated opportunities and negotiated pricing. The closing process was handled thoroughly and efficiently. We could not be happier with our purchase and even more happy to now call Cristal our friend.”

- D.K.

“Cristal Clarke has conducted numerous real estate transactions for me beginning 13 years ago with the purchase of a Lemon Ranch. She has handled both large and small purchases and sales with equal dedication. As a negotiator, you can’t find anyone better. Her transactions are always conducted in the most appropriate and professional manner. Cristal has considerable knowledge of the Santa Barbara market.”

- S.N. Decker Ph.D.

“Living in Europe, we were to say the least, unaccustomed to the nuances of Real Estate acquisition in California and Cristal steered us through the process with absolute professionalism and personal attention to detail at every turn. Her in-depth knowledge of the market place combined with enthusiasm and drive was the only reason we secured the property of our dreams and will be forever grateful. If you are looking for personal discrete and private representation of the highest quality we suggest you look no further than Cristal Clarke.”

- Johan and Paula van den Berg

“Cristal is very straightforward, cheerful, helpful, professional and trustworthy….we felt very lucky to work with her.”

- John and Lacey Williams

“After considering our many choices, we are grateful it was Cristal Clarke of Sotheby’s International who represented the sale of our Montecito cottage. We are familiar with Cristal’s reputation of hard work and dedication to clients, but it was her attention to detail that made our experience so positive. She offered suggestions for staging the property, worked in harmony with potential buyers and was even able to secure back up offers. The sale of our cottage was completed much sooner than we expected, due in great part to Cristal’s professional skills and support. We highly recommend Cristal as a first choice for anyone needing representation with real estate.”

- Michael & Nancy Lee

“Our experience in working with Cristal Clarke resulted in the successful and discrete acquisition of a property which was not yet on the open market. Her knowledge of the Montecito/Santa Barbara area and vast expertise blended with her passion for real estate and architecture, provided us with the very highest level of professionalism and personalized services. Cristal exhibited a rare combination of excellent communications, attention to detail, creativity and patience.”

- Richard and Catherine Frinier

“Cristal really breaks the mold. She knows every nook and cranny of this real estate market, understands value, and follows up on everything, all the time. She was incredibly patient with our two year quest to find the perfect house. Every house hunting trip from across the country was well planned, and our time was never wasted. On top of her professionalism and expertise, she is delightful to spend time with. We are thrilled with the home we purchased, and grateful to Cristal for so wisely advising us through this process, right through to the close and beyond.”

- Laurie Siegel

“We met Cristal first in the course of renting a winter home (for three years), then buying a house using her as our agent. She was amazingly good at listening to our wants and showing us homes that fit our needs. Her mastery of the paperwork was perfect. Most importantly, there was never a situation where we doubted her straightforwardness or integrity. If we do another real estate transaction in Montecito (which I doubt, we’re happy with what we purchased), without question we’d use Cristal again.”

- Ken Saffir

“Susan and I just want to thank you for your efforts in the sale of our home. You are really quite amazing. Your competence, persistence, optimism and humor made the entire process effortless. Every problem that arose, you somehow fixed; any obstacle, you overcame. We have bought and sold many homes. It has never been such a painless and enjoyable process!”

- Michael & Susan Marquart

“A little something about “our” realtor, Cristal Clarke. My wife and I came to Santa Barbara about fifteen years ago looking for a seasonal home from which to enjoy the weather and amenities of the central coast. Being in the real estate business myself I was familiar with agents and brokers so entered the market with open eyes. We “flipped” a few houses in the early years, dealing with various agents and finally ended up in Montecito. That’s when good fortune put us together with Cristal. To say we were impressed is to put it mildly. Cristal really knows the market. She is familiar with the area, its history and trends. When we have questions about a particular property she either has the answers immediately or gets back to us by phone or email. There is no waiting or wondering with Cristal. She is an agent who is “on top of it.” Her recommendations as to price points, contractors, inspectors and title agents have proven to be exceptional, showing great insight and the highest professional standards. We consider ourselves exceedingly fortunate to say that Cristal Clarke is our realtor and would recommend her services to any serious buyer or seller.”

- Rob & Judi Kelch