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.
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.
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.
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!
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