Mar Y Cel or, more correctly, Mar i Cel (

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...

: "Sea and Sky") is an open space

preserve The word preserve may refer to: Common uses * Fruit preserves, a type of sweet spread or condiment * Nature reserve, an area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or other special interest, usually protected Arts, entertainment, and media ...

conserved by the Land Trust for Santa Barbara County, in

Santa Barbara County, California Santa Barbara County, California, officially the County of Santa Barbara, is located in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 448,229. The county seat is Santa Barbara, and the largest city is Santa Maria. Santa Barba ...

, USA. Located in the Santa Ynez Mountains

foothill Foothills or piedmont are geographically defined as gradual increases in elevation at the base of a mountain range, higher hill range or an upland area. They are a transition zone between plains and low relief hills and the adjacent topograp ...

s above Montecito, Mar Y Cel is a estate. It includes the notable "Tea Gardens", as well as the West Fork of Cold Springs Trail, a well used hiking trail.

Early history

Henry E. Bothin (pronounced, "bo-THEEN") (d. 1923), of Ohio, came to San Francisco where he built an empire, starting with a spice and coffee factory in 1875, and then gaining large commercial real estate holdings. He was president of Judson Manufacturing Company. Around 1916, Bothin and his second wife, the heiress Ellen "Nellie" Chabot Bothin (1865-1965), added the Mar Y Cel property, commonly referred to as the "Tea Gardens", to their Montecito estate home, Piranhurst, which was nearing completion. Ellen's deceased father, Antoine "Anthony" Chabot, had been notable for his

Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Gov ...

water systems, and had been a colleague of Bothin's. Upon Mar Y Cel, the Bothins built stone aqueducts, water works, arches, and statues. The water projects included scalloped bowls that rested on columns, allowing water to spill from one into the other. After completion, 35 gardeners maintained the area. Other construction included a 200-seat

amphitheater An amphitheatre (British English) or amphitheater (American English; both ) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ...

, as well as the "Tea House", built as an open-air piazza, surrounded by four walls. In 1918, Ellen was honored with a gladiolus named in her behalf, the ''Mrs. H. E. Bothin''. Following the June 29, 1925, magnitude 6.3, Santa Barbara earthquake, three of the Tea House walls were damaged. Subsequently, atmospheric painter and landscape designer Lockwood de Forest, Jr. (1850-1932), added red

brick A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured cons ...

garden planters to the property, while the water garden system was remodeled, costing one million dollars. After Ellen's death, Edward F. Brown purchased a portion of Piranhurst from the family heirs, that led to the "Tea Gardens" property becoming a separate parcel which the Bothin family sold to Mr. Shirley Carter Burden (1908-1989), fine arts photographer, writer, and great-great-grandson of Cornelius Vanderbilt. Burden later resold it to the current owners.

Later history

In September 2000, Cima del Mundo LLC, an environmental investment group, offered to donate a conservation easement on a portion of Mar Y Cel: the northern . This eliminated the possibility of future

residential A residential area is a land used in which housing predominates, as opposed to industrial and commercial areas. Housing may vary significantly between, and through, residential areas. These include single-family housing, multi-family residen ...

development while ensuring the protection of both wildlife habitat and the property's scenic beauty. In addition, the company granted a easement to the Land Trust ensuring that a portion of the Cold Spring Trail is open for public use. On November 13, 2008, the Montecito Tea Fire ignited the historic "Tea House" structure, above Mountain Drive. Over the course of several days, the fire spread and burned , destroyed over 200 homes, and injured 13 people.

References

External links

Archives.si.edu: Photos of "Mrs. H.E. Bothin's gardens at Piranhurst"
— ''in 1930 ("including red brick planters").'' {{coord missing, Santa Barbara County, California Gardens in California History of Santa Barbara County, California Landscape design history of the United States Parks in Santa Barbara County, California Montecito, California Santa Ynez Mountains