Mission Park, Santa Barbara
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Mission Historical Park is a located to the east of the
Santa Barbara Mission Mission Santa Barbara ( es, link=no, Misión de Santa Bárbara) is a Spanish missions in California, Spanish mission in Santa Barbara, California. Often referred to as the ‘Queen of the Missions,’ it was founded by Padre Fermín Lasuén for t ...
in
Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara ( es, Santa Bárbara, meaning "Saint Barbara") is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coas ...
. The park hosts a large open grassy area, the A.C. Postel Memorial Rose Garden, a fountain, hiking trails, a variety of sycamore and native oak trees, a historic olive grove dedicated to World War I veterans, remains of tannery vats, a pottery,
gristmill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the Mill (grinding), grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist i ...
, and a historic reservoir and aqueduct system. The park and the Mission were designated as a California State Historical Landmark on July 12, 1939 (No. 309). The park is divided by Alameda Padré Serra, a major access roadway that has an
Average Annual Daily Traffic Annual average daily traffic, abbreviated AADT, is a measure used primarily in transportation planning, transportation engineering and retail location selection. Traditionally, it is the total volume of vehicle traffic of a highway or road for a y ...
(AADT) of about 9,900 vehicles. The perimeter of the park's 8-acre southern area extends from the intersection of East Los Olivos St. and Laguna St. north to Alameda Padré Serra, and east to Plaza del Rubio. The smaller northern 2-acre portion occupies the area between Alameda Padré Serra, and Mountain Drive and Mission Ridge Road at the park's northern terminus.


Park history

Following the
1925 Santa Barbara earthquake The 1925 Santa Barbara earthquake hit the area of Santa Barbara, California on June 29, with a moment magnitude between 6.5 and 6.8 and a maximum Mercalli Intensity of IX (''Violent''). It resulted in 13 deaths and destroyed the historic center ...
and post-restoration efforts made to the
Santa Barbara Mission Mission Santa Barbara ( es, link=no, Misión de Santa Bárbara) is a Spanish missions in California, Spanish mission in Santa Barbara, California. Often referred to as the ‘Queen of the Missions,’ it was founded by Padre Fermín Lasuén for t ...
, the Franciscan Fathers of California offered to sell a 7.8 acre parcel of land extending from Laguna and East Los Olivos Streets north to Alameda Padré Serra. After securing private contributions, on June 30, 1928 the City Council agreed to purchase the land for $37,000 (to be paid over several years). By 1939, a total sum of $53,068.80 was paid in full (which included interest and other expenses). A master plan was approved by the Board of Park Commissioners in 1940. In 1948, the remainder of the land comprising the present day park (the 2-acre parcel between Alameda Padré Serra and Mission Ridge Road) was gifted to the City by the Franciscan Fathers. In 1954, the City developed a plan indicating a straightened Los Olivos Street through the park. The local citizenry and a number of organizations "vigorously objected" to the proposal. In March of that year, the City Council changed the name of the park from Mission Plaza (or ''Park'') to Mission Historical Park, which had been suggested by Miss Pearl Chase five years previous. By 1970, the City Park Commissioners once again called for a redesign of the park and surrounding streets.


The A.C. Postel Memorial Rose Garden

The A.C. Postel Memorial Rose Garden is an accredited show garden of the All-America Rose Selections (AARS). The garden was initiated in 1955 with a donation of 500 pedigree rose bushes. In 1959, the non-profit Santa Barbara Rose Society was established.Santa Barbara Rose Societ
A.C. Postel Rose Garden
sbrose.org (accessed 24 Aug 2015)
By 1961 the condition of the rose garden had deteriorated such that the Rose Society requested to sponsor it. In the following years, new bushes were established. In 1971, the ''Little Garden Club'' installed a fragrance garden for the blind.Histories of Individual Parks: City of Santa Barbara California, Days, Mary Louise, Santa Barbara Community Development Department, City Planning Division, June 1977 By the late 1970s, California Proposition 13 had substantially reduced funding for the Parks Department and thereby eliminated the full-time rose gardener's position. Remaining volunteers were unable to adequately maintain the garden and it hence deteriorated. In 1980, there had been considerations to replace the rose beds with tennis courts. However, in 1982 a committee was formed to save the rose garden. By 1984, the Virginia Firth Wade Endowment Fund donated $35,000 of the $51,000 needed to restore the garden on the condition that it be renamed; the ''A.C. Postel Memorial Rose Garden''. Today the garden holds over 1,500 plants sitsCity of Santa Barbara, California: Parks Division
Facility Details of Grassy Area - Mission Historical Park
(accessed 24 Aug 2015)
and serves as one of over 130 recognized competitive demonstration rose gardens in the US, hosting a variety of roses including a number of All-America Rose Selections (AARS) winners.City of Santa Barbara, California: Parks Division
AC Postel Mission Rose Garden
(accessed 24 Aug 2015)
An annual $5,000 grant from the Virginia Firth Wade Endowment Fund assists with the garden's maintenance, which includes; a part-time gardener, watering, grooming, and regular fertilization. The garden is often utilized for wedding ceremonies in two locations; the open grassy section along its western side (which accommodates up to 200 people), or at a smaller area on the northern end of the garden along Plaza del Rubio Street (which accommodates up to 50 people).


Rose collections

A number of the Rose
cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture, ...
which have been cultivated within the garden (and listed by the All American Rose Selection Committee - AARS) include, but are not limited to; Chicago Peace ''(1962)'', China Doll ''(AARS 1946)'', Color Magic, Double Delight, Duet ''(AARS 1961)'',
Iceberg An iceberg is a piece of freshwater ice more than 15 m long that has broken off a glacier or an ice shelf and is floating freely in open (salt) water. Smaller chunks of floating glacially-derived ice are called "growlers" or "bergy bits". The ...
, Just Joey, Over The Moon,
Peace Peace is a concept of societal friendship and harmony in the absence of hostility and violence. In a social sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such as war) and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups. ...
, Perfume Delight, Rainbow Sorbet, Scentimental, Sunshine Daydream ''(an AARS 2012 winner)'', Strike It Rich, Tahitian Sunset, Walking on Sunshine ''(an AARS 2011 winner)'', and
Betty Boop Betty Boop is an animated cartoon character created by Max Fleischer, with help from animators including Grim Natwick.Pointer (2017) She originally appeared in the ''Talkartoon'' and ''Betty Boop'' film series, which were produced by Fleischer ...
''(AARS 1999)''. Some of the rose cultivars named after people within the garden include; Barbra Streisand ''(AARS 2000)'', Henry Fonda ''(AARS 1995)'',
Julia Child Julia Carolyn Child (née McWilliams; August 15, 1912 – August 13, 2004) was an American cooking teacher, author, and television personality. She is recognized for bringing French cuisine to the American public with her debut cookbook, '' ...
''(2004)'', and Marilyn Monroe ''(AARS 2003)''. Additionally, the collection hosts beds with ancient varieties, such as Gallicas, Albas, and Damasks in various states of health. Other roses maintained within the garden include Old Garden Roses, Hybrid Perpetuals originally cultivated during the 1800s, and
Chinas The Chinas, Cīna, or Chīnaḥ (Sanskrit चीनः (''cīna'')) are a people mentioned in ancient Indian literature from the first millennium BC and first millennium AD, such as the ''Mahabharata'', ''Manu Smriti, Laws of Manu'', and the Pura ...
(e.g. Mutabulis and Old Blush ''from 1752'').


Grassy area

The park's grassy area encompasses roughly half of the original southern 8-acre parcel that was sold to the City in 1928. During 1840, a three-acre orchard consisting of pear, apple, apricot, fig and other fruit trees existed about 100-yards in front of the Mission (i.e. the present day location of the grassy area which abuts East Los Olivos Street). By the early 1900s, the orchard had diminished considerably. The orchard was surrounded by a six-sided wall reinforced with "heavy buttresses of masonry". A portion of the northern section and eastern corner of the wall were still in place during 1910-20.


Historical waterworks and production facilities

Much of the historical infrastructure within the park had been constructed by
Chumash people The Chumash are a Native American people of the central and southern coastal regions of California, in portions of what is now San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Ventura and Los Angeles counties, extending from Morro Bay in the north to Malibu ...
who were often subject to the California Missions under the exploitative Mission industry system of the period. Some of the facilities and their functions are further described below.


Upper reservoir and grist mill

Around 1827, a water-powered grist mill and its adjacent reservoir were constructed by the
Chumash Chumash may refer to: *Chumash (Judaism), a Hebrew word for the Pentateuch, used in Judaism *Chumash people, a Native American people of southern California *Chumashan languages, indigenous languages of California See also * Chumash traditional ...
laborers under the direction of Fr. Antonio Ripoll. The hexagon-shaped sandstone reservoir was paved with bricks and plastered with pink-hued cement. The ruins of the
grist mill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the Mill (grinding), grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist i ...
remain. Signage in the park indicate that water was introduced into the mill via a wooden-gated
penstock A penstock is a sluice or gate or intake structure that controls water flow, or an enclosed pipe that delivers water to hydro turbines and sewerage systems. The term is inherited from the earlier technology of mill ponds and watermills. H ...
. A customized clay pipe then allowed for water to flow downward at a 35 degree angle against the buckets of the mill's
water wheel A water wheel is a machine for converting the energy of flowing or falling water into useful forms of power, often in a watermill. A water wheel consists of a wheel (usually constructed from wood or metal), with a number of blades or buckets ...
, thus causing it to rotate and generate power for the millstones to grind grain into flour. The water then proceeded from the mill to the lower reservoir where it was channeled to irrigate fields, orchards, and the fountain.


Filter house

Abutting the upper reservoir to its north are the ruins of a filter house, which purified water for domestic purposes. The incoming water flowed through a concoction of charcoal and sandstone before it was channeled via an aqueduct to the lower reservoir.


Lower reservoir

In 1806, a square stone reservoir was constructed as part of an irrigation system providing water for the Mission's orchards and gardens. Originally measuring deep with an area of 110 ft2, the reservoir was capable of holding some 535,000 gallons of water. Located north of Almeda Padre Serra within Mission Park, this reservoir was well-crafted enough to be utilized by the City for water storage until 1993. It was hence transferred from the Public Works Department to the Parks Department to serve as part of Mission Historical Park.City of Santa Barbara General Plan
Appendix C: History of the City
December 2011, page 97.


Aqueduct

In 1807, a dam and complementary aqueduct system was constructed in Mission Canyon to supply water to the residents of the Mission. One dam was built across the west fork of Mission Creek (formerly Pedregosa Creek), approximately 1.5 miles north of the Santa Barbara Mission. Another was built across the east fork of the creek, located about 3 miles from the Mission. A remaining portion of the lower aqueduct wall still exists north of the grassy area within the park.


Tannery

The
Tannery Tanning may refer to: *Tanning (leather), treating animal skins to produce leather *Sun tanning, using the sun to darken pale skin **Indoor tanning, the use of artificial light in place of the sun **Sunless tanning, application of a stain or dye t ...
housed the massive stone vats containing treatment chemicals that were used to convert animal hides into leather. The leather product was used to manufacture horse saddles, footwear, and other leather accessories.


Pottery

The Pottery is located at just north of the intersection of Alameda Padre Serra and East Los Olivos Street. Built in 1808, the facility was where the Chumash workers produced tiles, water pipes, and cooking pottery. In 1914, a portion of the pottery was destroyed in order to construct the Alameda Padre Serra roadway.


Gallery

Image:SB MissionParkACPostelRosePlaque2 20150916.jpg, Commemoration plaque for the rose garden Image:SB MissionParkACPostelRose2 20150916 (22241169334).jpg, View of the
Santa Barbara Mission Mission Santa Barbara ( es, link=no, Misión de Santa Bárbara) is a Spanish missions in California, Spanish mission in Santa Barbara, California. Often referred to as the ‘Queen of the Missions,’ it was founded by Padre Fermín Lasuén for t ...
from the Rose Garden Image:SB MissionParkRoseJustJoey 20150917.jpg, "Just Joey" (AARS 1972) cultivar rose within the garden Image:Mission Santa Barbara, showing ruins of the old mill, California, 1898 (CHS-462).jpg, The ruins of the grist mill, 1898 Image:SBCA MissionPark GristMill 2017.jpg, The ruins of the grist mill, 2017 Image:SBCA MissionHistoricalPark 2014.jpg, Northerly view of a
Santa Ynez Santa Ynez (; Spanish for "St. Agnes") is a census-designated place (CDP) in the Santa Ynez Valley of Santa Barbara County, California. The town of Santa Ynez is one of the communities of the Santa Ynez Valley. It features the Santa Ynez Airport ...
peak from the park. Image:SB MissionParkPlaque1 20150914 (22805693514).jpg, Plaque adjacent to the historic waterworks infrastructure Image:SB_MissionParkPottery1_20150914.jpg, The Pottery located just east of E. Los Olivos Street Image:SB MissionParkUpperReservoir2 20150914 (23433671665).jpg, Western view of the upper reservoir Image:SB MissionParkLowerReservoir 20150914 (23406890406).jpg, Lower reservoir adjacent to the historic grist mill ruins (right), 2015 Image:SB MissionParkPlaque2 20150914 (23435849665).jpg, Historic plaque documenting the 1827 grist mill Image:SB MissionParkUnknownBldg 20150914 (22809316654).jpg, Unidentified historic building foundation within the park (possibly a guardhouse)


References


External links

* {{Official website, http://www.santabarbaraca.gov/gov/depts/parksrec/parks/features/views/missionhistorical.asp City of Santa Barbara, California: Mission Historical Park Parks in Santa Barbara, California