Betsy J. Green

The Black Falcons Arrive in Santa Barbara

Dateline: February 1925

Seven airplanes were scheduled to fly here from Clover Field in Santa Monica and land at the Casa Loma Airfield on Las Positas Road in Santa Barbara. The municipal field downtown (the Funk Zone) was flooded this time of year, so the planes had to make do with an out-of-town location. The planes were part of the 476th Pursuit Squadron, nicknamed the Black Falcons.

It wasn't clear what the purpose of this trip was, other than to attend a dance at the Arlington Hotel. "It was announced yesterday that they would attend the dance in the grill room Saturday night to decide for themselves whether or not Santa Barbara girls are better looking than those of Los Angeles."

A Beach Pavilion with a Tunnel?

Dateline: February 1925

Santa Barbara architects Roland F. Sauter and E. Keith Lockard, were on a roll. They had recently designed the City Hall building and the Santa Barbara High School. Now they had designed a bathhouse and more for our East Beach, sort of.

The location for the building was a bit unusual. "The building will be situated on the landward side of East Boulevard [Cabrillo Boulevard], and connected with the beach by a tunnel under the pavement." (Not sure how that was supposed to work during high tides.)

"The hope was expressed through the architects that the pavilion would prove the nucleus of a number of recreation buildings on the oceanfront, which 'eventually would make one of the most attractive beaches in the world for the use and entertainment of the people of Santa Barbara.'"

A Jazz King Returns to SB

Dateline: February 1925

One of the masters of jazz came to Santa Barbara this month to present a concert at the Granada Theatre. Paul Whiteman, known as "the king of jazz," had been here in 1919 as head of the house band at the Ambassador Hotel (Potter Hotel).

At the Granada, Whiteman and his orchestra did a repeat performance of their program at New York's Carnegie Hall, which was the first jazz performance at that venue.

Channel Islands Movies on Youtube:

Man's Genesis (1912)
Neptune's Daughter (1914)
Civilization (1915)
A Submarine Pirate (1915)
Young Romance (1915)
Betty and the Buccaneers (1917)
Male and Female (1919)
Victory (1919)
Below the Surface (1920)
Terror Island (1920)
Down to the Sea in Ships (1922)
Foolish Wives (1922)
The Primitive Lover (1922)
Anna Christie (1923)
The Covered Wagon (1923)

Captain Blood (1924)

The Last Man on Earth (1924)

The Navigator (1924)

The Sea Hawk (1924)

Peter Pan (1924)

Ben Hur (1925)

The Black Pirate (1926)

The Cruise of the Jasper B (1926)

Old Ironsides (1926)

The Sea Beast (1926)

Shipwrecked (1926)

The Kid Brother (1927)

The King of Kings (1927)

The Yankee Clipper (1927)

It (1927)

Want a talk or a slideshow (live or zoom) about island movies for your club or organization? Email me via the Contact page of this website.  (No fee)

Books available for purchase at local bookstores, SB Historical Museum, and Amazon.com  ($25)

The Zoo in Montecito?

Dateline: January 1925

I know what you're thinking but no, this article refers to a real zoo called the Feather Hill Poultry Ranch in Romero Canyon, and not the social scene in Montecito. "An aggregation that is attracting crowds of visitors ... Grown people and children vied in their enthusiasm over gaudy-hued pheasants, parrots, parakeets, love birds, turkeys, guineas, peacocks, and even ostriches.

"Animals – from the large elephant down to the white-faced monkeys, whole families of bears, wildcats, mountain lions, hyenas and the like ... A honey bear divided honors with the monkeys in furnishing amusement for children."

This private zoo, sometimes called Feather Hill Zoo, was in Montecito from 1924 to 1930, when the animals were moved to the San Francisco Zoo.

Richard Henry Dana – SB's Best PR Guy

Dateline: January 1925

Our local paper looked back at Santa Barbara 90 years earlier to January 14, 1835, when future author Richard Henry Dana had arrived in Santa Barbara.

"Richard Henry Dana wrote so interestingly of ... Santa Barbara and its shoreline that his book is found in public and private libraries all over the world ... we probably never will succeed in putting out another piece of publicity that will prove as enduring as 'Two Years Before the Mast.'"

The article suggested that a memorial be placed in his honor on the wall of the Casa de la Guerra in the Street in Spain. (Interesting thought, eh?)

WAY BACK WHEN: A Strange Passenger

Dateline: January 1925

As a man was driving through Goleta, an owl flew into his windshield! The man stopped and picked up the bird, who then seemed content to travel along on the car's radiator cap.

Wandering with the Wanderwells

Dateline: January 1925

"Around the world in a Ford ... with Captain Walter Wanderwell and his sister, Aloha Wanderwell, who arrived in Santa Barbara yesterday on the last lap of their world tour."

They were part of a group that started in Detroit in 1921. Their car was "decorated from stem to stern – or should one say from crank to taillight – with emblems of each country ... Scores of persons stopped to gaze and to admire.

Small world! "The Wanderwells met another group of world tourists last year. The round-the-world fliers, headed by Captain Lowell Smith, Santa Barbara boy, met the Wanderwells in India."

Peter Pan is Coming

Dateline: December 1924
The silent movie Peter Pan had been filmed on Santa Cruz Island this year, and the movie was recently released. The movie reignited the popularity of this famous 1902 fairy tale.

Peter Pan was scheduled to play in theaters here in Santa Barbara in January 1925 (more about that in Way Back When: Santa Barbara in 1925), and Peter Pan-related products were already being sold in local shops.

A Christmas Chuckle

Dateline: December 1924
I like to finish each month with a cartoon from Life magazine. Just in time for Christmas, here's an idea to keep the nights silent after the kids open their Christmas gifts.