May 28: Betsy Green – Discover Your Home’s History

Spring 2026 Lecture Series

Register for this event here. (Suggested donation $20). 

Being keenly aware of Santa Barbara’s built environment, especially the unique expression of each structure, is like unraveling a mysterious treasure hunt or jigsaw puzzle.  Santa Barbara’s story is in large part told by uncovering the fascinating details of each structure and home that forms the city’s neighborhoods and overall character. Knowing your home’s history can even help attract prospective buyers and make your house stand out.

From reviewing old phonebooks, maps and building permits, to exploring genealogy websites, local historian, Betsy Green, will share “tips and tricks” for becoming your own house detective. 

“There’s more and more information available online all the time – it’s a great time to be a home history hunter!” says Betsy.  

Audience members are invited to bring questions about their home for Betsy to tackle in real time. Betsy will also share links to websites with useful information. 

Betsy J. Green is a writer, local history aficionado, and author of the Great House Detective column for the Santa Barbara Independent.

 

May 21: Cheri Rae – Santa Barbara’s 1960s Highrise Battle

Spring 2026 Lecture Series

Register for this event here. (Suggested donation $20). 

What would Pearl Chase do now?

Please join us for a lively discussion about how balanced housing development was achieved in the 1960s and can inspire ways to move forward today in a Santa Barbara way.

Back in the late 1960s, a 9-story 107-foot, two-tower condominium project along the El Mirasol block was proposed – and approved by Santa Barbara City Council – that would have changed Santa Barbara forever.

Thankfully, Pearl Chase was the leader of the Santa Barbara community activists who organized, raised funds, and successfully sued the City to prevent the outsized proposal.

The positive impact of that grassroots campaign led to a ballot measure that instituted height limits in Santa Barbara, and the site for the proposed towers became Alice Keck Park Memorial Garden, a lush garden with walking paths, benches, gazebo and pond, often referred to as the “crown jewel” of Santa Barbara’s city parks.   

That was what Pearl did then to “Save Our City.”

But what would Pearl do now? And how do we follow in her footsteps?

Today, we are faced with similar issues of overdevelopment and can learn from the experience of the past. Recently enacted California housing laws streamline development by limiting local discretion, reducing community input, and enabling taller, denser projects near transit. By limiting local control, these measures are enabling developers to propose out-of-scale projects (in areas not designated for the scale), which is causing great community concern.

Cheri Rae will discuss the 1960s era Save Our City community initiative “to keep Santa Barbara Santa Barbara,” followed by an audience Q&A and refreshments on the patio.

Cheri Rae is an ardent civic activist, award-winning columnist, and author of more than 300 articles and commentaries about Santa Barbara. “Channeling her inner Pearl,” Cheri has led efforts to preserve the city’s Bungalow Haven Neighborhood, historic buildings and trees. She is the author of the biography, “A String of Pearls: Pearl Chase of Santa Barbara.”