Other than a written record and historic photos, there’s not much left of the grand and gracious hotels that once beckoned travelers to visit Santa Barbara. We begin here a series of articles celebrating these luxurious lodging destinations, now lost to history.
The Arlington Hotel, situated on a square block on State Street between Victoria and Sola streets, was opened in 1876. It was known for its beautiful gardens and a six-story observation tower. The guest rooms in the three-story hotel were appointed with fine furnishings; the property included several rooms for guests to gather.
Although several presidents stayed at the Arlington, the visitor of perhaps the most consequence to the direction of Santa Barbara was named Nina Dempsey. In the mid-1880s, she traveled from her home in Boston to Santa Barbara, where her uncle, CC Wheeler, was the manager of the Arlington. During her months-long stay, she enjoyed side trips into the foothills, and on her return home, she kept her fond memories of the hotel and the small town.
In 1886, Nina married Hezekiah Chase, and in 1888, the couple became parents to their first child, Pearl Chase. As Pearl’s brother, Harold, reflected, “Mother evidently fell in love with Santa Barbara, as have so many others before and since.” The Chase family relocated from the East Coast to Santa Barbara in 1900.
The original hotel was destroyed by fire in 1909, rebuilt in the Spanish Colonial Revival style, and reopened in 1911. The new hotel, constructed of brick and concrete, featured a rooftop water tower as a convenient way to douse a fire. Ironically, it was the collapse of the water tank during the 1925 earthquake that destroyed the hotel and caused the death of two of the hotel’s guests. It was not rebuilt, and today, the Arlington Theatre, the
Public Market, a housing development, and an array of commercial businesses occupy the site.
Cheri Rae is a longtime neighborhood advocate and the author of A String of Pearls: Pearl Chase of Santa Barbara. She is a board member of the Pearl Chase Society and the longtime editor of the society’s newsletter The Capital, where this article first appeared. Email Cheri at pcs@pearchasesociety.org or visit pearlchasesociety.org.