santa barbara view book (1 resultados)

First edition, Oblong quarto (12 x 10 inches). [20] leaves, each bearing an Albertype of a scene in the city or beautiful spots in the area., All captioned in white in the image. Publisher's string-tied wrappers with white cover lettering and an image of the Potter Hotel. White cover lettering falling off, lower corner bumped resulting in a small triangular piece missing from the first two leaves (nowhere near the image).The images are all a bit different than one finds in a usual view book. Much is made of famous spot no longer there or no longer famous; Palm Dr.; Castle Rock; Los Banos del Mar [?]; Crocker Row; and even one of a competitor-The Miramar Hotel. Inside the front cover we read thee same E. Mehesy Jr; one presumes this was the manager's name. A Los Angeles businessman, Milo Potter (1854- ), bought six square blocks of Santa Barbara oceanfront property in December 1901. On January 1903, the Potter Hotel Hotel opened on 36 acres of the former Burton's mound. It spanned the waterfront from Chapala to Bath streets, and to the rear at Montecito Street where they had their stables. The Santa Barbara train station was built to the rear of the hotel by Southern Pacific."The opening of the Potter Hotel off West Beach in 1903 was a milestone in Santa Barbara tourism. The Potter soon eclipsed the Arlington Hotel as the top hostelry in the city and in a short time, wealthy industrialists from the Midwest and East Coast were choosing to spend their winters within the opulent confines of the Potter. The hotel, with almost 600 guest rooms, was truly magnificent. The impeccably groomed grounds boasted a zoo and a rose garden with thousands of bushes. The dining room?s offerings were made with the freshest meats and produce from the hotel?s own farms. The Potter had all the amenities, including a ballroom, billiard rooms, a bowling alley, lounges, and gift shops. For the more actively inclined there was the Potter Country Club in Hope Ranch for golf, trap shooting, horseback riding, tennis, and other pursuits. The Potter Theatre on State Street offered concerts, vaudeville, plays, and films. The hotel came to enjoy a reputation international in scope.