Santa Barbara is better than ever - includes related article

Sunset, August, 1994 by David Lansing

With years of construction chaos behind it, the city's downtown core is inviting and welcoming once again

VINCENT WOOED Gertrude on Stearns Wharf. It was Santa Barbara in the early 1920s--Grandfather was a fisherman, Grandmother a recent immigrant from the Azores. According to family lore, Vincent used to unload more than just lingcod down there at the wharf. "He was a rumrunner, that one," Gertrude liked to joke.

They married and had my mother, who in 1950 was married in Mission Santa Barbara, "the Queen of the Missions." By then, Mom was living in San Pedro, 110 miles to the south. But two years later, she returned to the mission, this time for the baptism of her firstborn son. She chose the mission for this blessed event because, she explained, Saint Barbara was "the patron saint of families."

Well, not quite. In fact, Saint Barbara--a third-century martyr who was beheaded by her father--is the patron saint of architects and stonemasons. For some reason, she is also believed to protect the innocent from natural disasters--which is a good thing, since Santa Barbara is known as much for the malevolent twists of fate that regularly seem to befall it as it is for its mild climate and lovely setting. The beautiful Santa Ynez Mountains run atypically east-west, as do the earthquake faults that created them. Oil riches lie just offshore, but a spill in 1969 proved an ecological disaster. As for the weather, it's usually generous and forgiving, but severe storms have occasionally wreaked havoc. The last big rain, in 1983, was followed, ironically, by a nine-year drought that dried up the town's gardens and silenced its fountains. And then there are the seemingly annual wildfires, the most notorious of which was the deadly Painted Cave blaze of 1990.

Through it all, the town's citizens have remained stoic, shrugging off these disasters as the price to pay for their otherwise abundant blessings. Indeed, adversity has been pretty good to Santa Barbara. A massive earthquake in 1925 was the impetus to remake the town in the image of a Mediterranean city. A number of recent manmade upheavals have proved similarly rejuvenating. After a decade of debate and years of construction chaos, traffic on U.S. Highway 101 finally flows free, unimpeded by stoplights. True to form, Santa Barbarans turned the freeway's completion in 1993 into an opportunity to reunite downtown with the beach. Around the same time, sagging buildings along State Street, the artery between downtown and the beach, were undergoing facelifts and earthquake retrofits. And all of these changes came on the heels of the 1990 opening of Paseo Nuevo, the upscale shopping center built in the heart of downtown.

Much to everyone's relief, the dust has finally settled. To put it simply, Santa Barbara has never been so inviting.

FROM THE SEA TO OLD TOWN

A good place to begin an exploration of the city's new downtown is where Vincent met Gertrude, on Stearns Wharf. In the '40s, actor Jimmy Cagney and his brothers wanted to turn the wharf, which they owned, into a fun zone with rides and entertainment--that is, until they realized how much it was going to cost. Even without roller coasters and carousels, though, Stearns Wharf is a lot of fun. Start at the Sea Center (open 10 to 5 daily; $2, $1 ages 3 through 17; 805/962-0885). You'll find excellent exhibits on marine life and a popular outdoor touch tank.

At the beginning of the wharf is the Harbor Restaurant (963-3311), a good place for fresh seafood, homemade pastas, and scenic views. Dine here, or buy a loaf of fresh sourdough and some crab or shrimp at the wharf's seafood market and head for Stearns Wharf Vintners (966-6624) to picnic and sample Santa Ynez Winery's products on the shop's second-story deck.

At Stearns Wharf, you can hop onto one of the electric shuttle buses that troll up and down State Street and Cabrillo Boulevard, or board the Santa Barbara Trolley, which runs daily on regularly scheduled routes throughout the city (965-0353). Narrated tours leave from Cabrillo Boulevard at Stearns Wharf every 90 minutes between 10 and 6, although you can board (or get off) anywhere along the route, which includes Chase Palm Park, Montecito, the zoo, the train station, the mission, Paseo Nuevo, and the county courthouse. All-day fares are $4, $2 ages 12 and under.

Lower State Street, sometimes called Old Town, runs from Stearns Wharf up a couple of blocks past U.S. 101 to Haley Street. Old Town is an eclectic neighborhood with several good outlet shops, including Big Dogs (136 State; 963-8727), a local beachwear enterprise. It is also home to a number of pretty good places to eat. On Saturday and Sunday mornings, Santa Barbarans head to Esau's (403 State; 965-4416) for inexpensive and hearty pancake breakfasts. Another nearby local favorite is Joe's Cafe (536 State; 966-4638), where the steaks and Italian food are good if unspectacular, the drinks are generous, and the atmosphere convivial.

PASS THROUGH THE PASEOS

Farther up State Street is the cultural, historic, and economic heart of the city, full of fashionable shops, trendy restaurants, and the city's most controversial development, Paseo Nuevo. Some people say this pedestrian mall has revived Santa Barbara's downtown area; others claim it robbed State Street of its charm by swallowing up smaller businesses. Decide for yourself by exploring its meandering Spanish-style walkways bordered by Chapala, State, Ortega, and Canon Perdido streets. In addition to Nordstrom and Broadway, stores here include Stampa Barbara (505 Paseo Nuevo; 805/962-4077), with its inventory of 100,000 rubber stamps, and Santa Barbara Ceramic Design (715 Paseo Nuevo; 962-5989), an outlet shop filled with distinctive-looking ceramic clocks, mailboxes, address plaques, trivets, and other tile items.