October 2013 www.rivieraassociation.org P.O. Box 4235 • Santa Barbara, CA 93140-4235

President’s Letter

Our Riviera Association newsletter once again commemo-

rates the Riviera’s 100th anniversary. In 1913 the newly

formed Riviera Company commissioned a survey that signaled

the start of residential development on the barren ridge you

see looming over Santa Barbara in the masthead above and

began its transformation into the beautiful tree lined neigh-

borhood we enjoy today. February’s first “centennial edition”

newsletter chronicled the key events and identified the person-

alities responsible for shaping our Riviera neighborhood.

If you didn’t get a chance to read it you can find it on our

website at www.rivieraassociation.org and learn how the State

of California’s decision to build a college on the site of today’s

Rivera Business Park, which eventually became UCSB’s first

campus, inspired further development. Discover why a neigh-

boring landowner’s construction of student housing across the

street was transformed into the El Encanto just a few years after

completion. Read the unusual biography of George Batchelder,

president of the Riviera Company, and the man recognized as

the “father of the Riviera” for his many aesthetic contributions

to our neighborhood. I’ve received many nice comments on this

centennial newsletter and would like to thank Chuck Croninger,

our editor, for his great work on this commemorative edition.

Riviera Centennial “Gathering on the Green” I would like

to invite you all to join us in a celebration of our neighbor-

hood’s first 100 years on Sunday, October 20, at 4:00 p.m.

on the Marymount School lawn. The celebration is intended

to be fun, informative, and filling. Instead of our traditional

reception and structured meeting, we have designed this al

fresco event to be more informal and interactive. Yes, we will

still serve nice wines and beverages while local musicians en-

tertain, but instead of a speaker filled agenda we have invited

a number of local organizations and prominent guests to host

information tables on the lawn. This format will allow you to

stroll around and meet with our special guests, gather informa-

tion and discuss issues of interest to you. Invited guests will

include city council and mayoral candidates who will be on the

November ballot and representatives from various community

organizations including: the Santa Barbara Historical Museum,

the Botanic Garden, Concerned Citizens for Safe Passage,

Santa Barbara Fire Department, and MarBorg Industries. Oh,

I almost forgot the “filling” part. Christine Oliver, our hospi-

tality chair, has arranged for a light, but tasty catered buffet

worthy of a centennial celebration. To ensure that we have

ample food and beverages on hand, please RSVP via email or

mail in the enclosed RSVP form—see details on insert.

2014 Membership I would like to thank members for your

continuing support of the association and remind you that it is

time to renew your membership for the coming year. I would

also ask you to encourage any friends and neighbors who are

not yet members to join. The more members we have, the more

effective we can be as a conduit for information, communica-

tion, and action. Please return the enclosed membership form

along with your check in the envelope provided or renew/join

online at www.rivieraassociation.org/join-now and pay by credit

card. And while you’re there, check out our new website and all

the useful Riviera news and information.

I am completing my last term as president in December,

but will remain on the board to facilitate a smooth transition

to my successor. I’ve enjoyed representing Riviera residents over

the past several years and working with a talented and dedi-

cated board of directors. I’d like to thank them for volunteering

their time and energy in support of the association’s mission to

enhance the quality of life here on the Riviera. And speaking

of volunteering, one-third of our board members’ terms expire

annually and I would love to hear from you if you are interest-

ing in serving on the board, or serving on a committee. Just

email me at kent@rivieraassociation.org or call me at 966-5050.

I will also be hosting a Riviera Association information table at

our October 20 gathering along with other board members and

would encourage you to drop by and chat about various ways

you can get involved and share any suggestions you may have

on how our association can be more effective.

Kent Franke, President, Riviera Association

2 Riviera Association

As seen today, what is called the

Franceschi House in Franceschi

Park is the remodeling work of Alden

Freeman, who purchased the house and

15 acres in 1927. While the architectural

effort is without distinction, the exterior

decorative detailing hints at a tale worth

telling. Freeman was the son of the trea-

surer of John D. Rockefeller’s Standard

Oil and as such was not required to be

much else. After graduating from New

York University (BS 1882, MS 1887)

he dabbled successively and briefly in

architecture, banking, and wholesale

coal. In 1889, at the age of 27, he retired

from active business to breed horses and

“work” in New Jersey reform politics.

Alden was awakened to the issue of

free speech. The 40 year old Emma Gold-

man, a nationally known anarchist, was

to present the lecture, “Modern Drama,

The Strongest Disseminator of Radical

Thought” in Freeman’s hometown, East

Orange, New Jersey. When she and host

Freeman arrived, the police blocked

entry to the hall, whereupon Freeman

walked everyone down the street to the

garage and lawn of his East Orange man-

sion for the presentation. By the end of

the month Freeman had organized a free

speech movement public meeting at Coo-

per Union in New York City. The July 1,

1909 New York Times covered the event

with some amusement at the sight of a

“Very Orderly Anarchist” group made up

mostly of “Russian Jews or east siders of

some sort” being addressed by a million-

aire Mayflower descendent.

Having taken up the shield of a first

amendment warrior and borne it for

over seven months, Alden was in need of

some R&R. On February 5, 1910, he em-

barked from San Francisco on the steam-

ship Cleveland of the Hamburg-American

Line. Seven hundred and fifty

mostly American passengers

—with a larder of 19,000

bottles of wine and 6,500

gallons of beer—circumnavi-

gated the globe under the care

of a crew of 450. This is said to

have been the first around the

world charter. A casual view

of the passenger list indicates

it was not for the faint of

pocketbook. James R. Mellon,

the oldest son of the founder

of the Mellon Bank, and a

member of one of America’s

richest families was on board

with his wife.

In Freeman’s absence

Emma Goldman was not

resting. Spain, at the open-

ing of the twenty century,

was strained with anticlerical,

and antimonarchial tensions.

In 1901, the Spanish anarchist

Francisco Ferrer launched a modern

school movement free from state and

church control. The Barcelona school,

Escuela Moderna, was successful and

branches followed with adult education

centers and publishing houses attached.

It was all over by 1906 following the ar-

rest of Ferrer for an alleged plot against

the king. He was jailed for a year and

released. During his imprisonment the

school movement collapsed. Three years

later (1909) a Barcelona workers protest

turned to rebellion. Ferrer was accused

of masterminding the uprising and was

tried, convicted, and executed.

Within a year of Ferrer’s execution

and during Freeman’s cruise, Emma

Goldman and her sometime lover, life-

long friend, and fellow anarchist Alex-

ander Berkman founded the Francisco

Ferrer Association to publish Ferrer’s

works, memorialize his life, and launch

the Modern School Movement in New

York City.

The Ferrer Center and Modern

School opened in early 1911 with an

adult education program. In June 1911 a

banquet fundraiser, sometimes

called the “Anarchist Ball” was held

to support the expansion of the educa-

tional offerings to include a day school.

This would necessitate a move to larger

quarters. A presumably refreshed and still

well funded Alden Freeman was present

and added to his largess. He had been

contributing $50 a month toward the cen-

ter’s rent at its first location on St. Marks

Place in the East Village. Also present at

the ball was the occasional Ferrer Center

lecturer and donor, Prynce Hopkins, a

member of a prominent Santa Barbara

family, heir to the Singer sewing machine

fortune, and a recent Columbia College

graduate student of John Dewey.

By 1912, the center and school were

moved a few blocks north to 104 East

Twelfth Street and on Alden Freeman’s

recommendation, the leadership of the

Modern School, was given to a 27-year-

old college teacher and former Catholic

seminarian, Will Durant. Will’s career in

progressive education and his mother’s

fading hope for a priest in the family

were both ended by a well aimed arrow

Anarchists, Socialists and Millionaires

The Riviera Association News,

Vol. 101—September 2013, is a free

newsletter published semiannually

by: The Riviera Association

P.O. Box 4235

Santa Barbara, CA 93140-4235

Riviera Association 3

from Cupid’s quill. In 1913 he

married a 15 year old student, Ariel, and

they went on to share nearly 68 years of

marital life and an extremely successful

writing career.

During these transitions, fellow

school benefactor Prynce Hopkins had

given up a hypnosis practice in Brooklyn.

Leaving his anarchist, socialist, and paci-

fist friends, but not their philosophies,

he returned to Santa Barbara to launch

his school, “Boyland” on Riviera land his

father bought for the project in 1913.

On July 4, 1914, The Ferrer Center

and Modern School suffered a public

relations disaster when the Lexington

Avenue tenement apartment of the

editor of Emma Goldman’s journal,

Mother Earth, was accidentally destroyed

by a bomb blast. Anarchists with ties to

the Ferrer Center had been assembling

a bomb with the intent of killing John

D. Rockefeller. Two plotters and one in-

nocent room renter were killed.

Apparently, for Alden Freeman,

this was too much dog biting the hand.

He quietly backed away from

anarchists, socialists, and

pacifists and by the national

election of 1928, along with

most of the country, was a

Hoover Man. Alden’s final

“goodbye to all that” appears

in his 1928 decoration of the

Franceschi House. The upper

level exterior walls of the house

display cast plaques of Vladimir

Lenin next to John D. Rock-

efeller with Emma Goldman

nearby. Will Durant is on the

ground floor. No hierarchical

intent is known. Completing

that artistic flourish Alden sold

his Dover Road house, gave

the city all his other Riviera

real estate for park land and

moved to Miami Beach to

pursue other architectural

interests. The next house he

caused to be built in 1930

was Casa Casuarina, known

modernly as “Versace’s House”

which is currently on the market

for $75,000,000.

As the Modern School in New York

was blowing apart, Prynce Hopkins’ Santa

Barbara school, Boyland, was coming

together. It soon outgrew its Tremonto

Road, Riviera location. No problem. In

1915 Prynce now the heir to his father’s

fortune, bought 30 acres overlooking Oak

Park, set the building project in motion

and was off on a nine month trip to the

Far East and Russia. In October of 1917

the school made this mild shift in loca-

tion and a milder shift in philosophy.

Prynce had discovered Montessori. Noth-

ing was to come of either adjustment;

location or philosophy.

As anarchists use bombs, pacifists

use books. In response to the growing

pressure to take the country to war, paci-

fist Prynce Hopkins published two books.

One was something of a cut and paste

job, consisting of antiwar quotes with a

slightly inflammatory title, More Prussian Than Prussia. It was enough. On April 8,

1918, federal agents raided the school and

arrested Hopkins and six others under the

U.S. Espionage Act. Hopkins’ attorneys

negotiated a plea bargain allowing the de-

fendants to escape jail. A fine was levied

on all: Hopkins, $25,000; coconspirators

$10,000 each. The notoriety killed the

school. At the end of WWI, when he

could obtain a passport, Hopkins was

off to a base in London for the between

war years to pursue what would become

his life interests: travel, psychoanalysis,

eastern religions, ethical culture, left-wing

politics, with some fleeting attention

going to a first wife and a second school

effort outside Paris. This school operated

from 1926 to 1935. At this point his life

begins to read like a travel itinerary and a

check book register. The onset of WWII

drove him and his second wife (his first

wife having tired of it all in 1929) and

children back to Southern California and

finally in his later, wifeless years to where

it all began, 1900 Garden Street, Santa

Barbara, California.

Now, patient reader, to the last ele-

ment in this reflection on six degrees of

separation. Back in 1910 we had Alden

Freeman sailing around the world on the

Cleveland with wine, wealth, and enter-

tainment. What we know of this voyage is

due to the literary efforts of three cruise

members which resulted in two books:

40,000 Miles Around the World by George

Tome Bush and Around the World on the Cleveland by William G. Friezell and Rev.

George H. Greenfield. Rev. Greenfield,

a former Methodist, was the Presbyterian

minister in Elko, Nevada sailing with his

wife, mother-in-law Margaret Gale Ferris

(this should start the wheels turning)

Dangberg, and Margaret’s granddaughter,

Grace Melissa Dangberg.

Three years after the cruise, in 1913,

author Rev. Greenfield, now the Con-

gregational Minister in Santa Barbara,

would build one of the first houses on

the Riviera at 1538 Alameda Padre Serra.

Fourteen years later his fellow Cleveland

passenger, Alden Freeman would briefly

join the neighborhood with his purchase

of the Franceschi property and a house

on Dover Road. As Rev. Greenfield surely

said somewhere on his trek through Prot-

estantism, “Thus endeth the lesson.”

Franceschi House

1913“Rolled round in earth’s diurnal course with rocks, and stones and trees.”

In Santa Barbara: George Batchelder

hired a team of surveyors and set his

Riviera development into motion; Charles

Hopkins bought his son Prynce 14 acres

of land on Tremonto Road to establish a

boy’s school; and the Franciscan’s erected

a wooden cross on the front lawn of the

mission. Meanwhile New York City and

Paris were otherwise occupied.

In the building arts, New Yorkers

saw the opening of Grand Central

Terminal.

In pictorial arts, a $5,000 rental

agreement was signed for the use of the

69th Regiment Armory on Lexington

Avenue, for one month beginning mid

February, 1913. The Armory would house

the International Exhibition of Modern

Art, later to become known simply as The

Armory Show. It attracted 87,000 visitors

before moving on to disturb midwestern-

ers and give the Chicago Art Institute

bragging rights as the first museum to

hang an exhibition of modern art. The

show ended at Boston’s Copley Society

of Art sans the American component

because of limited display space.

Two-thirds of the 1,600 works were by

Americans but it was the remaining works

of “European extremists,” so characterized

in a review by retired President Theodore

Roosevelt, that drew the eye of his-

tory. All the staples of modern art

were present: Picasso, Matisse (Blue Nude—viewed by Roosevelt as a

“misshapen nude woman”), Seurat,

Van Gogh, Gauguin, and Duch-

amp (Nude Descending a Staircase #2) described by another reviewer

as resembling “an explosion in a

shingle factory.” This review did

not prevent the painting’s sale at a

price that pleased the 26 year-old

Duchamp—$324.

In Paris on May 29,1913

Igor Stravinsky debuted his ballet,

The Rite of Spring. Within a few

minutes of the opening notes,

boos, and catcalls rose from the

audience followed by acrimoni-

ous arguments between support-

ers of the avant-garde and those

affronted. The discord grew so

loud that the dancers could not

hear the orchestra and the cho-

reographer, Vaslav Nijinsky, was

forced to shout directions from

the wings. Legend reports that the event

turned from scuffle to riot calling for

police intervention. Calmer histories cite

a vegetable bombardment and 40 patrons

being evicted but no gendarmes. The

show did go on. A leading Paris art critic

judged the work “puerile barbarity.”

The premiere of the United States

Federal Income Tax as provided by an

Act of Congress March 1, 1913 seemed to

have generated less acrimony.

The commotion and reviews did not

impede Stravinsky’s rise to international

prominence

and the

passing of

100 years has

done noth-

ing to an-

tiquate the

music. The

original set

design and

costumes

have not

aged as well

judging from

a YouTube

sample of

the Joffrey Ballet’s 1989 historic restaging,

vaguely reminding the American viewer of

a tribe of Pocahontases meeting the Cos-

sacks. To combat this visual weathering,

one contemporary presentation elimi-

nated a ballerinas’ clothing entirely. Do

not expect this productions to come to a

theater near you soon.Picasso

Matisse

Duchamp

Please join us for a fun and informative celebration of our neighborhood’s first 100 years. Enjoy good wine,

festive music, and a delicious light buffet on the Marymount lawn while visiting with the special guests we’ve invited to host information tables on topics of interest to us all.

• Meet one-on-one with city council and mayoral candidates just two weeks prior to the November election and learn where they stand on issues of importance to you

• Learn more about the Riviera’s first 100 years from the Santa Barbara Historical Museum’s resident expert,

Michael Redmon, and find out how to reserve a copy of the Museum’s upcoming “Riviera Edition” of Noticias.

• Discover what traffic & safety improvements the Concerned Citizens for Safe Passage are seeking along the corridor running from Mission Park at Laguna Street to the Natural History Museum, including the bottleneck at the APS & Los Olivos intersection.

• Ask Amber Anderson of the SBFD how to properly pre-

pare for wildfires and get her help developing a defensible space plan to protect your home.

• Talk to an expert from the Botanic Garden about creating and maintaining habitat gardens with beautiful native plants that attract birds and beneficial insects.

• Get answers to all your recycling questions from MarBorg …you’re not the only one confused by the “Yes” and “No” pictures on the trash can lids.

• Visit with Riviera Association board members and share your ideas on how our association can be more effective and learn how you can get involved.

Please RSVP by Thursday, October 10, to ensure that we have ample food and beverages for everyone. Either enclose the clip-off RSVP below along with your 2014 membership form and dues in the reply envelope enclosed, OR email your RSVP to john@rivieraassociation.org and include the information requested on the form. Your paid membership is your admission ticket.

Riviera Centennial “Gathering on the Green”

Sunday, October 20 • 4:00 p.m.

Marymount School, 2130 Mission Ridge

Association Membership – Renew or Join Now

Now is the time for current members to renew their member-ship for 2014. If you’re not yet a member, please join us and begin enjoying the many benefits your association has to offer for just $30 per household per year. You’ll receive invitations to our spring and fall member events where you can greet your neighbors while enjoying wine and hors d’oeuvres and learn about issues of importance from community leaders and infor-

mative guests. You will also receive spring and fall newsletters that will keep you informed throughout the year and email alerts to notify you of important safety concerns and time sensitive announcements. The association serves as a conduit for information, communication, and action and the more households that join, the more effective it can be and the safer and more desirable your neighborhood becomes.

Please send your 2014 dues and the enclosed membership form in the envelope provided.

You can also join or renew online with a credit card at www.rivieraassociation.org/join-now.

Riviera Centennial “Gathering on the Green” Reservation Form

Please RSVP by Thursday, October 10.

Name(s )

Riviera address

Email Phone

Number of members attending

Send this form with your 2014 membership registration card and dues in the envelope provided.

�

Riviera Association Board of Directors

President Kent Franke 966-5050

Vice President

Greg Parker 965-7613

Secretary Fal Oliver 680-6526

Treasurer Bob Fulmer 404-9868

Term Expires 2013

John Bedford 845-1690

Christine Oliver 680-6524

Greg Parker 965-7613

Term Expires 2014

Chuck Croninger 546-1117

Steve Newman 730-1230

Fal Oliver 680-6526

Addison Thompson 962-6052

Steve Wells 637-0667

Term Expires 2015 Denny Bacon 966-3695

Shelley Bookspan 689-2417

Stephanie Decker 965-3822

Kent Franke 966-5050

Bob Fulmer 404-9868

The Riviera Association • P.O. Box 4235 • Santa Barbara, CA 93140-4235

In the Neighborhood

El Encanto Employee Parking Enforcement

Many residents of the Riviera have commented about the nega-tive impacts of the on-street parking of the recently reopened El Encanto hotel. The hotel is not in compliance with a condition of approval that requires all of its employees to park on site. The Riviera Association sent a letter to the city requesting that it take formal action to enforce this condition and has met with the city to express its concerns. The city has now commenced an active enforcement action. Since El Encanto has not been able to comply with the condition, it is seeking to implement alternatives that do not involve its employees parking on neighborhood streets regu-larly. The proposed resolution will be presented to the Planning Commission once it is deemed satisfactory to the city, and oppor-tunities for public comment will be provided. Please contact us at steven@rivieraassociation.org if any of you have any comments or thoughts regarding the El Encanto employee parking situation.

Santa Barbara Fire Season is Year Round—

New Wildland Firefighter

The potential for wildfires this year has been much higher than usual following one of the driest winters on record. Santa Bar-bara no longer goes “in” and “out” of fire season. Rather, it now faces a year round fire threat. Riviera residents live in a “high fire” hazard zone and it our responsibility to help ourselves, our neighbors, and local firefighters reduce the risk of property loss and injury through proper planning and preparation. Go to www.rivieraassociation.org/local-link and link to these helpful websites:“Ready, Set, Go!,” “Aware & Prepare,” and “Ready For

Wildfire” to prepare yourself, your family, and your home. Speaking of preparedness, the Santa Barbara Fire Depart-ment has recently obtained a new type of fire engine specifi-cally designed to combat wildland fires and it is equipped with four-wheel drive for off-road use. And good news, Engine 307 will make its home at the Riviera’s own Station 7.

Riviera Association Website—

New Look, New Features

We recently launched a vibrant new website at www.rivier-aassociation.org. It includes many new features to keep you informed on neighborhood issues and activities including enhanced photo capabilities, a reader-friendly digital newslet-ter, upcoming events calendar, keyword search, helpful local links and more. We encourage you to check it out for the latest neighborhood news.