David S. Bisol, executive director of the Santa Barbara Historical Museum, died Saturday of injuries suffered in a recent accident. He was 60.
Marlene Miller, president of the museum’s board of directors, announced Bisol’s death in a statement posted on the organization’s website.
“This morning we are devastated by the loss of our beloved leader and visionary, David,” Miller wrote. “He was an inspiration to so many in our community, and for me — a true, dear friend. Our thoughts and prayers are with David’s devoted family today.”
The museum at 136 E. De la Guerra St. will be closed for the remainder of the weekend to allow staff to mourn the loss, Miller said.
Bisol was considered by many to be a visionary, and his leadership of the museum was widely recognized.
Those who knew Bisol were being encouraged to express their sentiments to his family through CaringBridge or the museum’s Facebook page.
In the wake of Bisol’s accident, the details of which were not disclosed, Douglas Diller was named acting executive director of the museum.
Bisol, who grew up in Goleta, was intertwined with Santa Barbara history and its historical museum. The grandson of a Cota, one of the community’s founding families, he majored in history at UCSB, joined the museum as a junior historian, served as its curator for 17 years and, in 2007, was appointed executive director.
In a 2010 Locals Only interview with Noozhawk’s Jenn Kennedy, Bisol described his vision for modernizing the traditional impressions of a historical museum to better demonstrate the soul of the city.
“I don’t want us to be a repository for old objects,” he said. “Instead, we offer perspective on Santa Barbara’s history.”
The museum houses a collection of more than 80,000 irreplaceable objects and artifacts of significance relating to Santa Barbara’s past. Constructed in 1965 by the Santa Barbara Historical Society, the museum has been the primary repository of Santa Barbara’s collective cultural heritage and ethnic diversity for more than three decades.
The museum’s Gledhill Library contains rare literary and visual documents, including 70,000 historic photographs. Two early 19th-century buildings, the 1817 Casa Covarrubias and the 1836 Historic Adobe, are adjacent to the museum. The Fernald Mansion, a 14-room Queen Anne Victorian located at 414 W. Montecito Street, is currently closed for renovation.
Check back Monday for a full obituary and details about services. Click here to read Jenn Kennedy’s full interview with David Bisol.
— Noozhawk executive editor Tom Bolton can be reached at tbolton@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.