It’s a building rich with memories, and after an extensive renovation, the Carrillo Recreation Center promises to be the home of many more to come.
After nearly two years of construction, Santa Barbara city leaders and community members met Thursday to tour the new facility. The center at 100 E. Carrillo St. was built in 1914, and was in need of seismic upgrades and updates to make the building compatible with Americans with Disabilities Act access requirements.
Since the renovation, the building now has an elevator as well as two wheelchair lifts to improve access. It also features three dance studios, instead of two as before, and its patios, restrooms, ballroom and offices have been restored and renovated.
A dozen or so photo boards were on display Thursday with pictures of the entire construction process. The renovations also open up more rental possibilities for the space, a revenue generator for the city, according to Kathleen Sullivan, marketing coordinator for the Santa Barbara Parks & Recreation Commission. The ballroom can hold more than 500 people and now has an alcohol permit, so events such as wedding receptions may be ideal for the space.
Lesley Wiscomb, chairwoman of the city’s Parks and Recreation Commission, ran through the building’s interesting history on Thursday. The Pearl Chase Society raised the funds needed to save the building from foreclosure, she said, and the building even withstood the 1925 earthquake and served as an evacuation center. The building held everything from food and supplies, a banking center and even a small jail holding cell that was established after the jail building collapsed in the quake.
The facility became legendary for its dances in the evenings, and “many local senior couples experienced their first sparks of romance here,” Wiscomb said.
The building gets more than 100,000 visitors a year.
“It’s well loved, well used and was sorely in need of restoration,” said Nancy Rapp, director of the city’s Parks & Recreation Department. The changes, such as the new elevator, will make the center more accessible to the disabled as well as seniors, according to Rapp.
“That’s really good to encourage all uses of the building,” she said.
Planning on the project began nearly a decade ago. Some of the planners who started out on the project are no longer with the city, and one has since died.
“John Schoof was intensely passionate about this project,” Rapp said. Schoof, who was active in the project as a public works engineer, died in 2009.
Rapp thanked dozens of people involved in bringing the project to fruition. The $5.2 million project was funded entirely by Redevelopment Agency funds.
City Councilman Grant House was also present Thursday, and said he has enjoyed many a dance class at the center.
“This is our play house,” he told the audience.
Two of the three dance studios were already occupied with students using the new spaces during Thursday’s tour of the facility. The third dance studio yielded a sweeping view of downtown for guests.
To get a closer look at the new changes, the public is invited to attend an open house week from Sept. 12-17, during which free classes will be offered to the public. Click here to view the entire list of free classes.
— Noozhawk staff writer Lara Cooper can be reached at lcooper@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
