The City of Santa Barbara recently designated three buildings as city landmarks.
The City Council recognized the the Arnoldi’s Café building at 600 Olive St., the Kem Weber-designed building at 1301-1303A State St., and the the Ygnacio House at 214 E. De la Guerra St.
Sitting on the corner of Olive and Cota streets, the Arnoldi’s building was built in 1940 by Giuseppe “Joe” Arnoldi, an Italian stonemason who arrived in Santa Barbara in 1921 from Lake Como, Italy.
He owned the Italian restaurant, which also has a bocce court in the back courtyard, until he retired in 1969. In 1953, the iconic restaurant sign and accompanying 7Up signs were installed.
The city recognized the building because it is a “rare example” of a complete sandstone structure and is a reminder of the Italian culture in Santa Barbara.
Arnoldi’s at one time was surrounded by working-class families, mostly first- and second-generation Italian families.
“It was an enclave of working-class neighborhoods,” urban planner Nicole Hernandez said. “Arnoldi’s has remained as a testament to this once Italian neighborhood and represents the importance of the Italian influence on the culture of Santa Barbara.”
The Kem Weber building houses the Christian Science Reading Room and features a curved exterior at the corner of State and Victoria streets. The building was designed in 1951 by Weber, an internationally renowned industrial and interior designer, one of the few Modernists to successfully practice in Santa Barbara.
“This is a significant building to our heritage,” Hernandez said.
The building stands out because it was created before the city’s El Pueblo Viejo Historic District.
Hernandez said it represents a “post-war example of the Streamline Moderne style in Santa Barbara with character-defining features.”
The building features aluminum-framed windows and doors, a curvilinear façade, a canopy, brushed concrete walls and neon signage.
“This building has become an icon of State Street,” Hernandez said.
The city also designated the Ygnacio House, which from 1908 to 1922 was the home of Luisa Ygnacio, a Barbareño Chumash and the last speaker of the Barbareño Chumash language.
The house sits on East De la Guerra street in El Pueblo Viejo Landmark District.
— Noozhawk staff writer Joshua Molina can be reached at jmolina@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
