Santa Barbara City Councilman Eric Friedman sometimes like to drop quotes during council meetings.
The mood struck him again on Tuesday.
“The only thing you absolutely need to know is the location of the library,” Friedman said, quoting Albert Einstein. “When this project is done, everyone will know and love the location of our library. It’s just going to be phenomenal and part of the cultural hub when it is completed.”
The City Council on Tuesday voted 7-0 to approve a naming opportunity system for the Library Plaza, which has been closed for several years. Most recently it was used as a staging area for the Santa Barbara Museum of Art renovation.
Eventually, the plaza will become a hub for events and activities. It is near museums, theaters and concert venues, and officials envision the 10,000-square-foot space becoming the center of the cultural arts district.
The council approved 16 naming opportunities for the plaza, with the marquee opportunity already selected. The Library Plaza will be renamed the Michael Towbes Library Plaza after developer and philanthropist Michael Towbes, in recognition of his years of philanthropy to support Santa Barbara’s art scene. Towbes died in 2017.
The Library Foundation teamed up with a core group of library supporters to raise $2 million in honor of Towbes. His name will be placed on a planter along Anapamu Street near the main entry to the Library Plaza and on the donor wall.
“This is our opportunity to recognize him and his legacy of community-building for all the citizens of Santa Barbara,” said Janet Garufis, chairman and CEO of Montecito Bank & Trust.
The plaza renovation is estimated to cost about $5 million. Foundation officials already have raised about $3.7 million — without having launched an official public campaign yet.
Other naming opportunities are available for the Library Entrance Promenade, the Conversation Corner, the Community Arts Square and several other locations. Areas that have already been taken, in addition to the Michael Towbes Library Plaza, are the “Storytime Square,” the “Woodward Grove” and the four Memorial Olive Trees.
Talk of the renovation dates back about 15 years.
“The library, where all are welcome, empowers the most vulnerable community members,” said Lauren Trujillo, director of the Library Foundation. “The new Library Plaza will unify our cultural arts district and do what the library does best — bring our community together.”
City Councilwoman Kristen Sneddon, who grew up in Santa Barbara, showered the library officials with praise and spoke of her own experience and fond memories at the library.
“I never bought a book when I was young,” the Santa Barbara City College geology professor said. “I was always at the library. I spent every single day after school at the library until dark, doing my homework.”
As an adult, she tutored there, and also brought her children.
“I am so thrilled that it is a naming opportunity for Michael Towbes and everything he has done for the community,” Sneddon said. “I just can’t wait until it is open.”
Library Director Jessica Cadiente said she expects the library to raise the rest of the money in 2021 and then start work on the plaza.
“2022, this plaza, hopefully will be under construction,” Cadiente said.
Santa Barbara to Create African-American/Black Historic Context Statement
Santa Barbara plans to apply for a $40,000 grant from the California Office of Historic Preservation to prepare an African-American/Black Historic Context Statement.
“A context statement is a comprehensive historic background of a community,” said Nicole Hernandez, the city’s urban historian.
The statement also will identify historic buildings that may be eligible for historic designation, as well as historic contributions.
If the city is awarded the grant, it will hire a consultant and partner with Healing Justice Santa Barbara and community members to organize public workshops and gather local and oral history. The context statement must be completed by Sept. 30, 2022.
“I have been involved with trying to tell the story of the African-American/Black community in Santa Barbara for a number of years now,” said Sojourner Rolle, who spoke during public comment. “I can tell you that over the years there has been community interest in this.”
Councilwoman Meagan Harmon acknowleged the work of Healing Justice Santa Barbara “to get us to this point.”
“I will be very proud to vote in support of this today,” Harmon said. “I do hope that this leads to a tangible conversation in connection with the Black/African-American Community Center. This is an important step on that path.”
— 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.