As Santa Barbara seeks to demolish the deteriorating Franceschi House and replace it with an interpretive garden terrace at the city park, the Historic Landmarks Commissioners said they like where the project is heading. 

Commissioners said they accepted that it’s time for the house to come down and embrace a design that highlights the view from the park. They did voice concerns about providing picnic tables and restrooms, preserving the house’s medallions, and adding educational signage.

“We recognize that the building is not salvageable but that the park can be improved and the history can be told and this can be a great opportunity to make a better experience for the public,” said commission Chair Anthony Grumbine. 

The Santa Barbara Parks and Recreation Department shared their conceptual design plans for the 1510 Franceschi Road park with the commission on Tuesday. 

While designs aren’t finalized, city staff propose parking and accessibility improvements, removing picnic tables, replacing the circular plaza west of the house, improving the view perch, and adding signage and landscaping.  

The project would also remove seven trees to be replaced by 17 new trees, which has already been approved by the Santa Barbara Parks and Recreation Commission. 

During public comment, Cheri Rae said as a member of the Pearl Chase Society, she’s disappointed that the house is being demolished and worried about preserving historic interior features such as floral stained glass windows, light fixtures, a fireplace and mantel, and woodwork. 

“These historically valuable items, if they cannot be reused on the site for reimagining then please have a plan developed to make them available for offsite use elsewhere,” Rae said. 

Project planner Holly Garcin said they will be looking at historical interior and external elements during the environmental impact review process, which will be the next step of the project. 

Debate Over Picnic Tables

Some public commenters also expressed disappointment that the picnic tables were set for removal. Garcin said the tables aren’t a required amenity for an overlook space, which is what the city wants to turn the park into. 

“We really do want to emphasize the new design and the terrace area where there are opportunities for the benches and the steps as well as the minimal improvements to the view perch, there’s seating there,” Garcin said. “It’s not a required amenity so we want to focus the efforts on the new design.”

Park and Recreation Director Jill Zachary explained that the existing picnic tables are where they need to put the accessible pathway, but they will consider public input on the issue.

Commissioner Keith Butler encouraged city staff to not just view the park as just a viewpoint, arguing people will want utilities like picnic tables that allow them to spend more time at the park. 

“Yes, the views are spectacular and people are going to want to go up there with a bottle of wine in the evening and some food,” Butler said. “I believe it’s going to be a highly utilitarian resource, much more for use in multiple ways.”

Preserving Medallions

Commissioners and the public were also concerned about preserving the 85 medallions on the site that commemorate Francesco Franceschi and various historical events.

Kevin Dumain, the architect working on the project, told the commission that the current design doesn’t have enough space for all 85 medallions but they do have plans to add plaques educating the public about Francesco Franceschi, Alden Freeman and the plants around the property. 

The city hasn’t yet decided which medallions will be featured or what will happen to the remaining medallions. 

Commissioner Dennis Doordan said he’s supportive of the direction the project is heading in but he encouraged city staff to preserve the medallions.

“They are a crucial feature of the history of the house and they are quite eccentric as a collection and as the way they were displayed around the house,” Doordan said. “Historians have a tendency to clean up history when they get around to writing the story, I would encourage you to keep the eccentricity of that.”

The house was once the home to Francesco Franceschi and his wife, Cristina, who purchased the property in 1903, along with the surrounding 40 acres. Franceschi, a botanist, built the house in 1905.

In 1927 the couple sold the home to Alden Freeman, who later donated the property to the city. Freeman, a social reformer and philanthropist millionaire from New Jersey, remodeled the house into a Mediterranean style, adding dozens of medallions to the house. 

Over the years the house has been neglected and fallen into disrepair, with differing opinions over its future. After years of trying to restore the house, the city, and many of the people who fought to preserve it, agreed in 2018 to demolish it.

It will still be quite some time before Franceschi House is torn down as the city still needs to start a multi-year environmental review process for its park plans.