October 27, 2005 - Ed Brings His Game

Rooftop basketball courts are among those images of inner city life that immediately evoke emotion. They are nostalgic and gritty. It’s the gangster image without the gang. Downtown Santa Barbara has its own rooftop basketball court. It sits on top of the Carrillo Street Gym, next to the Carrillo Rec Center. And yesterday’s Wednesday Where Is It (WWII) picture was a shot of the court looking up from the street.

Yesterday, the dedicated staff of edhat.com went to find out more information about the court and the gym. Once again, we found that if something looks interesting, it usually is. Jason Bryan of the City of SB Parks and Recreation Department gave us a tour of the facilities. Not only is Jason the enthusiastic and dedicated steward of the gym, but he is also an Edhat subscriber.

The Recreation Center was built of brick and wood in 1914. The gym was built in 1918, but of some less sturdy material (like sticks or straw). After the 1925 earthquake, only the Recreation Center was left standing. The gym had to be rebuilt. Julia Morgan, who is considered by some to be the greatest female architect ever, was chosen for the job. She was the architect for Hearst Castle and many other famous buildings in California. At the same time she designed the gym, she also designed the Lobero office building next door. It was originally a hotel for women.

The Carrillo Street Gym and the Lobero Building don’t often show up on lists of Julia Morgan’s work.

Mr. Bryan pointed out that the gym was not designed to match the Recreation Center. He attributed this fact not as a failing of Julia Morgan, but instead as a result of tougher earthquake safety standards, and the City’s move toward Spanish revival architecture. Features of the gym, which are recognizable as Julia Morgan’s style, include exposed support beams and a portal window.

The gym’s main feature is the indoor basketball court, with its wood floors and walls of square windows with reinforced glass. There is no out-of-bounds area in the court. Instead there is just a padded wall. The court looks like something you would see in an old movie. It’s where the young basketball star practices day and night to make it back to the big leagues. The gym also has two weight rooms, one with handicapped access.

It turns out that the rooftop basketball court is currently out-of-service because it does not comply with fire regulations. It lacks an outside staircase for emergency escape purposes. There are hopes of some day bringing it up to code.

The gym is used for dance classes, Police Athletic League (PAL), and self-defense classes, but the biggest attraction is noontime pickup basketball. Just bring your game, and put your name on the chalkboard. The gym can also be rented for around $40/hour.

Thanks again to Jason Bryan for giving us such a nice tour of the facilities. Unfortunately, Ed was using the camera yesterday to take pictures of the inside of his car, so we didn’t have it available at the Gym. There are plenty of great artistic photo opportunities at the gym. We hope to get back there soon to update the pictures on this page.

Edhat subscribers were up for the task yesterday. Ten people were able to identify the gym from that little tiny picture. The gym-savvy ten are Diamonddzell, Gunther, Goodstix, Sage, Lizzo, Dixie, Emkae, Barksquire, Taylor, Panda. The Edhat dog, who has now broken more ties than Ed has ever worn in his life, was called on once again. We sat her on one side of the office and threw her biscuit fragments from the other. Contestants were eliminated in spelling bee fashion whenever she failed to make the catch. Goodstix was the winner of the Edhat t-shirt. He can wear it to the gym.

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