Subscriber Comments for
Beautiful Little Brinkerhoff

Comments in order of when they were received | (reverse order)

SBJULES	2011-12-10 09:59 AM
A most charming street!
STACE	2011-12-10 10:31 AM
Urban Hiker here - On a re-read, we fear we may have incorrectly attributed the beautiful home at 124 W. Cota to Dr. Brinkerhoff. Gosh it sounded like such a good story...but in our efforts to confirm the date the home was built, and its original owner(s), we have been unable to substantiate what we first believed to be true. We'd love to know the facts if anyone knows them.
COMMENT 239885	2011-12-10 05:50 PM
i'm curious about those wonderful palm trees. there are various streets around s.b. (cabrillo, quinientos to name two) that have those tall lanky palms. were they once the street tree du jour, planted approximately at the same time around town? is there a story behind them? (or at least up amongst the fronds?)
COMMENT 239898P	2011-12-10 08:14 PM
Thanks for the most pleasing story about our town.
COMMENT 239899P	2011-12-10 08:31 PM
I don't know about the Brinkerhoff palm trees specifically, but I've done some research on the history of street trees and I know palms were a quintessential Victorian decorative plant and Californians were quite proud of the fact that they could grow them here outside. (Back east they appeared as potted plants in hallways and parlors.) They were planted a lot from the 1880s through the 1920s, in front yards, in parks, and as street trees.
ARCHIE	2011-12-11 09:09 AM
Wonderful history and photographs! Thanks so much -
COMMENT 239960P	2011-12-11 09:22 AM
Simply charming. Gosh I love this town!
COMMENT 239963	2011-12-11 09:37 AM
I had forgotten about the Redwood Inn. Excellent place to eat. Too bad the wonderful white tablecloth type restaurants have gone by the wayside. Bring back The Talk of the Town, The Sommerset. The Green Gables. Carl's Steakhouse,The Bistro, Casa de Seville and so many more...
COMMENT 239991	2011-12-11 11:02 AM
Absolutely Beautiful! Thank you so much! Having grown up in Santa Barbara and now living in Arizona, this brings back so many wonderful memories! Thanks again!...Kate
COMMENT 240063P	2011-12-11 03:39 PM
The historic name of the home at 124 West Cota Street is the Pierce House. It was built circa 1896 by Charles Pierce, a city councilman and the city's first lumber dealer. Pierce died soon after, and the house was sold in 1902 to the Abraham family. The Abraham family lived in the home for 25 years and also planted the redwood tree. This information was received from the Santa Barbara Historical Society. The house has had many lives over the years, but has been a residence since 1997. (We are the current owners).
SB FAN	2011-12-11 06:52 PM
I've been told that Dr. Brinkerhoff did not live on Brinkerhoff or near it. That subdivision was one of his investments. He built a very large and elegant Victorian style home on Garden Street near Los Olivos. It was designed to include his medical office, a waiting room (a sitting room for the family out of office hours) and a private exit door for patients. (The home is still there and beautifully maintained.) This was another delightful article and photos from the Urban Hikers. Thank you! I still think that a book should come out of your posts.
COMMENT 241328P	2011-12-15 04:24 PM
This is great, this is the house 124 W, Cota St. I lived in with my Mom, brother and sister, while going to high school. My mother Bessie Ryder/Hawkins and Jim Smock (partners) bought the house in about 1956 to make it into a restaurant. Jimmy Smock Jr. (his dad has now passed away), lives in the house and has taken very good care of it. My Mom and Jim worked for seven years building the Redwood Restaurant, Mom wanted to call it Diamond Jim's because he was such a perfectionist. We cut down a lot of Palm trees in the yard to make room for parking. Every square inch of the house was restored, and only modified where necessary for the restaurant. Just a note: all of the studs and lumber to construct the house are redwood. The redwood tree, is what established the name for the restaurant. The house was a Sorority House before they brought it and was in bad repair. Jim Sr. married another lady and she changed it to a German restaurant and then an antique shop. Bradbury Street, which is only one block long on the side of the house, I think it was named after the contractor that built the house. Skip Nirenberg PS. I will show this to my Mom, and she may have some more input. She was born in Santa Barbara, worked in every restaurant in town and her dad did a lot of the cement work around town.

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