Local History

Over 100 years ago a long article in the local paper described what it called "the artistic studio of the American Film Manufacturing Company," and how all eyes were focused on it.

The Flying A studio had arrived here in July 1912, and by the end of that year, they purchased some land on the first block of Mission Street, west of State Street.

The first "Flying A" movie studio in Santa Barbara was at the corner of State and Islay Streets, but it's long gone.

Many SB folks know about the “Flying A” building on the corner of Mission and Chapala, but this is something else. 

On April 20, 1919, the adventure serial “The Tiger’s Trail” was released. Some episodes were filmed on Santa Cruz Island.

Santa Barbara’s very own movie company was featured in a 1915 magazine titled "In Motion Picture Land," which called it one of the most attractive studios in California.

Neal Graffy shares a historical reenactment video of Santa Barbara's el canon perdido, the lost canon, on April 5

Daniel Hill was one of the biggest American influences on Santa Barbara and Goleta. He was an industrious craftsman that, among other things, changed the way houses were built in this sleepy little pueblo.

In 1916 a film titled "The Dumb Girl of Portici" filmed some scenes at an estate in Montecito.

Some Santa Barbara folks appeared in silent movies produced by the “Flying A” film studio, but here’s a hometown actress who appeared in some 200 films.

Even movie stars over 100 years ago drove a spiffy set of wheels.

One hundred years ago, movie studios had neither budget nor equipment for special effects, so they leapt into action to film disasters such as shipwrecks and use them in a film.

Does anyone know the history of this structure on lower De La Vina Street?

Tom debunks a local myth regarding the attack on Ellwood by a Japanese submarine in 1942.

In the 1900's there were a couple of walking and hiking groups in Santa Barbara.

Seventy-nine years ago today, the Ellwood Oil Field in Goleta was fired on by a Japanese submarine during World War II.

Charlie Chaplin first appeared on movie screens in Santa Barbara back in 1914, and by March of 1916, his famous duck-footed walk was seen both on the screen and on the dance floors in Santa Barbara!

The last large open space in Goleta, the parcel now known as Bishop Ranch has been the object of man's desire throughout Goleta's history. And it still is today!

This expression generally refers to an actor behaving melodramatically, but in this case, the scenery was actually chewed — by a goat!

During the month of February, Santa Barbara Public Library will be exploring a painful period in American history with a series of events for the Day of Remembrance. 

Lots of movies have been filmed in and around Santa Barbara. But did you ever wonder what was the first movie ever filmed in Santa Barbara?

Tom details the history of the San Marcos Dairy in Goleta from the 1930s.

In 1918, Edward Wales, a one-time actor at the “Flying A,” was now a volunteer in the U.S. Armed Forces during World War I. 

Back when movie makers did not have the budgets to stage their own natural disasters, they took advantage of real-life disaster scenes, such as the devastating fire in Ojai, California in 1917.

Neal Graffy details the history of the Potter Hotel when it broke ground 119 years ago.

The silent movies with their one-sentence subtitles (intertitles) were having a bad in­fluence on written communication, ac­cording to an opinion piece in the local paper penned by Santa Barbara writer Sarah Redington in January 1917.

An edhat reader shares a historical photo of the Bank of America that was burned down in Isla Vista in 1970.

Sansum Clinic, one of the oldest non-profit outpatient clinics in California, announced the start of its 100th year.

In January 1916, the Santa Barbara Post Office building (now the Santa Barbara Museum of Art) was used for a scene in “Peanuts and Powder."

In January of 1916, the Flying A Studio hosted their first goodwill dance for the community of Santa Barbara.