Way Back When: Nowhere to Park It

A Curtis biplane from World War I (Image: Wikimedia)

By Betsy J. Green

Airplanes were swooping in the skies over Santa Barbara, but we didn’t have an airport yet. Some planes landed at the former boys’ school on the Riviera where the Samarkand Retirement Center is now. Others landed at the “Bonnymede” estate in Montecito.

The city leaders were ready to put out the welcome mat. “It is suggested that a permanent committee be named to promote in every way possible, interest in the flying machine … to attract fliers to the city and provide them with landing places.”

Betsy’s Way Back When book — 1918 — is now available in local bookstores and at Amazon.com. This is the fifth book in my series of the history of Santa Barbara, one year at a time.

Learn more about me at my website: betsyjgreen.com