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WN - Mark Appleton Library CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: While it is not open to the public, researchers can make special arrangements to get access to the library; the diminutive adobe façade; the collection of old and rare volumes include books on Spanish architecture; Marc Appleton peruses one of the 3,000 books on the shelves of his architecture firm’s library; the imposing safe is a relic from when the property was the headquarters for the Hollister Ranch.
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PHOTOGRAPHS: SARA PRINCE.
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hen Appleton Partners relocated its architectural offices to the 900 block of Chapala Street a couple of years ago, it embraced a chapter of Santa Barbara history: The two adobe buildings there had been administrative headquarters for Hollister Ranch, and one still contained an impressive vintage safe. The smaller structure—just 14 feet wide—has now been transformed into a library for the 3,000 carefully curated architecture, design, and landscape books collected by firm founder Marc Appleton, including rare and out-of-print works and volumes on Spanish Colonial style. “The books still need cataloguing,” says Appleton, “but eventually we want to turn it into a working library accessible to the public and the design community.” AP P L ETO N -A RCHITECTS .COM . J.T.