Remembering The Road by Steven Gilbar Mr. Gilbar is Sherrill Broudy’s nephew, practiced law in Santa Barbara for many years while anthologizing and writing books (20+) (see Amazon), founded Speaking Of Stories, and for the last 10 years have been painting and exhibiting around town. He continues to live in Montecito and walks down Coast Village Road daily.
The Architect of Coast Village Road
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Sherrill Broudy at his “office” on Old Coast Highway and Hot Springs Road
oast Village Road as it exists today did not just grow, like Topsy, but sprung from the vision of one man, Sherrill Broudy (1922-2015), who moved to Santa Barbara in 1956. He was 34 years old when he arrived, a World War II Navy veteran, UCLA alumnus, designer/architect, and founder of ERA Industries in Los Angeles. With his former college roommate, Eli Luria (1919-2006), he bought three properties, including a large, old house on an apartment-zoned lot on Cliff Drive, across from City College. Broudy lived in a room in the back of the house with the bathroom in a small building nearby, and worked out of an office he rented in Montecito’s upper village, above the post office. It was at that time that he saw the development opportunities offered in Montecito and decided to go all in. His first project there was to design and build the nine-unit Old Coast Apartments on Old Coast Highway (behind the present Starbucks). In 1958, he sold it and bought the corner lot on Old Coast Highway and Hot Springs Road. The lot housed the remains of an old motel, a plant nursery, and a run-down cottage. Broudy moved into the cottage and used one of the motel rooms for an office, which perfectly suited his Spartan lifestyle.
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A Coast Village Master Plan
Broudy saw that in order for the Montecito strip to flourish, its character had to be changed. Instead of the mélange of motor courts and “eateries,” it needed upscale retail operations and businesses and an architectural redo into a more “villagey” and gentrified look. He believed he was the one to lead the charge. In April 1960, he enlisted some of the landowners on the strip to form the old Coast Village Association, with himself as president. He was asked to begin preliminary work on a master plan of the area as a guide to its growth and development and to “study how to relate this area’s property to the entire Santa Barbara-Montecito community.” This mission is reflected in a 1960 letter from Broudy to the president of the Montecito Protective and Improvement Association, assuring him “that I will do everything possible personally to improve the appearance of the Old Coast Highway area. And from the recent expression of interest of others in this area, I believe that I can expect cooperation in this endeavor.” As one small example of what he had in mind, he asked him to observe the change taking place in Matt Cannon’s Target Liquor store: “I’ve been there daily holding his hand, getting him to paint it all white, insisting that neon signs are terrible, and even promising to design his sign if
REMEMBERING Page 374 10 – 17 September 2015
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