If These Walls Could Talk

Dear Members,

As many of you may know, January through March are usually pretty slow months here in Santa Barbara. With the slightly cooler weather and everyone taking it a bit easier after the holiday season, most restaurants, clubs, and other such venues see a bit of a decline in business. With that in mind, I am very pleased at how busy our Club has been, and really excited for some of the special events we have set up this month as well.

From 1st Thursday Wine Tasting, to Valentine’s Day Dinner, the wonderful Lunch & Learn with Architect Anthony Grumbine, Tuesdays at the Club, Bistro Dinners, UClub Book Club, Empowered Aging, Mah Jongg Thursdays, and so many of you coming in to try the new member pricing on our Lunch menu, as well as morning business meetings, and more, the Club has had a lovely vibe to it this winter.

Our next lecture here at the Club will be with our member Priya Kapoor, who will continue her lectures on college admissions. Learn more about her and her lectures on pages 6-7. If there are lecture topics you would like to see covered here at the Club, please let us know so that we can look into setting those up.

We are also looking forward to the first ever UClub Mah Jongg Tournament to help benefit CALM this month. CALM works with children, families, and the community to help prevent child abuse and trauma. Their mission is “to prevent childhood trauma, heal children and families, and build resilient communities throughout Santa Barbara County.” We look forward to hosting more than 60 Mah Jongg players from around Santa Barbara, including many who enjoy Mah Jongg with us every week, for a fun-filled day in support of a good cause, and to introduce them to our Club and what we have to offer potential members.

A few housekeeping notes:

1. Many of you have been enjoying the complimentary continental breakfast set up for you in the living room on Tuesdays-Fridays. I just wanted to remind everyone that this is a courtesy reserved for our members only. While you are of course welcome to invite a guest or two to join you for the continental breakfast over a morning meeting or schmooze, it is not there for private events or larger groups. If you are using rooms to meet with clients or are renting space for a private event, you do need to arrange for any food and beverage services through Natalie, our Events Coordinator. We are more than happy to set up stations with beverages and/or pastries or a breakfast buffet off of the Private Events Menus for your meetings and events in the mornings.

2. If you have not yet picked up your 2020 parking stickers, please come see us in the Admin offices, or email us your address and we can mail them out to you: memberservices@uclubsb.org.

3. Also a quick update that our new website is currently moving from the construction phase to testing, with the official launch coming soon. In the meantime, please call Ammanjah at 805-966-0853, Ext. 140 with any questions you may have about Club hours, membership benefits, or to RSVP for meals or events.

4. If you are interested in hosting an event at the

Club, you can contact Natalie Douglas, our Events Coordinator at natalie@uclubsb.org for all the special member rates.

Thank you all for making the Club such a wonderful, welcoming, fun place. I am looking forward to seeing everyone at our upcoming St. Patrick’s Day mixer (see page 13!). I know it is one of our most popular events and we are gearing up to make it especially fun, with live Irish musicians, crafts, games, and more! RSVP soon!

Sarah Rudd UClub General Manager Sarah.Rudd@uclubsb.org

I would like to especially thank Anthony Grumbine for the insight he gave us into the architectural evolution of our Club. It was interesting to see the different architectural renderings that were drawn over the years and how our Club became the beautiful structure it is today.

I also wanted to take a moment to give you all a little more information about how and why our building – commonly referred to these days as ‘the Riviera Mansion’ – was named a Structure of Merit by the Historical Land Commission (HLC): As written by the HLC, it was specifically the stone entrance in the front of our building which caught their attention. The intricate front entrance surround is inspired by Spain’s Renaissance, or Plateresco style. This style was used primarily throughout the Los Angeles area, with Santa Barbara generally showcasing the simpler Spanish Colonial Revival. As a result, only a few examples of the Plateresco architecture are represented in Santa Barbara, making ours a unique and notable addition to the city’s repertoire. Of course, the fact that our Club building was designed by Architect Winsor Soule was also a factor in the HLC’s decision. Soule, a former UClub member, is a notable architect to the city of Santa Barbara whose efforts significantly influenced the heritage of the city.

In its written statement, the HLC concluded that the structure at 1332 Santa Barbara St. proficiently embodies elements that demonstrate an outstanding attention to design, detail, material, and craftsmanship: “The building is noteworthy for its deeply recessed entryway surrounded by the smooth, planar, stucco walls, with an emphasis on broad, uninterrupted wall surfaces punctuated by a careful use of openings, decorative plaster venting beneath the gable peaks, the placement of the balconies with iron balustrades over second story openings, and the exuberant use of elaborate cast stone detailing the Plateresco style.”