Montecito, California
Encyclopedia
Montecito is an unincorporated community in Santa Barbara County, California
Santa Barbara County, California
Santa Barbara County is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California, on the Pacific coast. As of 2010 the county had a population of 423,895. The county seat is Santa Barbara and the largest city is Santa Maria.-History:...

. As a census-designated place
Census-designated place
A census-designated place is a concentration of population identified by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes. CDPs are delineated for each decennial census as the statistical counterparts of incorporated places such as cities, towns and villages...

, it had a population of 8,965 in 2010. This does not include areas such as Coast Village Road, that, while usually considered part of Montecito, are actually within the city limits of Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...

, located directly to the west. Montecito occupies the eastern portion of the coastal plain south of the Santa Ynez Mountains
Santa Ynez Mountains
The Santa Ynez Mountains are a portion of the Transverse Ranges, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges of the west coast of North America, and are one of the northernmost mountain ranges in Southern California.-Geography:...

. Parts of the town are built on the lower foothills of the range. Notable roads spanning Montecito include East Valley Road, Mountain Drive, and Sycamore Canyon Road, all of which form part of State Route 192. In addition, the U.S. 101 freeway runs along the south end of town, connecting it with other cities in Santa Barbara County and the rest of Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...

.

History

The site of present-day Montecito, along with the entire south coast of Santa Barbara County, was inhabited for over 10,000 years by the Chumash Indians. The Spanish arrived in the 18th century, but left the region largely unsettled while they built the Presidio and Mission Santa Barbara
Mission Santa Barbara
In 1840, Alta California and Baja California were removed from the Diocese of Sonora to form the Diocese of Both Californias. Bishop Francisco Garcia Diego y Moreno, OFM, established his cathedra at Mission Santa Barbara, making the chapel the pro-cathedral of the diocese until 1849...

 farther west.

In the middle of the 19th century the area was known as a haven for bandits and highway robbers, who hid in the oak groves and canyons, preying on traffic on the coastal route between the towns that developed around the missions. By the end of the 1860s the bandit gangs were gone, and Italian settlers arrived. Finding an area reminiscent of Italy, they built farms and gardens similar to those they had left behind in Italy. Around the end of the 19th century, wealthy tourists from the eastern United States began to buy land in the area. It was near enough to Santa Barbara for essential services while still being secluded. Desirable weather and several nearby hot springs offered the promise of comfortable, healthy living, in addition to the availability of affordable land.

The Montecito Hot Springs Hotel was built near the largest of the springs, in a canyon north of the town center and directly south of Montecito Peak, in Hot Springs Canyon. The hotel burned down in 1920; it was replaced a few years later by the smaller Hot Springs Club.

The architect George Washington Smith
George Washington Smith (architect)
George Washington Smith, , was an American architect and painter. He is noted particularly for his work around Santa Barbara, California, and for popularizing the Spanish Colonial Revival style in early 20th Century America....

 is noted particularly for his residences around Montecito, and for popularizing the Spanish Colonial Revival style in early 20th century America.

In November 2008, 80 Montecito homes were destroyed in the Tea Fire
Montecito Tea Fire
The Montecito Tea Fire is a wildfire that began on November 13, 2008, destroying 210 homes in the cities of Montecito and Santa Barbara, California in the United States of America. It was the first of several November 2008 wildfires that burned hundreds of homes November 13–15, 2008...

, which also destroyed 130 homes in Santa Barbara.

Geography

Montecito is located at 34°26′1"N 119°37′55"W (34.433687, -119.631845). According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...

, the CDP has a total area of 9.3 square miles (24.1 km²), 99.94% of it land and 0.06% of it water.

2010

The 2010 United States Census reported that Montecito had a population of 8,965. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 was 967.7 people per square mile (373.6/km²). The racial makeup of Montecito was 8,267 (92.2%) White, 55 (0.6%) African American, 38 (0.4%) Native American, 218 (2.4%) Asian, 6 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 156 (1.7%) from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, and 225 (2.5%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 605 persons (6.7%).

The Census reported that 8,033 people (89.6% of the population) lived in households, 932 (10.4%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and none were institutionalized.

Of the 3,432 households, 831 (24.2%) had children under the age of 18 living in them; 1,936 (56.4%) were opposite-sex married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

 living together, 234 (6.8%) had a female householder with no husband present, 93 (2.7%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 110 (3.2%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships
POSSLQ
POSSLQ is an abbreviation for "Persons of Opposite Sex Sharing Living Quarters," a term coined in the late 1970s by the United States Census Bureau as part of an effort to more accurately gauge the prevalence of cohabitation in American households....

, and 36 (1.0%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 941 households (27.4%) were made up of individuals and 527 (15.4%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34. There were 2,263 families
Family (U.S. Census)
A family or family household is defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes as "a householder and one or more other people related to the householder by birth, marriage, or adoption. They do not include same-sex married couples even if the marriage was performed in a state...

 (65.9% of all households); the average family size was 2.79.

The age spread of the population accounts 1,515 people (16.9%) under the age of 18, 1,234 people (13.8%) aged 18 to 24, 1,169 people (13.0%) aged 25 to 44, 2,716 people (30.3%) aged 45 to 64, and 2,331 people (26.0%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 50.0 years. For every 100 females there were 87.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.9 males.

4,238 housing units represented an average density of 457.5 per square mile (176.6/km²), of which 2,522 (73.5%) were owner-occupied, and 910 (26.5%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.4%; the rental vacancy rate was 8.7%. 6,081 people (67.8% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 1,952 people (21.8%) lived in rental housing units.

2000

The census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

of 2000 counted 10,000 people, 3,686 households, and 2,454 families residing in the census-designated pace (CDP). The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 was 1,072.3 people per square mile (413.8/km²). There were 4,193 housing units at an average density of 449.6 per square mile (173.5/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 94.03% White, 0.48% African American, 0.31% Native American, 1.29% Asian, 0.21% Pacific Islander, 2.14% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, and 1.54% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.19% of the population.

Out of the total of 3,686 households, 25.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.1% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

 living together, 7.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.4% were non-families. 27.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 2.85.

The CDP population age distribution was 18.4% under the age of 18, 13.5% from 18 to 24, 16.6% from 25 to 44, 30.0% from 45 to 64, and 21.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46 years. For every 100 females there were 84.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.1 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $110,669, and the median income for a family was $130,123. Males had a median income of $81,719 versus $42,182 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...

 for the CDP was $70,077. About 2.3% of families and 3.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.6% of those under age 18 and 2.2% of those age 65 or over.

Notable architecture

  • Lotusland
    Lotusland
    The place-name Ganna Walska Lotusland, also known as the Lotusland, is the historic estate of Madame Ganna Walska and current location of a non-profit botanical garden in uniquely designed landscape gardens located in Montecito, near Santa Barbara, California, United States...

     - design and botanic gardens (public tours by appt.)
  • El Fureidis
    El Fureidis
    El Fureidis is a historic estate built in 1906 on 10 acres in Montecito, California. Originally called the James Waldron Gillespie Estate or Gillespie Palace after its original owner, the Roman, Persian, Arabic, and Spanish-styled architecture is one of only five houses designed by the American...

     - by American architect Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue
  • Music Academy of the West
    Music Academy of the West
    The Music Academy of the West is a music conservatory located in Montecito, California near Santa Barbara, California. Every year, it hosts a summer music festival for the community highlighted by concerts and workshops directed by famous composers, conductors, and artists.A yearly maximum of 135...

  • Casa del Herrero
    Casa del Herrero
    Casa del Herrero is a home and gardens located in Montecito near Santa Barbara, California. It is an estate designed and constructed in the Spanish Colonial Revival Style architecture. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and made a National Historic Landmark on January 16, 2009...

     - Spanish Colonial revival home and gardens (public tours by appt.).
  • Montecito Inn
    Montecito Inn
    Montecito Inn is a boutique hotel in the southwestern part of Montecito, California. It is considered a Santa Barbara landmark. Located on Coast Village Road in Montecito, adjacent to U.S. Route 101, the inn is 2.5 blocks from Butterfly Beach...

     -built by Charlie Chaplin

Notable current and former residents

Many people in the entertainment industry have chosen Montecito as their primary or secondary residence.

  • Troy Aikman
    Troy Aikman
    Troy Kenneth Aikman is a former American football quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys in the National Football League. The number one overall draft pick in 1989, Aikman played twelve consecutive seasons as quarterback with the Cowboys...

  • Dame Judith Anderson (died 1992)
  • Ross Bagdasarian, Jr.
    Ross Bagdasarian, Jr.
    Ross Bagdasarian, Jr. is an Armenian-American film producer, record producer, singer, and voice artist and the son of the Alvin and the Chipmunks creator Ross Bagdasarian, Sr.-Life and career:...

     & Janice Karman
    Janice Karman
    Janice Felice Karman is an American film producer, record producer, singer, and voice artist. She is the co-owner of Bagdasarian Productions with her husband Ross Bagdasarian, Jr....

  • Billy Baldwin
    Billy Baldwin
    Billy Baldwin may refer to:*Billy Baldwin *William Baldwin, American actor*Bill Baldwin, science fiction author*Bill Baldwin , English footballer/soccer player-See also:*William Baldwin...

  • Drew Barrymore
    Drew Barrymore
    Drew Blyth Barrymore is an American actress, film director, screenwriter, producer and model. She is a member of the Barrymore family of American actors and granddaughter of John Barrymore. She first appeared in an advertisement when she was 11 months old. Barrymore made her film debut in Altered...

  • Jeff Bridges
    Jeff Bridges
    Jeffrey Leon "Jeff" Bridges is an American actor and musician. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Otis "Bad" Blake in the 2009 film Crazy Heart....

  • Carol Burnett
    Carol Burnett
    Carol Creighton Burnett is an American actress, comedian, singer, dancer and writer. Burnett started her career in New York. After becoming a hit on Broadway, she made her television debut...

  • Julia Child
    Julia Child
    Julia Child was an American chef, author, and television personality. She is recognized for introducing French cuisine to the American public with her debut cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and her subsequent television programs, the most notable of which was The French Chef, which...

     (died 2004)
  • John Cleese
    John Cleese
    John Marwood Cleese is an English actor, comedian, writer, and film producer. He achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and performer on The Frost Report...

  • Jimmy Connors
    Jimmy Connors
    James Scott "Jimmy" Connors is an American former world no. 1 tennis player....

  • Fred Couples
    Fred Couples
    Frederick Steven Couples is an American professional golfer who competes on the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour. A former World No. 1, he has won numerous events, most notably the 1992 Masters Tournament. In August 2011 he won his maiden senior major at the Senior Players Championship...


  • Christopher Cross
    Christopher Cross
    Christopher Cross is an American singer-songwriter from San Antonio, Texas. His debut album earned him five Grammys. He is perhaps best known for his Top Ten hit songs, "Sailing", "Ride Like the Wind", and "Arthur's Theme ", the last of which he performed for the film Arthur starring Dudley Moore...

  • Kirk Douglas
    Kirk Douglas
    Kirk Douglas is an American stage and film actor, film producer and author. His popular films include Out of the Past , Champion , Ace in the Hole , The Bad and the Beautiful , Lust for Life , Paths of Glory , Gunfight at the O.K...

  • Julia Louis-Dreyfus
    Julia Louis-Dreyfus
    Julia Scarlett Elizabeth Louis-Dreyfus is an American actress and comedienne, widely known for her sitcom roles in Seinfeld and The New Adventures of Old Christine....

  • Michael Douglas
    Michael Douglas
    Michael Kirk Douglas is an American actor and producer, primarily in movies and television. He has won three Golden Globes and two Academy Awards; first as producer of 1975's Best Picture, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and as Best Actor in 1987 for his role in Wall Street. Douglas received the...

  • Fannie Flagg
    Fannie Flagg
    Patricia Neal , known professionally as Fannie Flagg, is an American actress, comedienne and author. She is perhaps best-known for the 1988 novel Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, which was adapted into the 1991 movie Fried Green Tomatoes; Flagg was nominated for an Academy Award for...

  • Bob Gale
    Bob Gale
    Michael Robert "Bob" Gale is an American screenwriter who co-wrote the science fiction film Back to the Future with writing partner Robert Zemeckis, and the screenplays for the film's two sequels. Gale also co-produced all three films....

  • Sue Grafton
    Sue Grafton
    Sue Taylor Grafton is a contemporary American author of detective novels. She is best known as the author of the 'alphabet series' featuring private investigator Kinsey Millhone in the fictional city of Santa Teresa, California. The daughter of detective novelist C. W...

  • Andy Granatelli
    Andy Granatelli
    Anthony "Andy" Granatelli was the CEO of STP.Along with brothers Vince and Joe, Andy first worked as an auto mechanic and 'speed-shop' entrepreneur, modifying engines such as the 'flathead' Ford into racing-quality equipment...

  • Tipper Gore
    Tipper Gore
    Mary Elizabeth "Tipper" Gore , née Aitcheson, is an author, photographer, former second lady of the United States, and the estranged wife of Al Gore...

  • Martin Lee Gore
  • Paul Hogan
    Paul Hogan
    Paul Hogan, AM is an Australian actor best known for his role as Michael "Crocodile" Dundee from the Crocodile Dundee film series, for which he won a Golden Globe award.-Early life and career:...

  • Tab Hunter
    Tab Hunter
    Tab Hunter is an American actor, singer, former teen idol and author who has starred in over forty major films.-Background:...

  • Bruce Johnston
    Bruce Johnston
    Bruce Arthur Johnston is a member of The Beach Boys and a songwriter, remembered especially for composing "I Write the Songs". Johnston was not one of the original members of the band...


  • Kenny Loggins
    Kenny Loggins
    During the next decade, Loggins recorded so many successful songs for film soundtracks that he was referred to as, King of the Movie Soundtrack.He began with "I'm Alright" , "Mr. Night", and "Lead the Way" from Caddyshack...

  • Rob Lowe
    Rob Lowe
    Robert Hepler "Rob" Lowe is an American actor. Lowe came to prominence after appearing in films such as The Outsiders, Oxford Blues, About Last Night..., St. Elmo's Fire, and Wayne's World. On television, Lowe is known for his role as Sam Seaborn on The West Wing and his role as Senator Robert...

  • Steve Martin
    Steve Martin
    Stephen Glenn "Steve" Martin is an American actor, comedian, writer, playwright, producer, musician and composer....

  • Dennis Miller
    Dennis Miller
    Dennis Miller is an American stand-up comedian, political commentator, actor, sports commentator, and television and radio personality. He is known for his critical assessments laced with pop culture references...

  • Charlie Munger
    Charlie Munger
    Charles Thomas Munger is an American business magnate, lawyer, investor, and philanthropist. He is Vice-Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Corporation, the diversified investment corporation chaired by Warren Buffett; in that capacity, Buffett describes Munger as "my partner." Munger is also the...

  • Paul Muni
    Paul Muni
    Paul Muni was an Austrian-Hungarian-born American stage and film actor...

  • Peter Noone
    Peter Noone
    Peter Noone is an English singer-songwriter, guitarist, pianist and actor, best known as "Herman" of the successful 1960s rock group Herman's Hermits.-Early life:...

  • Suzy Parker
    Suzy Parker
    Suzy Parker was an American model and actress active from 1947 into the early 1960s. Her modeling career reached its zenith during the 1950s when she appeared on the cover of dozens of magazines, advertisements, and in movie and television roles.She appeared in several Revlon advertisements, but...

  • Chynna Phillips
    Chynna Phillips
    Chynna Phillips is an American singer and actress, known for being a member of Wilson Phillips. She is also known for being the daughter of The Mamas & the Papas band members John and Michelle Phillips and the half-sister of Mackenzie Phillips, Bijou Phillips, Jeffrey Phillips , Tamerlane...

  • Ivan Reitman
    Ivan Reitman
    Ivan Reitman, OC is a Canadian film producer and director. He is known for the comedies he has directed and produced, especially in the 1980s and 1990s.He is the owner of The Montecito Picture Company, founded in 2000.-Early life:...

  • T.C. Boyle
  • Jane Russell
    Jane Russell
    Jane Russell was an American film actress and was one of Hollywood's leading sex symbols in the 1940s and 1950s....

     (died 2011)

  • Eva Marie Saint
    Eva Marie Saint
    Eva Marie Saint is an American actress who has starred in films, on Broadway, and on television in a career spanning seven decades. She won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the drama film On the Waterfront , and later starred in the thriller film North by...

  • John Sanford
    John Sanford (author)
    John Sanford or John B. Sanford, born Julian Lawrence Shapiro , was an American screenwriter and author who wrote 24 books...

  • Lori Saunders
    Lori Saunders
    Lori Saunders is an American film and television actress, probably best known for her role as Bobbie Jo Bradley in the television series Petticoat Junction , appearing in 147 episodes. She also appeared as Betty Gordon, one of Mr...

  • Eric Schmidt
  • Ed Snider
    Ed Snider
    Edward M. Snider is the American Chairman of Comcast Spectacor, a Philadelphia-based sports and entertainment company that owns the Philadelphia Flyers of the NHL, the Wells Fargo Center, the Spectrum, the regional sports network Comcast SportsNet and Global Spectrum, an international facilities...

  • Timothy Stack
    Timothy Stack
    Timothy Stack is an American film and television actor and screenwriter.-Life and career:He was born in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, the son of Joan and Tom Stack. He graduated from the esteemed Philadelphia-area prep school Germantown Academy in 1973 and graduated from Boston College in 1978...

  • Shaun Tomson
    Shaun Tomson
    Shaun Tomson is a South African professional surfer and former world champion, environmentalist, actor, author and businessman.-Life and career:...

  • Joe Walsh
    Joe Walsh
    Joseph Fidler "Joe" Walsh is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He has been a member of three commercially successful bands, the James Gang, Barnstorm, and the Eagles, and has experienced notable success as a solo artist and prolific session musician, especially with B.B...

  • Ty Warner
    Ty Warner
    H. Ty Warner is an American toy manufacturer and businessman. He is chairman, CEO, sole owner and founder of Ty Inc., which manufactures and distributes Beanie Babies, Beanie Baby 2.0s, Ty Girlz, Pluffies , LI'L Ones, Beanie Boos and other plush items...

  • Oprah Winfrey
    Oprah Winfrey
    Oprah Winfrey is an American media proprietor, talk show host, actress, producer and philanthropist. Winfrey is best known for her self-titled, multi-award-winning talk show, which has become the highest-rated program of its kind in history and was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2011...

  • Jonathan Winters
    Jonathan Winters
    -Early life:Winters was born in Bellbrook, Ohio, the son of Alice Kilgore , a radio personality, and Jonathan Harshman Winters II, an investment broker. He is a descendant of Valentine Winters, founder of the Winters National Bank in Dayton, Ohio...

  • Thomas Steinbeck
    Thomas Steinbeck
    Thomas Myles Steinbeck is a writer and the eldest son of Nobel Laureate John Steinbeck. Steinbeck has sold numerous screenplays over the life of his career. In 2002, Ballantine Publishing Group, a division of Random House published his first book of short stories entitled, "Down To a Soundless Sea"...

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