••• The new sound wall between Highway 101 and N. Jameson Lane probably improves the lives of nearby residents, but you used to be able to see through the chain link fence, across the highway, to the buildings on the other side. It was scruffy but pleasant and very Montecito. Now you could be in Riverside.
••• Speaking of walls, a recent Caltrans press release about the Butterfly Lane pedestrian undercrossing below the 101—it should be done in mid-August—included these photos. The effect is a little Medieval Times for my taste.
••• Rad Power Bikes is apparently opening a Santa Barbara showroom, but the location hasn’t been announced….
••• The July 4 schedule from the city’s Waterfront Department:
Cabrillo Boulevard sidewalk at West Beach
—11 a.m.-9 p.m.: Food and vendor boothsStearns Wharf
—2 p.m.: Free face painting
—4 p.m.: Live music featuring Area 51West Beach
—Noon – 8:50 p.m.: Live music at the West Beach bandstand. Featured acts include: The Detar Music Review, Drifting Dimension, Sweetheart Sisters, Why Golf Why, Brandi Lentini and Band, Slideways + La Boheme dancers, Fiesta dancers, Riding Out the Storm, False Puppet, and Petty Set Go
—9-9:20 p.m.: Fireworks
••• Have you been to the Domecíl shop yet? It’s full of exquisite things—heaven for those of us who like an elegant line and an interesting material. I was there looking for a birthday gift, but I wish I had also purchased a few of the copper nails by Toro Canyon sculptor Ray Gabaldón. P.S. Be sure to grab one of the free recipe postcards—the current one is for lemon basil burrata, which sounds delicious.
••• Potluck, paintings by Leslie Lewis Sigler, opens July 1 at Sullivan Goss: “This exhibition will feature the artist’s signature portraits of heirloom silverware—giving personality and identity to otherwise inanimate objects with refined detail. The majority of this body of work deviates from the iconic solo portraits that were so prominently featured in previous exhibitions, and encompasses instead group portraits that speak to gatherings of friends and families.”
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Oh, wow, that sound wall is ugly, indeed. Bummer…
Agree on the walls. The creeping vines that have been planted along the Carp stretch are growing pretty quickly. So one can only hope the intention is full cover. I’ve made peace with the design by convincing myself its texture lends itself well to vine attachment. They’re so ugly one has to hope. Also agree on Medieval Times. There seems to be very little design cohesion between so many of these projects. Not looking forward to the corny designs they’ve come up with for the Summerland underpass, either. A nice clash with the Riverside walls. I think you pointed out they’re a (bad) appropriation of designs seen elsewhere that are carried out well and involve stone. They’re random to our area, have no aesthetic relationship to the town of Summerland, and will be implemented with what one can only assume are the cheapest materials possible. I don’t know why they don’t just keep this stuff simple and timeless. We recently drove the 210 and marveled at the atrocities of design for the Metro. Weird concrete alien egg-like things you know some architect was just so dang proud of. It looks awful. CalTrans and municipalities could save money by streamlining design and just adhering to classical design principles. It seems they feel the need to reinvent the wheel with every go for purposes of “modernity.” They should do us all a favor and just build something timeless.
Agree with BW, 100%. Was under the impression that the sound walls were a no-go for ‘Cito, but apparently, I didn’t read the fine print. In any case, they are UGLY. Happy that Jamison Lane folks get their sound barrier, but not sure the “greater good” was served, if that’s keeping Montecito “semi’ rural, as opposed to “Inland Empire”.
Agree the walls are ugly but as someone who lives right on Jameson Ln they have seriously cut down on the sound which is super nice. Vines are a great idea.
Love Domecil!
The sound wall is totally Riverside, not Montecito even a little bit.
I’m not sure what a Montecito sound wall would look like? 20-foot hedge and no sidewalk?
Good one