The Home Page | Festivities, Flowers, and Downtown Gems

This edition of The Home Page was originally emailed to subscribers on April 14, 2024. To receive Sarah Sinclair’s real estate newsletter in your inbox each Sunday, sign up at independent.com/newsletters

When a super-cute home for sale pops up in my neighborhood, I have to go take a peek. The property at 1528 Castillo is a charming triplex with three one-bedroom, one-bath units: a 1904 house that was remodeled into a duplex, plus a free-standing, one-bedroom cottage that was added behind the main house in 1921. All sorts of oh-so-cute period details such as built-ins, hardwood floors, and a sparkling clawfoot tub abound. Visit Kathleen Rogers at this one-of-a-kind downtown gem from noon-3 p.m. today. You just might see Scout and me out on one of our walks, too!

I heard about Kathleen’s sweet listing on Thursday morning at the Cabrillo Arts Center, where Santa Barbara Association of Realtors members gather each month to share information and industry announcements, plus hear from experts on various topics. Besides me cajoling members into smiling for the camera, as evidenced above, this week’s meeting included a presentation from the real estate fraud investigation team at the DA’s Office. Schemes involving vacant land — where someone poses as the owner and tries to initiate a false sale — are a recent example of local fraudulent activity. We were reminded that the best rule of thumb — “If something seems too good to be true, it probably is” — holds true for both consumers and professionals. Along with the warnings, there was plenty of fun at the meeting. Jean Sedar was the lucky winner of two tickets to The Lehman Trilogy, the current show at Ensemble Theater Company, courtesy of yours truly at the Santa Barbara Independent.

Our columnist Cheri Rae showed us some great superbloom shots in her Our Santa Barbara column this week, including this one of her daughter Sophia in the middle of a field of purple posies in the Anza-Borrego Desert in 1998. I have high hopes of hitting the Carrizo Plain myself next week, but in the meantime, I’m soaking up every in-town bloom that I can

I had to pull over to admire these protea flowers abloom in a front yard as I was driving down East Los Olivos Street last week, and the wisteria at the County Courthouse deserved a special visit:

If you look past Scout’s curly tail, you’ll see a wedding photo shoot in progress. We were not the only ones captivated by the backdrop!

Speaking of the courthouse, a new class of docents just graduated from the 10-week docent training program, with classes that prepare them to impart information on the architecture, art, history, and significance of this local landmark to visitors from all over the world. The Docent Council is celebrating 50 years of leading free educational tours, and it currently has 64 trained docents led by Robert L. Ooley, FAIA, County Architect (retired) and Rodney Baker, Docent Council Projects Chair.

And speaking of local landmarks, It was early in 2016 when my friend Greg Bartholomew of Hayes Commercial Group invited me to take a behind-the-scenes tour of the Granada Tower. The building is divided up into separate distinct parcels; at that time, four floors of office space, two floors of storage, the lobby, and parts of the rooftop were listed for sale as one parcel. I wrote about it here, including my favorite aspect: the rare opportunity to quell my fear of heights so I could walk out onto the tippy-top of the tower. The Granada Theatre celebrates its hundredth birthday this year, as documented in Joe Woodard’s great cover story this week, and the whole community gets to join in the fun — including a block party tonight on State Street in front of the theater.

Here are links to the flip-through version of that story and more … and more open houses and real estate fun. Enjoy your Sunday!