Shocking History of Electricity in Santa Barbara
**Events may have been canceled or postponed. Please contact the venue to confirm the event.
Date & Time
Thu, Feb 26 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Address (map)
2201 LAGUNA STREET
Venue (website)
S.B. Mission Archive-Library (SBMAL)
February 26th, 2026 | Featuring: Joe DeLise – “ The Shocking History of Electricity in Santa Barbara”
🗣 Have you ever wondered what Santa Barbara was like before electricity came to our city? Imagine how dramatic the change was when about a dozen street corners went from flickering gas lamps to electrified streetlights overnight and when this modern miracle entered businesses and then residences!
Today just may be the first time that many of you will be hearing about how forward-thinking civic leaders like Charles Fernald and Walter Hawley forever changed Santa Barbara one foggy night in 1887. Find out about the first electric power plants – where they were located and how they produced electrical magic; and which street corners first turned night into day. From the beginning, there were complaints about lousy service and high prices; hear about a rogue method used to address those situations. And, learn why the beautiful Los Baños Del Mar complex – complete with heated swimming pools and a “Pleasure Pier” – was built next to the 1901 power plant; and how the complex was built at an unheard-of speed, by today’s standards, at a time when communication methods were limited, and essential materials had to arrive by ship.
📍 Location: Santa Bárbara Mission Archive-Library, 2201 Laguna Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93105
💲 Cost: $30 public ($25 members) admission fee to support the work of the Archive-Library
ℹ️ Logistics: RSVP Required | Light Refreshments | Doors at 12:30pm
About the series: Join a select group of those interested in an informative conversation with experts who will first share from a vast store of knowledge, then engage with those present in a lively give & take.
About our Speaker: A New Yorker for most of his life, Joe DeLise instantly fell in love with Santa Barbara when he moved here in 2021. He spends much of his spare time learning the history of the area and “colorizing” old photos of the Mission, which you may have seen on the local website EDHAT. He also enjoys photography, cooking, and playing & teaching backgammon. In his former life, Joe was on the packaging & purchasing side of the cosmetics business, where he had the opportunity to travel internationally for companies such as L’Oréal and Unilever.
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For more details: https://www.sbmal.org/join-and-support
