Eric Lassen
Eric Lassen, AIA Architect, Santa Barbara Bowl Architect and longstanding Summer Solstice Celebration Board member, passed away in Santa Barbara on 3/26/2025. Eric was born in Los Angeles, CA on 11/2/1936. He attended Claremont Men’s College and received his MA in architecture from University of Southern California. He practiced architecture in Los Angeles and Santa Barbara.
Eric worked for Sasaki Architects in San Francisco, one of the most highly respected and influential design firms in the world, where he designed the Delmar Fairgrounds and several buildings at UCSB, earning recognition for his expertise and leadership in large-scale architectural projects.
Eric joined the Board of the Santa Barbara Bowl in 1985. He was deeply involved in the initial community planning process to determine the Bowl’s future. Would it be torn down and replaced by luxury condominiums or would it become one of the nation’s premier outdoor venues nestled in the heart of Santa Barbara?
Eric’s patient leadership of the 20-year rebuilding and fundraising effort to realize the community’s vision was absolutely critical to the amazing amphitheater it has become. At every board meeting — and through several generations of boards — it was Eric’s monthly report that mattered. You could hear a pin drop while he quietly reported on steady progress.
He brought the same craftmanship and unperturbable care to his years on the Summer Solstice Board of Directors. While his work at the Santa Barbara Bowl was building in stone, his years on the Summer Solstice Celebration Board and in the Community Arts Workshop (CAW) were building community through practicing the celebration arts. He was consistently the major annual supporter of the Jethro Davis Junior Artists in Residence at Solstice.
As an early Board member of the Bowl Foundation Board, Eric recognized that the preservation and improvement of the Bowl would meet the highest professional standards of his career, and his community building passion could be served as well. Eric helped establish the goals of the private nonprofit foundation to include support for performing arts education through funds derived from a ticket surcharge and Bowl Foundation fundraising and partnerships with the Santa Barbara County Arts Commission’s “Art Making a Difference” countywide grants program.
Eric Lassen was a greatly loved member of the Santa Barbara arts community for over 40 years. Through his vison of supporting Santa Barbara’s arts community by training junior artists his legacy will last for generations. His contribution to Santa Barbara’s reputation as a center for the arts is set in stone.
He is survived by his wife Carol Lingham, son Christopher Lassen, daughter Susan Varga, stepsons Nathaniel Gwynne and Gabe Moore, and sister Karen Lassen. A small, private celebration of Eric’s life will be held in Santa Barbara in June. Please contact ckerfoot@mullenlaw.com if you wish to attend, and details will be provided.
