Object Details
Former owner
Whitehead, Ralph
Knapp, George Owen
Architect
Ray, Russell
Landscape designer
Underhill, Francis T.
Architect
Winslow, Carleton Monroe
Landscape designer
Adams, Charles Gibbs
Architect
Craig, Mary
Former owner
Knapp, Louise Savage
Collection Creator
Garden Club of America
Collection Citation
Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, The Garden Club of America collection.
Scope and Contents
The folder includes worksheets, articles, a bilbliography and a planting lists.
sova.aag.gca_ref24262
General
Located in the Montecito Valley, near Santa Barbara, the 32 bedroom Italian Renaissance towered house at Arcady, once owned by George Owen Knapp. Knapp purchased the property from Ralph Radcliffe and Jane McCall Whitehead and hired architect E. Russell Ray to expand the 17 bedroom home into one with 32 bedrooms, instructing Ray not to change the Whitehead's original construction. The original residency became the north wing and the new construction including a 65 foot tower was placed at a better angle to provide a sweeping view of the Santa Ynez mountains. Servant quarters, gardeners' cottages, stables and garages were also added.
The property consisted of approximately 200 acres, of which 50 were cultivated as gardens and were surrounded by a wall of buff sandstone. The estate was set amongst an informal planting of oak trees and the roads and meandering paths followed the natural configuration of the land. The upper garden and terrace were designed by Carleton M. Winslow and the Roman styled bathhouse and water gardens were designed and completed in 1914 by Francis T. Underhill. Garden ornamentation such as a marmoreal seat or glazed terra cotta relief set into a stone pillar were situated in the cultivate areas.
The most comprehensive description of the property, especially the bath house and water gardens is written in Volume II of David F. Myrick's, "Montecito and Santa Barbara: the Days of the Great Estates." A bathhouse was set into the hillside and included a heated pool with an electrically controlled sliding roof over the swimming pool and dressing rooms. To the east of the bathhouse was a large outdoor swimming pool, a children's pool and a lily pool. Paths leading away from the swimming pool led to the water garden, a succession of cascading pools connected by stairways leading to a grotto, tea garden and an enormous large oak.
The property also included a small house across the street referred to as 'The Hut' which had views of the Pacific Ocean and at one time included a hollowed out trunk from a 50 foot redwood brought from Sequoia National Park.
According to a guide was prepared for the visiting members of the Garden Club of America in April of 1926, the gardens of the Knapp estate were described as 19 designated areas including: a yellow garden, green garden, blue garden, rose garden, redwood garden, iris garden, the hall of mirrors garden, path from the blue garden east to grotto, the residence lawn, the ivy lawn, south of the residence, three paths to the swimming pools, the water gardens, the gardens below the redwood tree, Arcady entrance driveway and a coniferous group.
In 1933, George Knapp's son, William, planted 6,286 trees as well as a lemon orchard. In 1941, the estate was sold and nothing was done to the gardens. Major sections of the estate were sold in 1945-47. An extensive description is written by Myrick. The upper garden of Arcady in the 1930s and 1940s included a fountain and two obelisks. Beyond this garden was an open music pavilion where Mr. Knapp had an organ. In 1953, architect Mary Craig designed a house for James Hayes (Belle) when she purchased the property. A swimming pool was added to the upper garden in the late 1960s.
Persons associated with the garden include: Ralph Radcliffe and Jane McCall Whitehead (former owner, to 1911), George Owen and Louise Savage Knapp (former owner, 1911-1945), E. Russell Ray (architect of expanded house and 65 foot tower), Francis R. Underhill (designer of the water gardens/lower gardens), Carleton Monroe Winslow (architect of the terrace and upper gardens), Charles Gibbs Adams (landscape architect of the terrace?), Strobel? (sculptor), Mary Craig (architect of the house on the terrace of the pavilion, 1953) and mulitple owners once the property was subdivided and sold.
Place
Arcady (Montecito, California)
United States of America -- California -- Santa Barbara County -- Montecito
Topic
Gardens -- California -- Montecito
Former owner
Whitehead, Ralph
Knapp, George Owen
Architect
Ray, Russell
Landscape designer
Underhill, Francis T.
Architect
Winslow, Carleton Monroe
Landscape designer
Adams, Charles Gibbs
Architect
Craig, Mary
Former owner
Knapp, Louise Savage
See more items in
The Garden Club of America collection
The Garden Club of America collection / Series 1: United States Gardens / California
Sponsor
A project to describe images in this finding aid received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care Initiative, administered by the National Collections Program.
Archival Repository
Archives of American Gardens
Identifier
AAG.GCA, File CA070
Type
Archival materials
Slides (photographs)
Lantern slides
Collection Rights
Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Bibliography
Garden featured in The Garden Club of America's List of Gardens (1921); Country Life magazine (1932); Glimpses of Santa Barbara by Ervanna Bowen Bissell (1926); "George Owen Knapp" in Santa Barbara History Makers by Walker A. Thompson (1983); Stately Homes of California by Porter Garnett (1915); Beautiful Gardens in America by Louise Shelton (1924); California Gardens by Winfred Starr Dobyns (1931); The Architectural Record (Jan 1919); Arcady published by The Garden Club of America (1926); Veranda (March/April 2016); Montecito and Santa Barbara, Vol II, by David F. Myrick (1991).
Garden has been featured in Veranda, March-April 2016. "Peaceful Kingdom" by Frances Schultz, pp. 124-133.
Genre/Form
Slides (photographs)
Lantern slides
Collection Restrictions
Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
AAG.GCA_ref24262
Large EAD
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kb650166a48-7d82-4ba6-ab63-fb6795444e56
AAG.GCA
AAG
Record ID
ebl-1643208220039-1643210176511-1