Pearl Chase Papers

Collection

Identifier: MS-01

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Pearl Chase Collection includes documents, correspondence, and photographs relating primarily to her activities with El Cuartel, El Presidio, the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation, historic preservation in Santa Barbara County, and includes a collection of her personal notes and papers relating to her broader philanthropic work.

The collection is divided into the following series

El Cuartel- Press releases, purchasing information, staffing, exhibit and curatorial information, physical condition and restoration, and El Cuartel Committee meeting minutes.
Santa Barbara Trust and Presidio Park- SBTHP documents regarding legal issues, finances, dealings with state and local government entities, historic preservation state and national legislation, and related Trust correspondence from 1950-1982.
Santa Barbara Historic Survey- Site questionnaires, legislation, and Landmarks Committee documents.
Architectural Advisory Committee- Correspondence from the years 1925 to 1927.
Historic Preservation- Press clippings, historical essays, legislative documents, various committee meeting minutes and correspondence, materials relating to broader move supporting historic preservation in California and the U.S.
Santa Barbara Presidio- documents and correspondence relating to the restoration and rebuilding of El Presidio, including planning and execution stages.
Pearl Chase-Correspondence and Personal- Personal correspondence, records, receipts, and reprints of articles.
Adobes- Background information, maps, correspondence, and related information on historic adobes in Santa Barbara County
Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation (SBTHP)- President’s reports, meetings from monthly and annual meetings, articles of incorporation and by laws, correspondence, logos, maps, deeds, ephemera, membership lists, and financial and treasurer’s reports.
Miscellaneous
Scrapbooks and Binders
Lantern Slides—26 boxes (660 items) of black and white and colored lantern slides, 3 x 4 inches, of various trips taken by Pearl Chase from around 1914 to the mid 1920s. Subjects include: Boston, New York state, Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Washington DC, Oregon, and California. Many views of Santa Barbara include the 1925 earthquake, the harbor area, downtown, and individual houses. A large number of images are of Yosemite National Park.

Dates

1833 - 1982
Majority of material found within 1925 - 1976

Conditions Governing Use

All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Associate Director for Historic Resources. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation Research Center as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.

Biographical / Historical

Pearl Chase (1888-1979) was a prominent Santa Barbara citizen and a tireless community activist. Emphasizing the preservation of Santa Barbara’s natural beauty and the promotion of public health and general welfare, Miss Chase devoted her energy to shaping Santa Barbara’s architectural style to reflect its Spanish colonial past. Ms. Chase spearheaded the work of historic preservation that restored the Santa Barbara Presidio and many of Santa Barbara’s original adobes, and helped create the distinctive look of El Pueblo Viejo, Santa Barbara’s core historic district. She was lauded at the state and local level on many occasions and won the National Award for Historic Preservation in 1973.