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Walking Tours of the Santa Barbara Cemetery |
| "David's insights and stories made the cemetery come alive." -- Chris Casebeer Walking tours at the cemetery take place every year around All Hallow's Eve and All Saints days. Or, more popularly, Halloween and el Dia de los Muertos. The seasonal bias is because marketing the tours is very easy at this time of the year--just about any media source will publish a story or calendar entry for us. We conduct tours at other times -- for private parties, or for the public -- when possible. The tour starts in the world-famous cemetery chapel. Designed by architect George Washington Smith, the chapel is one of the very few sacred spaces he created in his short career. After his death, his widow and their close family friend, Henry Eichheim, contracted the famed Mexican muralist Alfredo Ramos Martinez to paint the chapel frescoes. In the chapel, we learn how the Santa Barbara Cemetery, founded in 1867, traversed the styles of cemetery development that were taking place throughout the United States. "I've lived here my whole life, and I learned more about Santa Barbara from this tour than anywhere else." -- Gail T. |
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Then we hit the grounds, where we see
each of these phases through their impact on the cemetery itself. We
walk approximately one mile, and see the graves of Santa Barbara's
leaders, of world-reknowned industry founders, artists, writers, and
film stars. We talk about the mausoleums, see the site where Ronald
and Nancy Reagan owned a plot for the majority of Reagan's presidency.
We talk about the influence of the Masons, the Odd Fellows, and the
Woodmen of the World. And we see the Chinese section, the Potter's
Fields, and a thousand stories in stone. Tours are $15 a person. If you purchase a copy of the book, The Best Last Place, on the day of the tour, one tour is free. Call about private tours and school tours. |
| Tour information: Kundra.Starr@yahoo.com 805 845 5964 |