Pearl Chase was a civic leader in

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara (, meaning ) is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States excepting A ...

. She is best known for her significant impact on the

historic preservation Historic preservation (US), built heritage preservation or built heritage conservation (UK) is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance. It is a philos ...

and

conservation Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws. Conservation may also refer to: Environment and natural resources * Nature conservation, the protection and manage ...

of that city.

Early life

Chase was born in

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

and moved to Santa Barbara at the age of 12. After graduating from Santa Barbara High School in 1904, she attended the

University of California at Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after the Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkele ...

where she was a member of

Kappa Alpha Theta Kappa Alpha Theta (), commonly referred to simply as Theta, is an international Fraternities and sororities, sorority founded on January 27, 1870, at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. It was the first Greek-letter fraternity established ...

. She graduated with a Bachelor of Letters in history in 1909.

Civic advocacy

Upon returning to Santa Barbara after graduating from the University of California at Berkeley, Chase was appalled at the state of her hometown: : I was ashamed of the dirt and dust and ugly buildings and resolved then and there to devote my life to making Santa Barbara beautiful. She had a significant influence on the architecture of the city of Santa Barbara,Ty Smith, "'A delightful deception': The politics of public memory and the re-creation of Spanish Santa Barbara, 1920-1987," doctoral dissertation,

University of California, Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Tracing its roots back to 1891 as an ...

but Chase never held political or government office of any sort. Chase was largely responsible for the recasting of Santa Barbara architecture in the Spanish Colonial Style in the wake of the

1925 Santa Barbara earthquake The 1925 Santa Barbara earthquake hit the area of Santa Barbara, California on June 29, with a moment magnitude between 6.5 and 6.8 and a maximum Mercalli Intensity of IX (''Violent''). It resulted in 13 deaths and destroyed the historic cente ...

. She founded a number of civic institutions in Santa Barbara, including the local chapter of the

American Red Cross The American National Red Cross is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit Humanitarianism, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. Clara Barton founded ...

, the Community Arts Association, the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation, and the Indian Defense Association. She was involved in advocacy for the protection of multiple local landmarks, including Chase Palm Park (which bears a plaque memorializing Chase and her brother), as well as the Moreton Bay Fig Tree.

In addition, she was part of an interest group which successfully lobbied the State Legislature, Governor

Earl Warren Earl Warren (March 19, 1891 – July 9, 1974) was an American attorney and politician who served as the 30th governor of California from 1943 to 1953 and as the 14th Chief Justice of the United States from 1953 to 1969. The Warren Court presid ...

, and the Regents of the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university, research university system in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Oakland, California, Oakland, the system is co ...

to move the Santa Barbara State Teachers College to the University of California system in 1944. Historian Walker A. Tompkins summarized her influence on the city by saying that "She did more to beautify her adopted home town of Santa Barbara than any other individual."

Legacy

Chase was part of the founding of an organization called the Santa Barbara Council of Christmas Cheer, which brought gifts to needy community members. This organization was eventually formalized as the Unity Shoppe, a storefront on State Street which "operates a year-round 'Free' grocery and clothing store so people can shop with dignity for their basic needs."

A scholarship in Chase's name has been instituted at

in the department of

Environmental Studies Environmental studies (EVS or EVST) is a multidisciplinary academic field which systematically studies human behavior, human interaction with the Natural environment, environment. Environmental studies connects principles from the physical sci ...

. In addition, the Pearl Chase Society, a

not-for-profit organization A not-for-profit or non-for-profit organization (NFPO) is a Legal Entity, legal entity that does not distribute surplus funds to its members and is formed to fulfill specific objectives. While not-for-profit organizations and Nonprofit organ ...

"dedicated to preserving Santa Barbara’s historic architecture, landscapes and cultural heritage," seeks to carry on her work.

References

External links

About Pearl Chase

Resources

Community Development and Conservation Collection
University of California, Santa Barbara
Pearl Chase Papers
University of California, Santa Barbara {{DEFAULTSORT:Chase, Pearl 1888 births 1979 deaths People from Santa Barbara, California Philanthropists from California 20th-century American philanthropists 20th-century American women philanthropists