Subscriber Comments for
Roadside Attraction

Comments in order of when they were received | (reverse order)

COMMENT 146939	2011-02-19 09:05 AM
I think this is the place my Dad used to fill up back some 50+ years ago. At that time no attendant was actually present - you just filled up, put your name and the gallons taken on a list and you were billed later.
COMMENT 147001	2011-02-19 11:41 AM
Really enjoyed reading this article and the attached link! Many times we have driven past this and wondered what it used to be. We knew it must have some history behind it because of the chain fence around it. Hopefully Mr Ty Warner, who know owns it now, will get around to having it restored own day. What is the story regarding what looks like it was once a Spanish style school on the right side of 101. Over the years we've lived here we've noticed it has been bordered up - and now more and more cars and RVS are parked on the land.
COMMENT 147026	2011-02-19 01:35 PM
Wouldn't you think that some oil company that is currently making big bucks on SB County's oil would like to restore the place and turn it into a historical attraction rather than the dilapidated eyesore than it is? I know it would be welcomed by all.
COMMENT 147047	2011-02-19 02:43 PM
The "Spanish style school" (on the right side if you're northbound) was a school for the Gaviota area, known as Vista del Mar School, until an oil refinery was built in the adjacent canyon. At that time they built a replacement school on the other side of the tunnel, and turned the school into office space. One item of interest, an F-86F Sabre jet s/n 51-13082 was parked in front of the school, which was a rather unusual piece of playground equipment. It is now at McClellan in California, undergoing restoration.
COMMENT 147064	2011-02-19 03:57 PM
I thought the old Vista del Mar school site was closed due to soil contamination on the grounds. I didn't know they turned it into office space...
COMMENT 147071P	2011-02-19 04:45 PM
Actually, the old Vista Del Mar school had not been in use for a long time before Chevron built the oil and gas processing plant on the site. Initially, the intent was to use the building for the facility offices, but it was in such poor condition, it was never used. The new school was sited in a location that was more accessible to the kids who go there, since the town of Gaviota was long gone.
BECKY	2011-02-19 08:39 PM
Vista Del Mar School... Either my memory is really good or really bad. What I remember about the Vista Del Mar School is that it was closed because of contamination (probably oil/gas related carcinogens in the dirt) that could not be removed, and that it was easier/cheaper to build a new school than to try to clean up the existing one. Ellwood Gas Station: I love it, but it makes me sad that it isn't restored and used. It could be a great 'northern terminus' visitor center. It could be a charming sandwich shop, with outdoor tables having a lovely view of the gold course. So much potential, just sitting neglected, if protected...
EL BARBARENO	2011-02-20 08:23 AM
This is a disgrace!!!! The Barnsdale-Rio Grande is a Santa Barbara County Landmark and even with that designation and recognition it has been neglected and left to rot for decades. The property is currently owned by Ty Warner as part of the Sandpiper Golf Course. Back in the 1990s, prior to Mr. Warner's ownership, the Sandpiper proposed to build homes on part of the golf course, with the homes designed to reflect several of the architectural elements of the old service station. The owners proposed to move the gas station a few hundred feet up the road to the entrance to the new development where it could be used as a “gatehouse” to check visitors in and out or perhaps as a community meeting room. For all the expense, hours of arguing, meetings, letter writing and brouhaha over the Coral Casino modifications it is sad that this building, an award-winning gas station and County Landmark is allowed to remain in this state of neglect. There are many possibilities of what could be done with this building if it were restored.
COMMENT 147160	2011-02-20 08:55 AM
It is absolutely SHAMEFUL the way the Barnsdale station has been allowed to deteriorate. It was once so beautiful.
COMMENT 147001	2011-02-20 10:06 AM
Yes it is shameful that this historical land mark has been left to deterioate. Can someone bring this to Mr Warners attention? Perhaps he is not aware that he owns it and the history surrounding it.
COMMENT 147178	2011-02-20 10:17 AM
Why not restore it to its previous function as a gas station? There's a shortage of gas stations in West Goleta and competition would help lower prices. There will be at least a hundred more cars in the area with the high-density 101 unit Haskell's Landing project, further increasing the need for another gas station.
COMMENT 147189	2011-02-20 10:42 AM
Wasn't the gas station given a nice makeover 15 or 20 years ago so it could be used as a (surprise!) gas station in some period-piece movie--I want to say it was the remake of "The Postman Always Rings Twice," but I could be wrong. After the movie was filmed, the station went to hell again. Anyone else remember that?
KDEF	2011-02-20 02:07 PM
Thanks to the Edhat dedicated staff for featuring the iconic Barnsdell Rio Grande gas station in Elwood. The Pearl Chase Society along with members of the Goleta City Council have been in communication with Ty Warner Resorts concerning the station's restoration. In general in order for an owner to preserve and maintain a landmark structure a practical use has to be found. Ty Warner has plans for a reconfigured Sandpiper Golf Course in which the station would be an entrance to a driving range. Possibly it could be a small museum with photos of the history of the station and the adjacent oil field along with material on the Japanese shelling in 1942, but who would man it. There are petroliana collectors and old car buffs who would love to see the gas station restored. The Ty Warner people are now saying that any progress on the Sandpiper will have to wait until the renovations to the Montecito Country Club are completed. The station was spruced up for the 1981 remake of The Postman Always Rings Twice.
SEEDLADY	2011-02-20 02:49 PM
IIRC this was in a 'where is it' on edhat some years ago. p..s: thanks for the update on the F-86. I remember it from my Cal Poly days, going back and forth to see in-laws in LA. Glad to hear it's being restored.
EDHAT ONLINE	2011-02-20 03:30 PM
I know that we have featured the old gas station at some time in the past. I remember taking pictures of it. But, somehow I can't find it in the Where Is It. FYI ... if any one hasn't browsed through Where Is Its on Edhat, there's a convenient link on the left hand side of the page. It's the third one in gray. Ed says, "Check it out!"
EL BARBARENO	2011-02-20 03:54 PM
I hate to be a wet blanket, but I have heard one developer after another promise to fix up an historic structure associated with a property AFTER they finish the project. Unfortunately the structure is ignored and left to deteriorate. Two which immediately come to mind are the Keenan-Hartley house which was supposed to have been restored by the developers of Los Olivos Meadows as part of the condition for their development. Instead it was left abandoned and open to vandalism and weather damage until saved at near to the proverbial last minute by Adam Firestone who moved it to its current location in 1999. The second is the California Hotel. It was supposed to be renovated as part of Bill Levy's La Crapola project for lower State Street after he finished the hotel/condos/time-shares. Anyone even slightly familiar with Mr. Levy knew he'd never follow through on that promise and he'd let it sit until the state mandated seismic retrofit deadline passed (2013) and then he could tear the whole thing down. Of course Mr. Levy had Mayor Miller and the council in his pocket and they approved El Crapola even though the majority of Santa Barbarans opposed the project. The Ty Warner group may be promising to do something with the Barnsdale-Rio Grand building when they finish the Montecito Country Club, but in the meantime pieces of the former gas station are falling off, and nothing is or has been done to protect it from the elements. I fear they are hoping - as the Los Olivos Meadows owners hoped with the Keenan-Hartley house – that the building will be beyond renovation by the time they finally “get around to it.”
TMO	2011-02-20 06:35 PM
I saw some guys working on it recently. Actually they were writing up a bid to do work on it. Suprisingly, they informed me Ty Warner doesn't even own it. They gave me another name. They also said the owner was planning to restore it and make it a business of some sort. Here's a link. http://www.goletasurfing.com/ellwoodgas.html
COMMENT 148168	2011-02-23 03:06 PM
The Vista Del Mar School as of last year at least is now the Channel Islands Marine and Wildlife Institute (CIMWI). You can volunteer your time there like I did. (cimwi.org) Basically they pick up sea lions mostly from Ventura county and care for them. The cars etc are for those who volunteer there. They had the new Blue Whale Skeleton for the Natural History Museum there for awhile to get all the meat off of it. Only entrance is via a locked gate Nbound 101.

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