​Architect spotlight: Chester Carjola (1901-1985)

When you spend as much time as we do getting to know the homes of the Montecito, Santa Barbara and Hope Ranch communities, examples of historic architecture make us dream of what life was like in this area’s formative years. Today we have the exquisite pleasure of representing a classic Hope Ranch farmhouse at 4691 Via Roblada designed by Chester Carjola.

Carjola is highly regarded for steering the design influences of local architecture from the early 1930s until the mid-1960s. In that period he received many residential commissions. His work reflected variations of period revival styles, ranging from Spanish Colonial to Mediterranean to English Tudor. Carjola’s talents are showcased in public buildings, too. He designed the Fleischmann Auditorium at the Santa Barbara Natural History Museum. When the former post office on State Street became the Santa Barbara Museum of Art in 1941, Carjola was responsible for the remodel. He also designed the Gladwin Planetarium for the Natural History Museum, and the first two phases of the library’s construction at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Come for a viewing of the Hope Ranch home at 4691 Via Roblada, and get a taste of the handiwork of an historic architecture icon.