Santa Barbara Pool Gets Landmark Status
The Los Banos del Mar swimming pool in Santa Barbara has been given official city landmark status, ending local concern that the Depression-era outdoor plunge would be torn down.
The pool, among the last in a string of public pools and bathhouses that used to line the Southern California coast, was designated a landmark on a 6-1 vote of the Santa Barbara City Council on Tuesday.
In a proposed master plan for the city’s harbor, the pool was targeted for possible destruction to make room for a parking lot entrance. Pool supporters gathered 6,539 signatures on petitions to preserve the facility.
Civic and city officials said the outpouring of concern for the pool was the greatest they could remember on any issue in Santa Barbara.
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