Santa Barbara Legacy Reel Audio Tape Collection

Collection

Identifier: AR-2022-003

Staff Only

Santa Barbara Legacy Reel Audio Tape Collection on California Revealed

Scope and Contents

The Santa Barbara Legacy Reel Audio Tape Collection contain recordings of oral histories, radio programs, meetings, lectures, telephone conversations, ceremonies, and music perfomances of local old timers and influential people. These 184 electronic files, extracted from 98 one quarter-inch reel-to-reel magnetic tapes, represent the earliest audio recordings made by the Santa Barbara Historical Museum.

Dates

1952 - 1978

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Property rights reside with the Santa Barbara Historical Museum. For permission to reproduce or to publish, please contact the Head Archivist of the Gledhill Library.

Biographical / Historical

The Santa Barbara Historical Society was formed in October 1932 to foster research and study of the history of the city and county of Santa Barbara. In 1943, the Society became a California non-profit corporation with exhibit and storage space in the tower room of the Santa Barbara County Courthouse. In the 1950s the Franciscans offered the Society office and exhibition space at the Santa Barbara Mission. It was during this period that curator W. Edwin Gledhill began documenting the Society's preservation efforts by means of audio recordings. The capturing of memories on reel-to-reel magnetic tape continued into the 1970s until others took over the Society's recording efforts using the new compact and elegant technology of audio cassettes.

Extent

184 Electronic files (extracted from 98 audiotape reels)

98 Reels (of one-quarter inch reel-to-reel magnetic oxide tapes)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

The Santa Barbara Legacy Reel Audio Tapes Collection contains the earliest recordings of people and events of mid-20th century Santa Barbara historic preservation efforts. From the 1950s into the 1970s, there was a concerted effort at the local, county, and state levels to raise awareness of Santa Barbara's storied past. During this period the Historical Society, as the Museum was then known, began a publications program, established a decade-long presence at the Santa Barbara Mission, and built a permanent museum in the heart of downtown. Through the efforts of its leaders, the historic El Pueblo Viejo district was established along with a spin-off organization that would reconstruct the Presidio, Santa Barbara's birthplace. This collection of reel-to-reel tapes documents many of the key events of this golden era of historic preservation in Santa Barbara.

Arrangement

The Santa Barbara Legacy Reel Audio Tape recordings are arranged in nine (9) series:

1) Broadcasts, 1954-1959

2) Conferences, 1966

3) Conversations, 1952-1961

4) Events, 1959-1966

5) Lectures, 1954-1978

6) Meetings, 1954-1966

7) Music, 1955-1978

8) Oral Histories, 1954-1970

9) Oral Readings, 1960-1963

Condition Description

The magnetic oxide audio tapes, ranging in age from 45 to 70 years old, are in usable condition for digitization as of 2023. Although the quality of the recordings themselves are uneven, their content was made accessible by reformating to digital and posting to Internet Archive and California Revealed.

Processing Information

The Santa Barbara Legacy Reel Audio Tape Collection was prepared for digitization by Leslie A. Ervin and Chris S. Ervin CA from April to July 2022. The tapes were digitized in 2023 through the California Revealed Digitization and Preservation Program. The collection guide description was refined by Chris S. Ervin CA in 2024.