Mission Canyon

An Estate of Rare & Timeless Beauty

Architectural distinction pairs with a gorgeous mountain backdrop to create this singularly exquisite estate, offering approximately 7,200 square feet of living space on over two acres of landscaped private grounds and oak habitat.

Designed in 1928 by renowned architect Gardner Dailey, the architect of Montecito's famed Coral Casino, in a Modernist-influenced Spanish Colonial Revival style, this magnificent mountain-view estate has undergone a recently completed, meticulous restoration, resulting in a perfectly seamless integration of timeless architectural integrity with contemporary infrastructure.

Property Details

• Meticulously restored main residence with five bedrooms and seven baths on three levels
• Pool house with mountain views, loggia, fireplace, ½ bath, and courtyard shower, pool, fountain, and spa.  Both  the pool and spa are highlighted by artisan tile, inspired by Catalina tile designs, reminiscent of the period
• Approximately 2.15 acres, of varying terrain and topography, with electronically-gated entrance. Expansive, level, open grass areas offer potential for entertainment and sports activities
• Dramatic entrance through terraced lavender and olive gardens to expansive courtyard with fountain, loggia and custom exterior lighting
• Spectacular views of Cathedral and La Cumbre Peaks from many of the main rooms, including the great room, family room, master and guest bedrooms
• Romantic master bedroom has original marble fireplace, built-in cabinetry, huge bay window-seat with dramatic mountain views, master bath with radiant heat, dressing room, incredible ‘infinity’ tub, and cedar-lined closets
• Guest bedroom with separate interior staircase, balcony, and stunning custom bath with walls of windows
• Exciting Bulthup kitchen with apple wood cabinets and island, Wolf range, Miele appliances, butler’s pantry, floor to ceiling glass panels, and white lacquer accents,  opens up to a large, private al fresco dining courtyard with cut-out  herb gardens and fruit trees
• Elegant breakfast room and office with bath adjacent to the kitchen
• Custom Charlie Starbuck cabinetry in the library
• Lower level has both interior and exterior access and offers a wine cellar, tasting room, game room/bedroom, two ½ -baths, art studio, and room for a gardener’s potting room or storage
• Original Honduran mahogany flooring in most rooms
• Numerous decks, courtyards, loggias, private patios, and romantic ‘Romeo and Juliet’ wrought iron balconies invite the outside in.
• The recently completed renovation by Ensberg-Jacobs Design included all new electrical, plumbing, and heating/cooling systems
• Multiple-zone heating and air conditioning systems
• Security system with multiple zones
• Conveniently placed utility bath and mud room off garage
• Perimeter of property hedged with ficus trees  planted 18” on center

Historical Information*

“The plans (for the property located at 1041 Mission Ridge Road) were drawn by architect Gardner Dailey of San Francisco for the artist Bruce Porter in May 1927. Porter occupied the house from 1929 to 1937 according to city directories. 

Gardner Dailey (1895-1967), along with William Wurster, is credited with originating the Second Bay Region Tradition style in the 1930s and is considered one of the most influential architects in Northern California during his active years from the late 1920s until the 1960s.  Dailey was born in Minnesota and moved to San Francisco as a teenager.  He began his formal education at UC Berkeley, and after World War I, resumed it at Stanford University and Heald’s Engineering School in San Francisco.  In his early designs, which include the study property in 1928, historic styles predominated, especially Spanish Colonial Revival.  Noteworthy examples of Dailey’s early Spanish Colonial Revival projects are the Arnold House in Hillsborough and the Allied Arts Guild in Menlo Park, both completed in 1929.[1]

Dailey changed his design focus to Modernism in the mid-1930s.  He chose to temper the austere aspects of Modernism, however, by blending it with elements drawn from his area’s indigenous Arts and Crafts movement and Bay Region Tradition style.  His homes were sited and built to interact seamlessly with their natural or built surroundings.  This was particularly true in his Bay Area rural residences.  Many of these buildings were shaped to conform to the site topography, the walls were often sided with brick or redwood and wall openings provided view opportunities and encouraged movement between the inside and outdoor courtyards or gardens.  Dailey also designed numerous urban residential, commercial and institutional buildings during his long career, a few of which were overseas, but most were located in the Bay Area.  These included the Brazil Pavilion at the Treasure Island Exposition of 1939, the Red Cross Building (1948) and during the 1950s and 1960s, several educational buildings for UC Berkeley, UC Davis and Stanford University.  Dailey’s only other known Santa Barbara projects include the Coral Casino (1937) and an addition to the Mar Monte Hotel on Cabrillo Boulevard (1937).[2]

Bruce Porter(1865-1953) was a multi-talented artist, landscape architect and writer who was a part of the Arts and Crafts movement in Northern California and helped establish the First Bay Region Tradition style.  Porter was born in San Francisco, where he received his early education, and then studied overseas in London, Paris and Venice.  His sketch of a church in Italy inspired the design, formally composed by A. C. Schweinfurth, of the Swedenborgian Church (1894) in San Francisco, which is considered one of the iconic buildings of the Arts and Crafts movement.  Porter was also a regional landscape painter in the interpretive tradition.  One of his works, Presidio Cliffs, was exhibited at the Panama Pacific International Exposition, San Francisco, in 1915.  He painted many murals as well, including those at the Pacific Union Club and First Unitarian Church, both in San Francisco.  Public monument creation was another of his artistic pursuits.  He designed the Robert Louis Stevenson monument in San Francisco in 1897 and the Saratoga Memorial Arch in honor of World War I casualties in 1919.  Finally, as a writer, Porter wrote poetry and art criticism for newspapers and journals and was co-publisher of the literary magazine The Lark, 1895-1897.  No information was found regarding Porter’s artistic activities, if any, pursued during his short stay in Santa Barbara, 1929-1937.[3]”

*Excerpted from the Historic Structures Report for 1041 Mission Ridge Road prepared and researched by Ronald L. Nye, Historian