In the early 1900s, Santa Barbara and Montecito became favorite haunts of the rich and famous. The climate, natural beauty, and mineral springs attracted those who sought refuge from a bustling world. The community remains an escape for the wealthy from Los Angeles and the East Coast. Montecito particularly is the site of vast, breathtaking estates hidden behind tall hedges and walls.

Between 1912 and 1921, Santa Barbara also became home to the largest movie studio. Flying A Studios was built at the northwest corner of State and Mission Streets, and for a time it made the city the film capital of the world. The studio-and the movie stars who came with it-added to the city's allure.

Many of the wealthy people who moved here-either to retire or spend time at second (or third) homes-became guiding forces behind the a movement to preserve and beautify the city.

Among these people were Dwight Murphy, a multi-millionaire who made his money in railroads and retired-at the age of 41-to Santa Barbara in Summerland, a small cummunity on the South Coast, from 1921 to 1956. William H. Bliss, a wealthy St. Louis attorney, came to Montecito before World War I. He and his New York socialite wife built Casa Dorinda, a large estate that today is a retirement community for the wealthy. And there was Avery Brundage, a Chicago contractor who made millions, lost his fortune in the Depression, and then recovered it in real estate. Brundage owned the Montecito Country Club and the El Paseo building in downtown Santa Barbara in the 1950s.

These men and their families are typical of the people who brought wealth and, through their philanthropy and guidance, helped the community retain its charm and air of exclusivity. They also created a wide variety of cultural and civic organizations, far more than are usual in communities of Santa Barbara's size.

The presence of these influential Santa Barbarans has been a magnet for dignitaries. Presidents and royalty have vacationed or visited here. Rutherford B. Hayes and Benjamin Harrison paid visits in the 1800s. William McKinley, Teddy Roosevelt, and Herbert Hoover made campaign stops.

President John F. Kennedy and his bride, Jacqueline, honeymooned at the graceful San Ysidro Ranch in Montecito in 1953. His brother Robert and his wife, Ethel, also honeymooned here. President Ronald Reagan still retains his hilltop ranch just northwest fo the city. During Reagan's presidency, from 1981 to 1989, Santa Barbara became known as the "western White House," and the flurry of media people and presidential aides that accompanied him put the city in the national spotlight throughout the decade. Soon after President Bill Clinton's election in 1992, he and his wife, Hilary, vactioned at the beachside estate of television producers Harry Thomason and Linda Bloodworth-Thomason.

Movie stars and entertainers continue to seek solace in Santa Barbara and Montecito. In earlier years, actors Ronald Colman, Leo Carrillo, and Rita Hayworth spent time here as did Charlie Chaplin, who married a woman from the South Coast community of Carpinteria. More recently, Michael Douglas, Kevin Costner, Jonathan Winters,David Crosby,Dennis Miller,Michael McDonald,Kathy Ireland,Bo Derek,Jackson Browne, George Michael, Eva Marie Saint, Kenny Loggins, and Fess Parker have been among the many entertainers who have made the Santa Barbara area their home.

Queen Elizabeth II of England visited in 1983. She arrived during a major storm but managed to visit prominent spots in the city, including the Santa Barbara Mission, and made a treacherous trip up the mud-slick mountain road leading to the Reagan ranch to see the president and his wife.

Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev stopped here during his tour of the country in 1959, and former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, who presided over the breakup of the Soviet Union in the late 1980s, has visited on several occasions.