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the cost and closed the road to automobile traffic. In 1919, Knapp and
his friend, C.K.G. Billings, who also had a mountain lodge, offered to
contribute funds for road improvements.
On the Beach
Besides establishing his many mountain lodges, Knapp was one of
the early developers at Sandyland, the exclusive beach resort established
by Stewart Edward White. When White deserted Montecito for greater
tranquility in Hillsborough in 1916, Knapp and Frederick Forest Peabody
acquired several Sandyland lots and each built his own cottage in the
development. Knapp’s cottage suffered several storm-driven assaults by the
sea and finally succumbed in 1939.
kept a stable of horses and rode frequently. Along with his friend C. K. G.
Billings, he was a box holder at the Santa Barbara Polo Club’s new Bartlett
field in Montecito, which opened to the public in April 1916. He was a
member of the Montecito Country Club and instrumental in helping it
reorganize and acquire its present site and clubhouse. Later in life, he took
to caravanning and owned a convoy of trailers converted to RV use.
Knapp Cottage during 1939 storm, (Courtesy of Montecito History Committee)
There was once plenty of sand at Edgecliff Beach club, which sat on the point just
west of Eucalyptus Lane (Courtesy Santa Barbara Historical Museum)
A Community Tribute
A surprise luncheon was held in his honor on the occasion of his 75
th
birthday, after which phone calls from his many friends and beneficiaries
tied up the lines. Organized by Pearl Chase, Santa Barbarans gathered
Through Union Realty, Knapp also purchased beachfront land west of
Eucalyptus Lane in 1924. Groins and weirs were installed on the beach
to capture the drifting sand and Edgecliff Beach Club was built. Rows of
palm-roofed cabanas lined the bluff, and a tearoom served thousands of
customers in the first few years before the club became completely private.
The groins stole sand from the Miramar and other beaches farther east,
however, and in 1941 the courts ordered them destroyed. Just recently, all
remnants of Edgecliff were erased by demolition.
Knapp was an avid outdoorsman. Besides his many mountain and beach
properties, he made numerous camping trips to Santa Cruz Island. He
to express appreciation for his “generous philanthropy and deep and
sympathetic personal interest in community affairs.” Representatives from
organizations blessed by Knapp’s beneficence arrived at his door with a
large bouquet of flowers and a parchment of appreciation.
Flappers foxtrotting at Edgecliff Beach Club, late 20s (Courtesy Santa Barbara Historical Museum)