With gas lighting, fireplaces, speaking tubes for communication, and "pure mountain stream water," it had about 90 guest rooms.

[3] It was opened on 27 February 1876 and is thought to have been named after Arlington House, the family home of Confederate Army General Robert E. Lee.

[4] Among the famous guests who stayed at the hotel were Presidents Harrison, McKinley and Roosevelt, many other American and foreign dignitaries, and Princess Louise, the fourth daughter of Queen Victoria.

[5] A Los Angeles architect, Arthur Burnett Benton, was commissioned to build a replacement hotel in the old Spanish Mission Revival style.

[5] The devastation to Santa Barbara was such that the downtown area had to be razed, and the city planners were able to enforce strict building standards when it was rebuilt.