bjgreen
By Betsy J. Green
The “Flying A” studio released the first part of their adventure serial “The Diamond From the Sky” on May 3, 1915. This 30-part serial began with a meteorite (containing a diamond) dropping from the sky near a Native American village.
This silent movie scene was filmed near the dam in what is now the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden. “The old mission dam has been temporarily enlarged so as to secure a larger body of quiet water, and about this has been erected an Indian village.” – Santa Barbara Morning Press, March 9, 1915. (It is doubtful if any Native Americans were involved in building or performing this scene.)
“Hundreds of tourists sojourning in Santa Barbara and Montecito, were permitted to enjoy the proceedings from the sidelines.” – Moving Picture World, April 3, 1915
Betsy’s Way Back When book — Movies & Million-Dollar Mansions — is now available in local bookstores and at Amazon.com. This is the seventh book in her series on the history of Santa Barbara. Learn more at .
