Alice Keck Park Memorial Gardens
Coordinates: 34°25′42″N 119°42′22″W / 34.428347°N 119.705983°W
Alice Keck Park Memorial Gardens is a memorial park located in Santa Barbara, California. It consists of one entire city block, bounded by Santa Barbara, Micheltorena, Garden, and Arrellaga Streets; it is across Santa Barbara Street from the Unitarian Society of Santa Barbara, and across Micheltorena Street from Alameda Park.
The gardens, formerly the site of Albert Herter's El Mirasol Hotel, were purchased and donated to the city in 1975, and dedicated in 1980.
The real estate and an endowment for its conversion into a park were a gift to the city, from an anonymous donor. The mystery existed for two years until it was revealed to have been given by Alice Keck Park, the daughter of William Myron Keck, the founder of Superior Oil Company. The revelation was not made until after her death, as she wished. The City subsequently named the park in her honor.
These gardens include a man-made pond stocked with turtle and koi, as well as a gazebo and many meandering walkways and paths. All the plants in the garden, some native and some ornamental, are chosen specifically to be tolerant of the low-water nature of the Santa Barbara climate.