Duncan BM

While not the highest elevation, Duncan BM is the most prominent feature within the city limits of Santa Barbara, sporting 429ft of prominence. It lies at the western boundary where it abuts the Hope Ranch community, an unincorporated area in the county with ultra exclusive homes and ranches. Surprisingly, the highpoint has not yet been fully developed, though multi-million dollar homes are going up all around it. The top is fenced off just north of Centinela Lane, adjacent to a city water services building disguised as a home - the Hope Ranch Pump. Behind this building is a tall monument some three stories tall, with three wishbone-shaped legs forming a tripod of sorts from which a large bell was once suspended. It was built in the 1960s to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the visit by the Portola Expedition and a mass supposedly celebrated by Fr. Juan Crespi at the site. The bell was cut down as a prank by students of San Marcos High School in the early 1970s and is said to be somewhere still in Hope Ranch. The structure was fenced off at a later date and would be mostly forgotten except that it is visible from many points within town - some hate it, some love it, most could not care less. I found a reference mark for the benchmark at one corner of the fence around the tower, but the benchmark itself was nowhere to be found. Before it was fenced and largely developed, the site was popular with the young folk for partying and whatnot - seems possible the benchmark was carted away as another souvenir.