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At first glance, this object looks like a messy lump of blue and brown wax. But if you look closer, you can see it is actually a detailed model of a building. It mimics the distinctive roof of the former Bank of America branch in Isla Vista, California, which is home to the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB).

This item is claimed to have been sold to raise money for students who were arrested after the famous bank burning of 1970. The story goes that it allowed supporters to take the “fire of the revolution” home with them—when lit, the wax bank would melt and collapse, letting people symbolically “burn down the bank” in their own homes.

It’s a compelling story. But while the history of the 1970 Isla Vista burning is extensively documented, this particular fundraising candle exists in a fog of uncertainty. No similar examples appear in museum collections, auction records, or archival documentation from the era—though the event itself was very real.

The Fire: February 25, 1970

To understand this object, you have to understand what happened in Isla Vista. By early 1970, students were seething with anger about the Vietnam War, police harassment, and the draft. Young men were being conscripted to fight in Southeast Asia without even having the right to vote.

On the evening of February 25, 1970, attorney William Kunstler gave a speech defending the Chicago Seven. Afterward, police beat a student named Rich Underwood. The protest turned into a riot. Police retreated, and the crowd turned toward the Bank of America.

Eyewitness Tim Owens, later a Peabody Award-winning broadcaster, described what happened: “I watched as a burning dumpster was being rammed through the bank’s doors; catching the curtains inside on fire.” The building burned to the ground. Governor Ronald Reagan declared a state of emergency and deployed the National Guard.

Why Bank of America?

Why was Bank of America the target? Student activists had multiple grievances against the bank:

• The Vietnam War: Students believed the bank was helping to finance U.S. military operations in Southeast Asia. Bank of America had branches in Saigon and was seen as complicit in the war machine. As student newspaper editor Becca Wilson explained, it was “a symbol of the corporations that benefited from war and were oppressing people all over world.”
• Corporate Power: As the world’s largest bank at the time, Bank of America represented the establishment that students were rebelling against.
• Farm Workers: The bank had sided with California grape growers against César Chávez’s striking United Farm Workers, another flashpoint issue for activists.

By burning the bank, students felt they were striking a blow against corporate power and the war.

The Aftermath: Arrests and Legal Defense

The consequences were swift and severe. Over 900 people were arrested during the spring 1970 riots in Isla Vista. Seventeen prominent student leaders were indicted by a Grand Jury specifically for the bank burning—despite several having solid alibis.

A Student Legal Defense Fund was established to help pay for lawyers. This much is documented in the UCSB Library Special Collections and contemporary records.

The Candle: Clever Fundraiser or Modern Myth?

Here’s where the story becomes murky. According to the narrative attached to objects like this one, organizers created “Bank of Amerika” candles as a fundraising tool. The name deliberately spelled “America” with a “K”—a common protest convention in the 1960s and 70s meant to suggest fascism, echoing the German and Russian spellings. This spelling was popularized by groups like the Youth International Party (Yippies) and appeared in works like Abbie Hoffman’s 1971 book Steal This Book.

The candle concept is ingenious: an interactive protest object that generated revenue while letting supporters participate symbolically in the rebellion. Light the wick, watch the wax melt, and the corporate symbol collapses.

But here’s the problem: despite extensive research, no other examples of these candles appear to exist. They don’t turn up in museum collections like the Whitney Museum or UCSB archives, which house extensive Isla Vista riot memorabilia including pamphlets, flyers, witness forms, and even an astrological chart about the bank burning.

What does exist—and is well-documented—is the famous “Bank of Amerika” poster showing the burning bank, designed as a mock check by the artist collective “Metamorphosis” in March 1970. This poster is in the Whitney Museum’s permanent collection and regularly appears at auction.

Could someone have made candles locally that left no paper trail? Possibly. But the complete absence of any archival mention, auction appearance, or collector discussion is notable for an item supposedly produced in some quantity fifty years ago.

The Bank Rebuilt

The real Bank of America branch in Isla Vista was rebuilt shortly after the fire. A temporary trailer structure was erected almost immediately. Tragically, on April 18, 1970—less than two months after the original burning—student Kevin Moran was shot and killed by police while trying to protect this temporary structure from arsonists.

The permanent replacement building was designed with security in mind, described by local sources as “bunker-like.” Local legend claims it was modeled on Bank of America’s Saigon branch—meant to survive in a war zone—though architectural documentation of this specific claim is elusive.

The building remained a Bank of America branch until 1982, later housed nightclubs, and since 2002 has served as UCSB’s Embarcadero Hall. The original bank vault is still inside.

A Frozen Moment

Whether this specific candle was truly made in 1970 or is a later creation inspired by the famous event, it captures something essential about that moment in American history. Students believed that destroying the symbols of power could help topple the power itself. They were angry enough to burn buildings, creative enough to turn protest into art, and organized enough to mount legal defenses for hundreds of arrested activists.

The 1970 Isla Vista bank burning remains one of the most documented student protests of the Vietnam War era. This object—whatever its true origin—serves as a tangible reminder of a time when students thought the flame of revolution could burn in every home.