The Santa Barbara County Courthouse is a

Spanish Colonial Revival The Spanish Colonial Revival Style ( es, Arquitectura neocolonial española) is an architectural stylistic movement arising in the early 20th century based on the Spanish Colonial architecture of the Spanish colonization of the Americas. In the ...

style building designed by William Mooser IIIThe Historic Santa Barbara County Courthouse
. Superior Court of California: Santa Barbara County. and completed in 1929. Architect

Charles Willard Moore Charles Willard Moore (October 31, 1925 – December 16, 1993) was an American architect, educator, writer, Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, and winner of the AIA Gold Medal in 1991. He is often labeled as the father of postm ...

called it the "grandest Spanish Colonial Revival structure ever built," and the prime example of Santa Barbara's adoption of Spanish Colonial as its civic style. Located at 1100 Anacapa Street, in downtown Santa Barbara, California. the building replaced a smaller

Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but a ...

courthouse A courthouse or court house is a building that is home to a local court of law and often the regional county government as well, although this is not the case in some larger cities. The term is common in North America. In most other English-spe ...

built there in 1872–88 and badly damaged in an earthquake on June 29, 1925.Santa Barbara County Courthouse Official Website
Santa Barbara County Courthouse National Historic Landmark nomination. 2004. The complex was designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

in 2005 for its architecture.

Description

The courthouse is composed of four buildings, totaling . It includes a Jail Wing, which is no longer used to hold prisoners. Visitors may take elevators to the summit of the "El Mirador" clock tower, which has labeled photographs that show what the viewer is looking at in all directions. Currently, the Santa Barbara County Courthouse is undergoing several restoration projects in the various wings, and just finished restoring the disintegrating fountain in the front. In the past two years $150,000 was spent in maintenance and improvements. Occupying an entire city block, the grounds contain a collection of palms and specimen trees from more than 25 countries. The courthouse hosts many events, particularly at the Sunken Garden, site of the 1872 courthouse. As of 2015, almost 7,000 visitors from 60 countries came to visit in the past year.

Façade

The main entrance to the courthouse features a large façade depicting two enthroned figures; between the figures is an inscription of a Spanish translation of a quote from

Marcus Terentius Varro Marcus Terentius Varro (; 116–27 BC) was a Roman polymath and a prolific author. He is regarded as ancient Rome's greatest scholar, and was described by Petrarch as "the third great light of Rome" (after Vergil and Cicero). He is sometimes call ...

. The equivalent English translation is found on the right door to the right.

Gallery

File:Santa Barbara Courthouse Facade Door Detail.JPG, "Reason is the Life of the Law" File:Entrance slogan Santa Barbara County Courthouse.jpg, Inscription above the main entrance: ''"Dios nos dio los campos. El arte humana edificó ciudades."'' This translates to ''"God gave us the fields. Human art built cities."'' File:Santa Barbara County Courthouse2.jpg, Sunken Garden and clock tower File:Santa Barbara County Courthouse Mural room.jpg, Interior view of the Mural Room File:USA-Santa Barbara-County Courthouse-6.jpg, Main entrance and clock tower File:Santa Barbara County Courthouse CA.jpg, Front view of the courthouse

References

External links

The Historic Santa Barbara County Courthouse
Superior Court of California: Santa Barbara County
Santa Barbara County Courthouse Official WebsiteVisiting the Court HouseView of the Anacapa Arch at the Santa Barbara County Courthouse, Santa Barbara, California, 1929.

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

Photographic Archive (Collection 1429). UCLA Library Special Collections,

Charles E. Young Research Library The Charles E. Young Research Library is one of the largest libraries on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles in Westwood, Los Angeles, California. It initially opened in 1964, and a second phase of construction was completed ...

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

.
Image of the Santa Barbara County Courthouse under construction, Santa Barbara, California.