Montecito’s Casa del Herrero will reopen to the general public next Wednesday, September 9. Closed since mid-March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Casa is ready to safely welcome tour guests back to the estate. While indoor spaces remain closed, guests will now engage in a reimagined self-guided garden tour. “The Casa’s original owner, George […]
St. Paul’s has been nominated for inclusion on the list of Santa Barbara City historic landmarks and is working toward state and national recognition as well. Organized by architect Robert Ooley, F.A.I.A., a group of volunteers has been gathering historic information about the church to support the nominations; I was lucky enough to be among […]
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St. Paul’s has been nominated to become a Santa Barbara City historic landmark and is working toward State and National recognition as well. Organized by architect Robert Ooley, F.A.I.A., a group of volunteers has been gathering historic information about the church to support the nominations; I was lucky enough to be among them. The African […]
As my docent Courthouse tour continues, we have exited the Mural Room and walked into the Lobby just outside the door on the second floor. We see the nine-by-twelve-foot painting of the landing of Juan Cabrillo which Dan Groesbeck had painted in 1924 for County National Bank. It was influential in his being chosen to […]
I have to say, when I first heard his story, it read like tall tale or legend, much like the stories of Paul Bunyan and John Henry. Bigger than life heroes, for sure; so the skeptical side of me decided to do some fact checking. What I discovered, despite the erroneous claim that he was […]
While we’re waiting for this pandemic to subside it might be fun to learn a bit about one of our five National Historic Landmarks, the County Courthouse. The others are the Mission, Casa del Herrero, the Raphael Gonzales Adobe, and the Santa Barbara Club. As I write this the Courthouse has a lock on the […]
Isolated from most of my historical resources, I am turning to the work of those who have come before me, most especially, my friend and mentor, the late Maria Herold, longtime volunteer curator of the Montecito Association History Committee. Maria’s passion for the history of Montecito led her to walk every street, knock on every […]
Santa Barbara has five National Historic Landmarks – the Courthouse, the Mission, the Raphael Gonzales Adobe, the Santa Barbara Club, and Casa del Herrero. The Casa is a great tourist attraction and I have been lucky enough to be a docent there for twenty years. I would like to tell you about the origins of […]
Thomas C. Parker, president and director of Hutton Parker Foundation, really knows how to celebrate history, and he is willing to share. The Foundation has recently completed a multimillion-dollar restoration of the historic Hill-Carrillo Adobe and is offering the beautifully appointed building to non-profit groups for meeting space – for free! In addition, one wing […]
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Beginning on Tuesday, February 25, local historian Erin Graffy will host a special lecture series on Montecito history, as part of Santa Barbara City College’s School of Extended Learning. “In the past I’ve hosted lectures on Santa Barbara history, and I’ve been asked to focus now on Montecito,” Graffy said. “We’ll cover such themes as […]
Thursday, February 20 at 4 pm, we are hosting a presentation by Chumash and Tataviam Elder and proud California Native American Alan Salazar. Learn about traditional paddling of tomol (canoes) and more about tribal history and culture. Salazar has been a preschool teacher, juvenile institutions officer, Native American consultant/monitor, spiritual advisor and member of the […]
Former telecommunications executive Terry Valeski is Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History’s new chair for the board of trustees. Terry, a former Montecito neighbor, served on the museum’s board for six years and previously served as vice chair for finance. “The museum and sea center have evolved magnificently over the years and are truly an […]
Casa del Herrero (House of the Blacksmith) is a National Historic Landmark in Montecito near upper village. George and Carrie Steedman came to Santa Barbara in the early ‘20s from St. Louis with George’s brother. His brother was diabetic and needed insulin. The only place in the whole United States to get it at that […]
“It is a perhaps a little humiliating to us that we should have to wait till a stranger should come across the continent to reveal to us the beauties that lie at our door,” said the Reverend J.W. Hough at the library soiree in the Odd Fellows Building on State Street in September 1875. He […]
