|
more articles like this
Downtown Walk
updated: Jan 08, 2011, 8:45 AM
By the dedicated staff
Santa Barbara has dozens of historic buildings downtown, all within walking distance of each other. Some date to the earliest days of Spain's efforts to control California, which is what led them to establish a military presence in the city.
Here's an easy walking route that covers just a few blocks and can be interspersed with stops at shops, coffeehouses, restaurants and other local businesses. It begins and ends at de la Guerra Plaza, located mid-block on East de la Guerra Street (between State Street and Anacapa Street).
Here is the route and the highlights.
 Walk start: de la Guerra Plaza. (Parking is available at city lots located at Anacapa and Ortega Streets, at Canon Perdido and Chapala Streets, and at Anacapa and Canon Perdido Streets.) The Plaza has been a gathering spot for Santa Barbarans for over 150 years. It was the site of the first meeting of local residents when they began setting up the city structure in 1850. City Hall was built here in 1875, and the current City Hall is on the plaza's eastern edge. At the U of the plaza drive is the building that houses the Santa Barbara News-Press, one of the longest-publishing daily newspapers in California and the site of dramatic turmoil between its owner and employees in 2006. The plaza is home to a bustling Mercado every year during Fiesta where vendors sell delicious Mexican specialties and dancers perform while bands play.
# # # #
# # # #
Casa de la Guerra. Directly across the street from the Plaza sits Casa de La Guerra. It was constructed by Jose de la Guerra, commander of the Santa Barbara Presidio, in 1828. The de la Guerra family has a long and storied history in Santa Barbara and their family cemetery plot can be viewed at Mission Santa Barbara. In 1836, the courtyard of Casa de la Guerra was the site of a historic wedding between Jose de la Guerra's daughter, Anita, and Alfred Robinson. A story of the ceremony is detailed in Richard Henry Dana's early California travelogue, "Two Years Before the Mast." Weddings continue to take place in Santa Barbara's historic buildings to this day. Directly behind Casa de la Guerra, you'll find El Paseo, a retail and office complex constructed from 1922-1928, in the Spanish Revival Style. Not long after it was built, Judy Garland was in a film created there. Its corridors and courtyards are worth a look, and there are several restaurants, including the historic El Paseo, within its walls.
# # # #
# # # #
Walking east on de la Guerra Street, cross over Anacapa Street, and go one more block. You'll pass the Orena Adobe, another historic home, at the corner of de la Guerra and Anacapa. Head to the Santa Barbara Historical Museum at 136 East De la Guerra. The museum is a hidden gem with a tiny gallery housing carefully selected rotating art exhibits. Through Feb. 6, 2011, you can see America's Grandeur: Landscapes of Clyde Aspevig. Check their site for updated exhibit information. The museum is a beautiful sunny interior courtyard and an excellent local archive used for historical and genealogical research. In front of the building is the huge anchor from the shipwrecked Aggie Norge, a cargo ship that beached on Santa Rosa Island in 1915.
# # # #
# # # #
Proceed up Santa Barbara Street (walking away from the ocean) to El Presidio de Santa Barbara State Historic Park, located at the corner of Santa Barbara and Canon Perdido Streets. This is what remains of the Presidio, the Spanish military fort built in 1782 and part of the chain of 21 missions and four presidios that the Spanish used to control the area for a time. Once a quadrangle-shaped compound, the only wing that remains is what used to be residential quarters for Spanish soldiers, and includes the historic Presidio Chapel. The chapel's brightly painted altar and far wall are a must-see. The church was in active use until the mid-1850s, and is still sometimes used for weddings. Early Santa Barbara settlers are buried under the chapel floor.
The presidio has been under extensive renovation and plans to rebuild more of the structure's northwest corner are currently underway.
# # # #
# # # #
# # # #
# # # #
Directly across the street from the Presidio, be sure to note the last remainders of Santa Barbara's once-thriving Chinatown. The former home of Jimmy's Oriental Gardens, the historic building is now part of the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation and will soon reopen with another popular local lunch spot inside. A plaque on the building shares insights into Chinatown history in Santa Barbara.
Head west to Anacapa Street, and then north on Anacapa to the Santa Barbara County Courthouse. They call the Courthouse (located at the corner of Anacapa and Anapamu Streets), with its architecture copied from Spanish castles, a historic masterpiece. Constructed in 1926-1929 in the aftermath of the 1925 Santa Barbara Earthquake, the courthouse challenges any public building in the state for style and artistic touches, even though it's the working day home for local judges, lawyers, and those on trial.
From the courthouse, walk west, past the Santa Barbara Public Library at the corner of Victoria and Anacapa Streets, and take a left to go into La Arcada, a particularly beautiful shopping corridor at any time of year. Take a minute to see the turtles in the fountain and some of the other unique artwork along the plaza corridors. If you don't stop to see the Museum of Art or shop, you'll be out on State Street within a few minutes. Conclude your downtown walk by heading south on State back to de la Guerra Plaza.
THIS LOCATION ON THE MAP
9 comments on this article. Read/Add
# # # #
|
