Santa Barbara County Courthouse
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Santa Barbara County Courthouse
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Santa Barbara County Courthouse, exterior view from the clock tower, showing the Sunken Garden
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| Location: | Santa Barbara, California |
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| Coordinates: | 34°25′27.66″N 119°42′8.86″W / 34.42435°N 119.7024611°WCoordinates: 34°25′27.66″N 119°42′8.86″W / 34.42435°N 119.7024611°W |
| Built: | 1926 |
| Architect: | William Mooser III |
| Governing body: | Local |
| NRHP Reference#: | 81000177[1] |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP: | January 23, 1981 |
| Designated NHL: | April 5, 2005[2] |
The Santa Barbara County Courthouse is located at 1100 Anacapa Street, Santa Barbara, California. Designed by William Mooser III[3] and completed in 1929, the Spanish Colonial Revival style building replaced the smaller Greek Revival courthouse of the same location.[4] Architect Charles Willard Moore 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.[2]
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[edit] Description
Occupying an entire city block in downtown Santa Barbara, the courthouse hosts many events, particularly at the Sunken Garden, site of the 1872 courthouse.
The courthouse is composed of four buildings, totaling 150,000 square feet (14,000 m2). The courthouse also contains a Jail Wing; however, the wing is no longer used to hold prisoners. Visitors may take elevators to reach the summit of the 85 ft (26 m) "El Mirador" clock tower. The clock tower also has labeled photographs that show what the viewer is looking at in all directions.[3]
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.[4]
[edit] Façade
The main entrance to the courthouse features a large façade depicting two enthroned figures; between the figures is an inscription in Spanish reading:
DIOS NOS DIO LOS CAMPOS
EL ARTE HVMANA EDIFICO CIVDADES
which roughly translates to:
GOD GAVE US FIELDS
[BUT] THE SKILL OF MAN BUILT CITIES
[edit] References
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2008-04-15. http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natreg/docs/All_Data.html.
- ^ a b NHL Summary
- ^ a b Santa Barbara County Superior Court : The Historic Courthouse
- ^ a b Santa Barbara County Courthouse Official Website
- ^ Dios nos dio los campos/El arte humana edificó ciudades
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Santa Barbara County Courthouse |
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- Visitor attractions in Santa Barbara, California
- Spanish Colonial Revival architecture in California
- Buildings and structures in Santa Barbara, California
- County courthouses in California
- National Historic Landmarks in California
- Government buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in California
- Spanish Colonial Revival architecture
- Mediterranean Revival architecture in California
- Mission Revival architecture in California
- California building and structure stubs
- California politics stubs
