Santa Barbara Courthouse

Downtown Santa Barbara. Spanish Colonial Revival, William Mooser, finished in 1929 after the 1925 earthquake took the earlier court. Sunken garden, painted rooms, a tower called El Mirador.

Inside: murals by Dan Sayre Groesbeck. Ceilings by Giovanni Smeraldi, who also worked at the Biltmore in Los Angeles and The Breakers in Florida.

• Four buildings, about 150,000 square feet.
• Clock tower 85 feet — El Mirador, the lookout.
• Grounds planted with trees from some twenty-five countries.

Figures in the stone keep watch along the walk.

El Mirador

Stairs to the clock tower. A mural room on the way up by Ed Lister, on timekeeping. Then the bell chamber and a weight-driven Seth Thomas clock. The deck looks at the mountains, the town, and the channel.

Courts close on the weekend. The grounds and tower stay open.

Experiences