Santa Barbara County Courthouse

Infobox_nrhp2 | name =Santa Barbara County Courthouse
nhl=yes

---

caption = Santa Barbara County Courthouse, exterior view from the Sunken Garden
location= Santa Barbara, California
lat_degrees = 34
lat_minutes = 25
lat_seconds = 30
lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 119
long_minutes = 41
long_seconds = 24
long_direction = W
locmapin = California
area =
built =1926
architect= William Mooser III
architecture=
added = January 23, 1981
designated_nhl = April 5, 2005 [http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=813578806&ResourceType=Building NHL Summary] ]
governing_body = Local
refnum=81000177cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=2008-04-15|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service]

The Santa Barbara County Courthouse is located at 1100 Anacapa Street, Santa Barbara, California. Designed by William Mooser III. [ [http://www.sbcourts.org/general_info/cthouse_info.htm Santa Barbara County Superior Court : The Historic Courthouse ] ] and completed in 1929, the Spanish Colonial Revival style building replaced the smaller Greek Revival courthouse of the same location. [ [http://www.santabarbaracourthouse.org/sbch/ Santa Barbara County Courthouse Official Website ] ] It is credited with the creation of the trend celebrating the Spanish architectural influences in the region.

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. 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 "El Mirador" clock tower. [ [http://www.sbcourts.org/general_info/cthouse_info.htm Santa Barbara County Superior Court : The Historic Courthouse ] ]

Currently, the Santa Barbara County Courthouse is undergoing several restoration projects in the various wings. [ [http://www.santabarbaracourthouse.org/sbch/ Santa Barbara County Courthouse Official Website ] ]

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 EDIFICIOS CIUDADES"

which roughly translates to:

"GOD GAVE US THE FIELDS"
"HUMAN ART [IS] CITY BUILDINGS"

References

External links

*http://www.sbcourts.org/general_info/cthouse_info.htm
*http://www.santabarbaracourthouse.org/sbch/