Experience Santa Barbara, its architecture and its past, in a unique and personal way. Join the Architectural Foundation of Santa Barbara in a small group walking tour of the downtown area. Led by highly knowledgeable docents of the Architectural Foundation, the tour focuses on architectural styles, significant and historic buildings, aesthetics, past and present building usage, and landscape history. Discover why Santa Barbara is called “The American Riviera.”
On the Sabado (Saturday) Tour, see the historic center of downtown Santa Barbara. Celebrate the rich cultural heritage left by the first Spanish and Mexican settlers and those giants of Southern California architecture.
Architectural sites on the Sabado (Saturday) Walking Tour:
- Casa de La Guerra, City Hall, former Santa Barbara News-Press, and La Placita buildings, the 19th-century center of Santa Barbara
- El Paseo, the restaurant, courtyard, and commercial spaces
- Meridian Studios
- Lobero Theatre (1924)
- Lobero Office Building by Julia Morgan, the architect of Hearst Castle
- Santa Barbara Recreation Center (1912)
- Castillo Building Masonic building (1924)
- Montecito Bank, designed by Myron Hunt and said to be modeled on a basilica in Sicily Hill-Carrillo Adobe (1828)
Special Private Tours:
- Tours for private groups and the physically challenged can be arranged.
- Special tours for groups larger than 10 people may be arranged at least two weeks in advance and can be scheduled for any day of the week.
- For further information on large, private, or special tours, please email us at [email protected] or call (805) 965-6307.
Bring your camera and friends. All are welcome, including children, but please keep in mind that the walking tour is two hours long with lots of detailed information. Children under 12 are free but must be accompanied by an adult. Please, no strollers.
Sabado tours leave from the City Hall steps at De La Guerra Plaza at 10:00 am. The tour is an easy stroll lasting approximately two hours. Rain will cancel the tour, but weather permitting it runs every Saturday all year.