Santa Barbara County Courthouse

Santa Barbara County Courthouse
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
California Historical Landmark No. 1037[2]
Santa Barbara County Courthouse, exterior view from the clock tower, showing the Sunken Garden
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Location	Santa Barbara, California
Coordinates	34°25′27.66″N 119°42′8.86″W / 34.4243500°N 119.7024611°W / 34.4243500; -119.7024611
Area	4.65 acres (1.88 ha)
Built	1926
Architect	William Mooser
NRHP reference No.	81000177[1]
CHISL No.	1037[2]
Added to NRHP	January 23, 1981

The Santa Barbara County Courthouse^[3] (Courthouse) is a well-known example of Spanish Colonial Revival architecture and is located in Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara County, California.  Started in 1926 and completed in 1929, the Courthouse originally served as Santa Barbara County’s (County) superior courthouse, jail, and administrative office.  The Courthouse was included on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981, was made a City of Santa Barbara Historic Landmark in 1982, a California Historical Landmark in 2004, and a National Historic Landmark in 2005.^[4]  Over the years, most County administrative offices were relocated to other County buildings.  The current Courthouse houses six County Superior Court rooms, the Mural Room (formerly the Supervisors Assembly Room),^[5] the County Hall of Records,^[6] the County Public Defender's Office,^[7] offices of the County General Services Department,^[8] and the McMahon Law Library.^[9]  The Courthouse is open to the public and is a popular site for community gatherings and weddings. 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.^[10]